Woman to Woman

By SayitAin'tSo

December 12, 2008 12:22 PM | Link to this

And yet another Democratic administration has to bail-out yet more failed Republican economic policies? Thanks, Shaunti, for pointing out what Clinton inherited.

Yes, Obama should be more involved. He should also have a cigarette in the Rose Garden any dang time he pleases to have one. I’ll also buy him a pack, okay, let me one-up that, I’ll buy him a carton.

By USinUK

December 12, 2008 12:34 PM | Link to this

When Bill Clinton was elected president, he also inherited a recession and a $50 billion bailout was being discussed in Congress. Instead of saying he couldn’t get specific until January, Clinton responded directly to reporters with, “Let me tell you what I’m going to do…”

So, here’s my question: what does Shaunti do with her time, since she obviously isn’t watching or reading the news???

Obama not only held a press conference last week, he also appeared on MTP over the weekend when he actually discussed what he plans to do.

here are some highlights from his press conference:

he’s going to address the foreclosure situation: I will repeat what I said on “Meet the Press” today, which is, we have not seen the kind of aggressive steps in the housing market to stem foreclosures that I would like to see. And my team is preparing plans to address that foreclosure situation. We have - my team has had some conversations with the administration about that. If it is not done during the transition, it will be done by me.

funding infrastructure projects: When I was meeting with the governors, there was a - not a absolute consensus, but a strong bipartisan majority that said we’ve got to get people working on some key projects that have been sitting there for a long time. And that doesn’t just include traditional infrastructure, like roads and bridges, it includes making down- payments on making our economy more energy efficient. School construction, laying broad-band lines, instituting medical information technologies that can drive down costs - all of these things are designed to have long-term payoffs for taxpayers, not just for individual businesses.

and from MTP:

And that’s why I spoke in my radio address on Saturday about the importance of investing in the largest infrastructure program—in roads and bridges and, and other traditional infrastructure—since the building of the federal highway system in the 1950s; rebuilding our schools and making sure that they’re energy efficient; making sure that we’re investing in electronic medical records and other technologies that can drive down health care costs. All those things are not only immediate—part of an immediate stimulus package to the economy, but they’re also down payments on the kind of long-term, sustainable growth that we need.

So I think a moratorium on foreclosures remains an important tool, an important option. I think we also should be working to figure out how we can get banks and homeowners to renegotiate the terms of their mortgages so that they are sustainable. The vast majority of people who are at threat of foreclosure are still making monthly payments, they want to stay in their homes, they want to stay in their communities, but the strains are enormous. And if we can relieve some of that stress, long term it’s going to be better for the banks, it’s going to be certainly better for the community, it’s going to be better for our economy as a whole. This is going to be a top priority of my administration.

in the meantime, his team is meeting with Bernanke and Paulsen on a daily basis, planning for his team taking the help in January.

Not all of us voted for him, but all of us need him now to take leadership in pulling people together to tackle a time-critical problem, instead of forfeiting his place at the head of the table and having to accept what was pieced together in his absence.

Shaunti, maybe if you read something other than how divorce filings are dropping, you would see that his team IS making plans and blueprints to pull us out of the pickle we’re in.

By Speller

December 12, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this

Have you heard the galloping herd of stampeding camels?

By Gandalf, the White!

December 12, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this

Correction: Heard should be herd, my bad!

By USinUK

December 12, 2008 12:57 PM | Link to this

GtG -

The UAW won’t move, so they will all lose thier jobs.

The UAW DID move - they announced concessions early last week … maybe you should join Shaunti’s reading club??? ;-)

By Gale

December 12, 2008 1:01 PM | Link to this

Obama seems quite involved for someone not yet in office. Bush may as well go on vacation with the Congress, since none of them seem able to do anything.

By Mara

December 12, 2008 1:29 PM | Link to this

USinUK - good call on Clinton, the UAW, and all the rest. As I posted yesterday, he’s not even in office yet and people are already criticizing him for not doing enough. I’m with Gale on how involved he seems to be, despite all that.

and I really liked Andie’s Dodd quote.

By USinUK

December 12, 2008 1:31 PM | Link to this

okay … funny story of the day that had my coworker and I laughing all afternoon:

A Spanish woman has been found guilty of staging the fake kidnapping of her two children seven times in order to obtain ransom money from her husband.

SEVEN TIMES!!! … ya gotta read this: http://news. bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ world/europe/7779292.stm

By Gale

December 12, 2008 1:32 PM | Link to this

I had to go back and reread the topic essays. The board was out of commission long enough today for me to forget exactly what they said. I agree that Obabma is saying quite a lot about what he plans to do when he gets control of the wheel. I think the crew is paying plenty of attention to the new captain before he is on board, since the sitting captain is apparently having cocktails on the aft deck. Truth, I don’t want him making policy until he and his team have full control. But I think he is moving agressively to form his team and get them up to speed so that little time will be wated after Jan 20. Time will tell. What will things look like in May?

By Gale

December 12, 2008 1:34 PM | Link to this

Mara, I liked the Frank quote better. Bush is the lamest lame duck I have seen in my adult life.

By USinUK

December 12, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this

Hi Mara!!! Hi Gale!!!

he’s not even in office yet and people are already criticizing him for not doing enough

he’s getting his transition team in place, he’s doing the Sunday bobblehead shows, he’s making all the right announcements … he is doing what he legally can do before he takes the oath of office.

in the meantime, will someone point Shaunti to … oh, I dunno … the NYTimes, the WaPo, CNBC, heck, even the Washington Times (if she only wants to read stuff from a right-wing perspective) - they’ve all covered Obama’s press conferences and MTP appearance.

criminey.

meanwhile … it looks like the W2W gnomes are working overtime on GtG … ho-ho-HO!!!

By USinUK

December 12, 2008 1:47 PM | Link to this

Gale -

I think the crew is paying plenty of attention to the new captain before he is on board, since the sitting captain is apparently having cocktails on the aft deck

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! that’s brilliant!!! well done

What will things look like in May?

U-G-L-Y … economy ain’t got no alibi … it’s gonna be ugly! unemployment is still going to be rising - but probably starting to level off … foreclosures are still going to be increasing unless some kind of federal program is put into place … with the increase of unemployed and people in part-time employment rather than full-time, you’re going to see huge increases in people without health benefits, which means that our public ERs will become more strained than they already are … food stamp and other assistance programs are also going to be strained …

… and you need to watch what’s going on at the state and county level - their budgets have been cut down to the bone - the next thing to go will be the critical programs they do …

just call me Suzy Sunshine.

By Mara

December 12, 2008 1:50 PM | Link to this

Gale - Mara, I liked the Frank quote better. Bush is the lamest lame duck I have seen in my adult life

DOH! Misread the paragraph and attributed Frqanks quote to Dodd. To clarify, I thought the following quote was hi-lareous regardless of who said it ;^)

“He (Obama) says we only have one president at a time. I’m afraid that overstates the number of presidents we have.”

anyhow, I’m outtie early today so I’ll catch up with all y’all next week. Hugs.

By JustaJew

December 12, 2008 1:50 PM | Link to this

What I don’t understand with the right’s criticism of Obama not “doing anything” and their impatience with him to take action is weren’t these the very people who said that Armageddon will surely befall us at 12:00 p.m. on January 20th, 2009 at the very moment he’s sworn in? Why are they so anxious for him to do something when they’re all afraid of what he’s going to do? Then again maybe they’re praying for that day because they all think they’re going to be Raptured. I can’t wait until that day actually comes (assuming the tale is true) and I can see the looks on the faces of the supposedly devout as they’ve been “left behind”….see you then Chuck!!!

By Jack

December 12, 2008 1:51 PM | Link to this

I’m anxious to see the long lines of unemployed people vying for the road-repair jobs after having just left their cozy, warm $500K foreclosed homes. Improving the infrastructure means moving money from one welfare plan to another.

By JustaJew

December 12, 2008 1:54 PM | Link to this

the next thing to go will be the critical programs they do …

like the police and fire departments? I always thought those were the first departments to get cuts not to mention the “non-essential” education department…snark

By USinUK

December 12, 2008 2:11 PM | Link to this

JJ -

like the police and fire departments?

no - more like the programs that help senior citizens, the mentally ill, children …

By Jake

December 12, 2008 2:12 PM | Link to this

Frank has a lot of nerve. He bears a huge portion of the responsibility for this mess, screaming for years about making loans to the unworthy.

By American Woman

December 12, 2008 2:14 PM | Link to this

Admit it, gentleman. Y’all are saddened by the passing of Miss Betty Page, and American original. They just don’t make women like that anymore, and now you’re stuck with US. —-sigh…—- If ONLY, modern women know how to um, smile, like that. Lord knows I tried, but modern men are too hung up on our incomes and multi-tasking abilities to appreciate a good, old-fashioned….. smile.

RIP BETTY! You’re the BEST!

By Gale

December 12, 2008 2:18 PM | Link to this

Well, Suzy, we won’t be renaming you Pollyanna any time soon. I’m sure the economy will still be grim. What I had in mind was more along the approval rating. For my vote, I’d rather see small attainable projects than grand expensive projects that often fail to meet needs and often go over budget. I think if the new administration shows forward motion though the mire, the aprroval rating will improve over the current administration and the current congress.

By AF

December 12, 2008 2:31 PM | Link to this

The delima!!!!

If Obama does try to take leadership, he will be criticized. If he doesn’t take leadership, he will be criticized. Even those on the “right” who criticize him for not taking leadership, would not defend him against criticism of other rightists - come on, admit it, Shaunti.

We have a President. His name is George Bush. Where is he? George, oh, George? Where are you?

Where is the criticism of George? I think there is so little criticism because everyone has just given up on him. That doesn’t excuse or explain his absence from the table. Only his monumental indifference to the middle class and a lack of brain power and courage can explain him. Total loser - worst US President ever.

I have been reading interviews focusing on his “legacy”. What a laugh. Georges legacy is 4,000 American’s dead in an unjustified war, the greatest shift of wealth to the rich since the Great Depression, a broken government, and a broken economy.

Slink away, George, to that ranch in Texas or that new town house in Dallas. Live in shame the rest of your life.

By JustaJew

December 12, 2008 2:31 PM | Link to this

more like the programs that help senior citizens, the mentally ill, children …

of course, how could I forget the less fortunate. Then again, if you’ve got no money for prescriptions or heat then you dam sure don’t have any for political contributions so why should you matter anyway?

In case you missed it…..snark

By YesSiree

December 12, 2008 2:36 PM | Link to this

talk about the end of the world…..

Bettie Page who introduced many to the fineness of what women can be, is no more.

Yes, indeed, RIP Bettie Page.

to quote from the movie, The Notorious Bettie Page.

Bettie, do you think guys who like your scenes are naughty, I mean (drawing in breath), really naughty boys?”

By Repeater

December 12, 2008 2:39 PM | Link to this

But a government interested in the welfare of its citizens, either health welfare or educational well-being, the list can get rather long, is Socialism, you know. Socialism I say.

I learned it right here yesterday.

By Gale

December 12, 2008 2:43 PM | Link to this

A little off target. Good quote from Warren Buffet: “I don’t worry too much about pointing fingers at the past. I operate on the theory that every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.”

By Gale

December 12, 2008 2:48 PM | Link to this

um, I meant off topic, not off target. (That multitasking is easier for some, I guess.)

By NetBanker

December 12, 2008 3:05 PM | Link to this

Hey kids! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! I know I have work to do, but I’m already sliding into vacation mode. Just 5 more days to claw through!

I don’t really get the question this week. How involved is the man supposed to be when he’s not even the President yet? As it’s already been pointed out he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.

What is most disheartening to me during this time is the feeling that too many conservatives seem to hope that Obama will fail and just can’t wait to trash the man at every opportunity. Our country is in the toilet and hoping the next leader failure is rather short sighted since we can’t afford to have that toilet handle pulled. We all go WHOOSH together down the tubes folks.

“Improving the infrastructure means moving money from one welfare plan to another.” Maybe so, but at least the country as a whole gets a benefit out of the plan with improved roads and repaired bridges. One of the greatest economic threats to the country is the poor condition of our infrastructure which enables the economy to function. If there’s not enough or companies can’t move good from point A to point B then the economy goes down the tubes.

By Gale

December 12, 2008 3:24 PM | Link to this

Speaking of infrastructure, I don’t know how it could be managed, but the rail system in this country need some serious work. The major impedement to high speed rail is the condition of tracks in the country. I believe the rail companies own the tracks. But if something was done to encourage an improvement, it would help improve the transportation of goods and people.

By Monica

December 12, 2008 3:32 PM | Link to this

Didn’t I just see that Obama has announced his cabinet sooner than any other president-elect? And, really, what exactly can he do? Bush is still the president, I think…

I agree on one point: whether or not I voted for him, he is going to be president (For me it’s kind of like of rooting for Florida in the national championship - my most hated team, but the one that also represents my conference). We all should be asking ourselves what we should be doing.

I guess those of us with a little extra money at the end of the week/month should exercise our duty to help out the economy and go out to eat on Friday nights still? :)

By Gale

December 12, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this

Definitely, Monica. I know if they pick my lottery numbers, I plan to funnel plenty of it into the economy. No stuffing money into the mattress for me. Besides, what is a safe investment today anyway? Even beer seems to have been hit by the recession.

By NetBanker

December 12, 2008 3:46 PM | Link to this

Monica, we most absolutely should go out to eat tonight as our patriotic duty! I’ll be doing so along with 8-10 very close friends. It is an almost certainty that we’ll be helping out the liquor industry too with a stop off for a nightcap after dinner. And tomorrow a group of us will be doing our civic duty by attending a Christmas Concert to help sustain the arts.

Gale…so right about the rail system. It is by far the most energy efficient means of moving good and people. Once upon a time the U.S. had a very extensive rail system that slowly died as roads were paved and cars replaced the train. A strong rail infrastructure would also help our nation in time of disaster (natural or terrorist in nature) by facilitating the movement of people out of an area and supplies for survivors into the area. Can you imagine how much better a hurricane evacuation could be, for example, by placing thousands on trains instead of on highways?

By Gandalf, the White!

December 12, 2008 3:52 PM | Link to this

Gale! I prefer Warren’s cousin’s view on things..”I go for younger woman, lived with several awhile, though i ran ‘em away, they come back one day, and some how they manage to smile, just takes a while, just takes a while”

By NetBanker

December 12, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this

And let’s not forget about the $270 Million drawing tonight. It might just be worth a $2 investment for fun.

By Gandalf, the White!

December 12, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this

High Speed Rail system? Why would we want that? We Fly or Drive in America! ALL passenger rail systems lose money! Not some, not poorly designed ones, ALL. That includes MARTA, BART, Eurorail, The NYC subway. PEOPLE WON’T PAY WHAT IT COSTS TO RIDE. Americans won’t ride! Ever see the Gwinnett County Bus on 85? It’s almost always empty! 1 or 2 riders. No, rail is for CARGO, not people. That is an 18th century form of transportation that somehow still survives today. Gas gets up to $5 a gallon for over 2 years, people may change thier minds. I bought yesterday at $1.41 a gallon! That’s crazy cheap, and americans didn’t change at $4 a gallon. No Gale the rail systems isn’t going to work. Goods are fine going 55 MPH AND it saves fuel! People don’t need trains and goverments don’t, no scratch that, shouldn’t spend money on public transportation!

By Gandalf, the White!

December 12, 2008 4:01 PM | Link to this

EXPAT: I will join Shaunti’s reading club…but I might not get much reading done! SHE IS SO HOTT!

By Gandalf, the White!

December 12, 2008 4:02 PM | Link to this

So EXPAT the FTW for Fandalf the White never caught on? :-)

By Gandalf, the White!

December 12, 2008 4:18 PM | Link to this

NETBANKER: School buses were an option in New Orleans, but that idea was nixed by the mayor. Some people are too dumb to be saved!

By USinUK

December 12, 2008 4:51 PM | Link to this

GtG -

nope. fandalf never took off (and where were you earlier this week with the LOTR discussion???)

NETB - long time, no see!! welcome back!!!

Once upon a time the U.S. had a very extensive rail system that slowly died as roads were paved and cars replaced the train. A strong rail infrastructure would also help our nation in time of disaster (natural or terrorist in nature) by facilitating the movement of people out of an area and supplies for survivors into the area. Can you imagine how much better a hurricane evacuation could be, for example, by placing thousands on trains instead of on highways?

hooooooraaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy rail!!! if you want to see how great a rail system can be, visit Europe - if I had to drive into London everyday, my commute would be 2-3 hours, easily (not to mention, the death of what’s left of my sanity) … by train, 1 hour door-to-door, including the 10-minute walk from London Bridge stn to my office. Rail rocks!!!

‘night all … have a great weekend … see ya on Monday :-)

By Re-written Kennedy History

December 14, 2008 3:45 PM | Link to this

As soon as his cancer was found, I noticed the immediate attempt at canonization of old Teddy by the main stream media. They are saying what a “great American” he is. I say, let’s get a couple things clear & not twist the facts to change the real history.

Let’s not allow the spin doctors make this jerk a hero — how quickly the American public forgets what his real legacy is…

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 8:15 AM | Link to this

okay. so. am I the only one whose entire weekend was made by the shoe incident??? that was THE most brilliant news footage I’ve seen since … well … ever.

buh-bye, W … don’t let the shoe - I mean door - hit you …

Frustrated -

so, how was the big birthday bash??? was it a rave? lots of loud music and kids throwing up concoctions of gin/tequila/wine coolers?? were there fights on the front lawn? were the police called?? ;-)

hope you and your fam had a great time - and that your sweet little mite had a good day!!!

By Re-written Kennedy History

December 15, 2008 8:34 AM | Link to this

USinUK

that was THE most brilliant news footage I’ve seen since … well … ever.

That explains a lot. To you it probably is the most brilliant news footage you have seen. And I was actually dumb enough to try and discuss media bias with you, thinking I was dealing with a rational person.

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 8:47 AM | Link to this

And I was actually dumb enough to try and discuss media bias with you, thinking I was dealing with a rational person.

wow. so TOJ is using yet another alias …

(so, let’s do the headcount … TOJ, “Big Corporate Dog”, Kennedy … I’m sure I’m forgetting some)

and, yet, he loves to criticize others and accuse folks of “hiding” under aliases …

color me surprised.

as for Bush ducking a shoe … yes. it was the best news footage I’ve seen in yonks. couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. and, considering that his favorability rating is still sub-Nixon, there is another 70-some% of people out there who agree with me.

so, WHO exactly is being irrational??? because it isn’t I, my talk-radio-spouting friend.

By Gale

December 15, 2008 8:58 AM | Link to this

Remember the education discussion of vocational schools? Lesson 1 of plumbing: First turn off the water. I’m working from home waiting for an electrician to sort out the escalated plumbing incident. What fun. The only bright spot is the connection didn’t fail while we were away from home. Shoe incident? I confess. Unless it is a major incident with lots of dead people, I don’t listen to weekend news.

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 9:03 AM | Link to this

Gale -

Lesson 1 of plumbing: First turn off the water. I’m working from home waiting for an electrician to sort out the escalated plumbing incident

GAH!!! good luck with that - (while indoor pools are nice in concept, they’re only good if intentional)

shoe incident e’splained: http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/14/AR2008121401170.html?hpid=topnews

By The Other Jack

December 15, 2008 9:04 AM | Link to this

USinUK

Nah. Wasn’t me.

But I totally agree with them.

But loved your reference to Bush’s popularity rating which has sustained a double of the fascist congress’s popularity.

You got what you wanted. The slime of Chicago is now in Washington. Yet another close pal of the Messiah is proven to be a crime infested thug, but Obama didn’t really know much about him, even though he pushed to get him elected. LOL!!! Is anyone so dumb to believe that he didn’t know anything about Wright, Ayers or the Thug Gov?

Ah … democrats in charge again. Obama isn’t even in the White Houise and the scandals are starting. You must be soooo proud.

BTW. Aren’t you proud that your fellow fascist tried to burn down Palin’s Church while people were in it this last weekend? You have soooo much to be proud of.

By The Other Jack

December 15, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this

Gale

It was actually funny. And Bush handled it with his usual class and humor. He correctly pointed out that the guy now lived in a free country where he could do such things without fear of being killed.

Let’s see what is thrown at Obama after we have been there for 8 more years. Remember, there is not a Republican with an ounce of power, once Obama takes over. Anyone want to place a bet on how long we will stay in Iraq?

By Gandalf, the White!

December 15, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this

I think that poor Iraqi journalist is missing something, with out the esteemed President of the USA, he wouldn’t be able to throw his shoe! the former president of Iraq would have let his sons torture[for fun mind you, not to obtain valuable information] to death. Personally I would have walked over and whooped that journalist @ss, Texas style!

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this

TOJ / Kennedy / BCD -

Nah. Wasn’t me. But I totally agree with them.

considering you were the only person here arguing that mean-mister-mustard-media took advantage of St. Sarah of the Tundra … the “weren’t me” doesn’t fly. nice try, though.

Yet another close pal of the Messiah is proven to be a crime infested thug (snip) Obama isn’t even in the White Houise and the scandals are starting. You must be soooo proud.

what scandal is that? the one involving a governor that he didn’t associate with??? Gov. Blagoviehichgisvich isn’t a “close pal” - in fact, the 2 don’t associate with each other. try reading something other than World Nuts Daily, sometime. the Blago scandal that you and your ilk are peeing your pants to link with Obama - the fact is there is nothing that ties Obama to it, save a zip code

BTW. Aren’t you proud that your fellow fascist tried to burn down Palin’s Church while people were in it this last weekend? You have soooo much to be proud of.

and, again, what evidence do you have that it was my “fellow fascists” that did it? there have been no arrests … even the folks who belong to the church thought the Palin link was tenuous - they thought it could be just folks “who have a beef with God” or “punks” …

your accusation reminds me of the recent church burnings in AL in which it turned out to be nothing more nefarious than stupid kids out doing stupid things - nothing racist, nothing anti-religious - just stupid.

By The Other Jack

December 15, 2008 9:42 AM | Link to this

Gandalf

Can you imagine what would have happened if it had been the Messiah? He would have been rushed out to a waiting helicopter to be whisked away to safety. Bush laughed at it. Obama would have been hiding under the podium.

By Sunshine

December 15, 2008 9:45 AM | Link to this

Hi USinUK! Good Morning all!

Funny thing about the so called poster “Re-written Kennedy History” as always, no source for the info, I googled the long posting above and just “concerned American’s” postings on random blogs. Things that make you go hmmmmm….

By Mara

December 15, 2008 9:54 AM | Link to this

Remember, there is not a Republican with an ounce of power, once Obama takes over.

LOL! talk about hysterical overstatement…not one, single, Republican will have even a smidgen of power in the Obama administration…not any of the Republicans he has (or may soon) appoint to various positions in government, not Republican jurists, not Republican lobbyists, not Republican legislators, not the leaders of the National or State Republican parties, not Republican governors, not anybody! Can you be any sillier?

Bob Gates? Powerless. Mitch McConnell? Absolutely powerless. John Boner, er…I mean BAY-ner? Powerless. Mike Duncan and Joanne Davis? Helpless victims. Bobby Jindal, Tim Pawlenty, Charlie Crist? Edwina Rogers, Gary Andress, and Chuck Black? All pathetic, powerless Republicans. LOL!!

By Gandalf, the White!

December 15, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this

SHUNSHONE: STFU! Don’t you have 2 or 3 bosses that you are cheating when you post here? Go interview illegals to take care of that growth that may someday be a human in your tummy. I so hope you kid grows up to be a conservative to haunt you in your old age!

By Gandalf, the White!

December 15, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this

TOJ, the Anti-christ would have instructed the secret service to shoot to kill, while cowering under the podium! He will never go to Iraq, unless it’s on his way to Mecca or Medina, during his pillgrimige.

He’s is so keeping his promises! Change, change, change, change of fools…..

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this

Sunshine -

He is known around Washington as a public drunk, loud, boisterous and very disrespectful to ladies

this was my favorite point … because, as you know, Ted Kennedy is the ONLY guy who drinks and gets loud and boisterous in DC … not to mention is “disrespectful to ladies”

baaaaaaaaaahahahahaha … this guy has obviously never been to the Hawk and Dove … or to Madam’s Organ … or to the late Crow Bar … or to Stetsons … or to any of the other hundreds of bars / Hill events in DC …

yeah. TK drank and got loud. just like every other person in DC except the Mormons.

By The Other Jack

December 15, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this

USinUK

considering you were the only person here arguing that mean-mister-mustard-media took advantage of St. Sarah of the Tundra … the “weren’t me” doesn’t fly. nice try, though.

Sound a little paranoid, there girl. you know I am not actually hiding behind every rock. But again, you might have noticed that the unfair treatment that Palin received has gone down in history as a perfect example of the unfairness that she received, but more than that, it showed how quickly Democratic sheep would go along with anything they are told, including the idea that an interviewee can control the camera, the questions, and anything that happened behind her during the interview. If you weren’t so indoctrinated and had an ounce of fairness about you, you would hide your head in shame at the treatment she got. but instead, you claim that an idiot that throws his shoes at Bush is “THE most brilliant news footage I’ve seen since … well … ever.” You said it all.

what scandal is that?

From CNN:

Obama to announce energy posts as Blagojevich questions linger

President-elect Barack Obama is expected to announce key members of his energy team Monday as questions linger and media attention remains on the scandal involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. full story

Yep. I’m just making this crap up. No real news sourse is touching it. Sure. Right. Got it. Would you like to see the video clip of Obama pushing the Gov. to be elected? It has only been shown on FOX (imagine that, REAL video that PROVES a strong connection with Obama and the Mainstream is ignoring it) Perhaps you should post some stories by MSNBC about how fair MSNBC is, like you did before.

and, again, what evidence do you have that it was my “fellow fascists” that did it? there have been no arrests … even the folks who belong to the church thought the Palin link was tenuous - they thought it could be just folks “who have a beef with God” or “punks” …

Oh sure. It’s just harmless fun. Kids being kids. Democrats all over the South were also just having fun when they burned down Black churches. Just a good old time. Fire up a church. Giggle about it. Run back to the blogs to brag. But since they agree with what you have repeatedly posted, they must be harmless kids. Got it. Democrats just want to have fun.

By The Other Jack

December 15, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this

Mara

In case you have been asleep for the past two years, the House, Senate and White House are all controlled by Democrats. The only power Republicans still have is the power to filibuster.

Democrats refused to accept that the economy has been in a nose dive since 2006 when the democrats took over congress, so now that Democrats control every single branch, youi are already making excuses for them, pointing out the big powerful republicans that have NO power, now that they are in the minority. I would ask you to read a civics book, but knowledge makes you a Republican.

By The Other Jack

December 15, 2008 10:24 AM | Link to this

USinUK

Yea. He was an exceptional drunk. As good as any in Washington. But of course most politicians don’t get to kill their friends and walk away from it.

By Sunshine

December 15, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this

I guess that Mr. McCain is “biased” against Mrs. Palin also:

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. John McCain, in his first Sunday talk show interview since the election, told ABC’s “This Week” that he wouldn’t support his former running mate Sarah Palin if she runs for president in 2012.

Can Palin count on McCain’s support, George Stephanopoulos asked McCain. “Oh, no,” he replied.

I think Mr. McCain saw what all of us saw, someone unprepared for national office!

Oh wait, no, it couldn’t be that simple, there couldn’t be a grain of truth in that she simply isn’t ready for this job, NOOO, its that he is biased against her, he must be watching that dirty wretched MSM, they got to him! I know they did! (Snark, if you couldn’t tell!)

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this

TOJ (and all the other voices in your head) -

Oh sure. It’s just harmless fun. Kids being kids. Democrats all over the South were also just having fun when they burned down Black churches

Google is your friend. The churches that were burned in AL were just kids being stupid. They weren’t making a statement, politically, racially or otherwise. I didn’t say it was “harmelss fun” - just said that AL wasn’t and the Alaska arson may not be politically related (despite what those voices may be telling you).

From CNN: Obama to announce energy posts as Blagojevich questions linger

gosh. so, which is it? is the media biased or not?? because, if they’re linking Obama to Blago when there is no link, then they must not be as liberal as the bottom of your glass keeps telling you.

you know I am not actually hiding behind every rock

behind??? wrong preposition.

If you weren’t so indoctrinated and had an ounce of fairness about you, you would hide your head in shame at the treatment she got. but instead, you claim that an idiot that throws his shoes at Bush is “THE most brilliant news footage I’ve seen since … well … ever.” You said it all

gosh. where to start. the treatment she got was the least she deserved as being a complete unknown running to be a chicken bone away from the presidency. she did NO press conferences and, other than 2 shambolic mainstream interviews, only did 1-on-1s with her friends at FOX.

the cameraman who threw his shoe at Bush is the most brilliant footage I’ve seen in yonks. you can scorn me all you want, but I think that, after 8 years of the Bush Bubble, after 8 years of this administration exiling protesters to the North 40 whenever he is in town, after 8 years of this administration using their henchman to pose as CIA agents to have people tossed out of PUBLIC EVENTS simply because they have an anti-war bumpersticker on their car, IT’S ABOUT FRICKIN TIME HE HEARD SOMEONE SPEAK OUT AGAINST HIM.

and I’m not the only person who feels this way. we’re in the majority - a 70+% majority. deal with it.

By Frustrated

December 15, 2008 10:38 AM | Link to this

Gooooooood Mooooorrrrnnniiinnngggg People!!!!

10 days until Christmas!!!! YAY!!!

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this

Frustrated -

since the voices in TOJ’s head are screaming that “they won’t be ignooooooooored”, I’ll repost what I asked earlier today to save you from scrolling through the mire:

so, how was the big birthday bash??? was it a rave? lots of loud music and kids throwing up concoctions of gin/tequila/wine coolers?? were there fights on the front lawn? were the police called?? ;-)

hope you and your fam had a great time - and that your sweet little mite had a good day!!!

By Mara

December 15, 2008 11:13 AM | Link to this

TOJ - youi are already making excuses for them,

Uh, no. I’m not making excuses for anyone. What I am doing is mocking your hysterical, illogical, and patently silly assertion that NO Republican will have ANY power when Obama takes office.

Now…you could have said it would be unlikely that the Congressional Republicans would be able to stop Democratic legislation. Or that Republican interest groups would not have as much influence on policy as they’ve gotten used to having. Or that white papers from the various Republican think-tanks would no longer be used as a basis for legislation. All of which are most likely true.

You could have said any of that but instead you wrote, (and I quote…) “Remember, there is not a Republican with an ounce of power, once Obama takes over.” According to you, not one single solitary republican will have one itty bitty ounce of power after Jan 20th…it’s hysterical and, per Bob Gates, demonstrably false.

And so I mock.

By Mara

December 15, 2008 11:18 AM | Link to this

The only power Republicans still have is the power to filibuster.

but I thought you said that Republicans have NO power!!! And now you say that they DO have the power to filibuster. Hmmm.

So…you’re premise is that Republicans don’t have ANY power except for the one power that they DO have. LOL! Why doesn’t that make any sense?

By The Other Jack

December 15, 2008 11:29 AM | Link to this

USinUK

the cameraman who threw his shoe at Bush is the most brilliant footage I’ve seen in yonks.

Why waste my time? It’s like a nuclear scientist trying to explain to a 3rd grader how a reactor works. So an imbecile sets a camera on a tripod, hits the button and because a slobbering fascist wants to bully his way onto the world press, you claim it is brilliant footage.

The REPORTER that threw his shoe at Bush was an idiot. but he was a free idiot, thanks to Bush. In a news conference, there are no CAMERAMEN. There are videographers. A cameraman has a director in his ear telling him every move to make. A videographer has no engineer to set up the camera and he has to make huge decisions every few seconds because he is NOT being directed. Calling a videographer a cameraman is like calling an airline pilot a flight attendant.

If you are going to attempt to converse, learn the friggin’ language.

Do you wonder why the footage is tinted brown? That’s because this example of brilliant footage ws shot by an incompetent videographer who is not quite at the level of setting a white balence before he shoots, something that most videographers learn on the first day and adopt as one of the instinctive things he does before shooting ANY footage.

This idiot had been shooting outside, but when he came in under the incandescent and tungsten lighting didn’t change a filter OR set a white balance. But to you, the footage is brilliant. Hell, it’s not even correct.

But obviously brilliance in the eyes of a journalism major is a far cry from simple competence.

By The Other Jack

December 15, 2008 11:32 AM | Link to this

USinUK

IT’S ABOUT FRICKIN TIME HE HEARD SOMEONE SPEAK OUT AGAINST HIM.

What a joke you are. But I am certainly not going to try to explain to you, the great financial expert that claimed that speculators had nothing to do with gas prices and who claims to have a degree in journalism, but doesn’t know the difference between a reporter, a cameraman and a videographer.

By Gale

December 15, 2008 11:37 AM | Link to this

Please do not feed the trolls.

By Frustrated

December 15, 2008 11:38 AM | Link to this

US-

I totally missed that post earlier, it went well… We both woke up sick on Friday, so she had the sniffles, but that didn’t stop her from smashing cake up her nose. No police for this one, mostly older family members…a few kids who were chasing balloons around and what not…

Overall, it was great, she got more presents than she needed..and liked the tissue paper from the bags the best…HA! Once everyone left, we all sacked out for a loooonnng nap….Then I was up the rest of the night playing with Elmo Live…what a great toy!!!

Thank you for your warm wishes, she is spoiled rotten!!!

By HaHa

December 15, 2008 11:46 AM | Link to this

kids throwing up concoctions of gin/tequila/wine coolers

Now they might get kids at birthday parties drunk over there in the UK but here in the good ole USA, founded on Puritanism, we FROWN on that sort of thing.

Heck, we can’t even buy LIQUOR in some states on Sunday morning.

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 11:47 AM | Link to this

TOJ and voices -

The REPORTER that threw his shoe at Bush was an idiot. but he was a free idiot, thanks to Bush.

free?? he’s currently incarcerated and being “interrogated” by Iraqi police …

I guess freedom’s just another word for nothing left but shoes …

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 11:54 AM | Link to this

TOJ -

the great financial expert that claimed that speculators had nothing to do with gas prices

wow. your nose should have just knocked your computer screen over.

I said that gas/oil speculaters were one of the primary causes of spiking gas prices - I said that Dems taking office had nothing to do with it.

criminey - either stop drinking or get back on your meds - those voices in your head aren’t helping you a’tall.

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this

Please do not feed the trolls.

especially when they’re in the middle of some kind of psychotic episode.

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 12:06 PM | Link to this

Frustrated -

Overall, it was great, she got more presents than she needed..and liked the tissue paper from the bags the best…

isn’t that always the way!?! Am so glad to hear she’s doing well (despite the snifflies) and that you guys had a good day …

was everyone suitably impressed with your banner, napkins and other accoutrements???

I take it the docs are pleased with how well she’s doing with the tubes?

we spent the day with my UK nieces yesterday (1 and 4) - the youngest had her first exposure to chocolate chip cookies … and (surprise!) she loooooooves them!! I made a huge tupperware of them for my older niece (she’s not a big fan of cakes but la-la-loves cookies).

they’re so great when they’re little - then, they turn 7 and it’s all downhill from there … ;-)

By HaHa

December 15, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this

And who knew Dick Cheney’s Welcoming with open arms involved SHOES.

By Gandalf, the White!

December 15, 2008 12:47 PM | Link to this

Got eat something in the UK, Beer hasn’t been considered food since the middle ages. The food is the reason that british men have gone off and pillaged for so many centuries. It {sucks} donkey balls!

Oh you all are right! The Kennedy Klan did great things for this country! STFU! they are nothing but a bunch of rich kids who use Poppa Joes ill gotten gains to satisfy thier need to feel guilty. Jack at least fought the nipponese with valor if not intelligence (how does a PT boat get run down by a cruiser?)

Please Shunshot STFU!

By chuck

December 15, 2008 12:49 PM | Link to this

So USUK, Another incident that shows your over the top, irrational HATRED of President Bush. ONCE AGAIN, your comment is SHAMEFUL.

okay. so. am I the only one whose entire weekend was made by the shoe incident??? that was THE most brilliant news footage I’ve seen since … well … ever.

So our PRESIDENT gets attacked overseas and you think that’s a GOOD THING?!@?!

You probably think it would be better if it had been an IED or something. As far as I’m concerned, you’re nothing but a Pseudo-American piece of Euro-Trash. You fit right in with the soccer thugs over there. Feel free to stay in the UK. If we’re lucky maybe we can have a great weekend NEXT weekend. Please let us know if you get mugged on the subway over there.

By Frustrated

December 15, 2008 12:49 PM | Link to this

I take it the docs are pleased with how well she’s doing with the tubes?

Well, the tubes did what they were made for this weekend….by letting the fluid out….All over the sheets…ICK!

She went this morning to her 1 year check up.. The doc said she is advanced on talking, she never stops..it’s always “what’s that, who’s that” “Da-da…da-da, DAAAAA-DAAAAA”, and that she is in the 90% for her height and weight….

She gave up the bottle 3 months ago, has a mouth full of teeth (she cut her first molars a few weeks ago) and other than her asthma, is a normal, healthy little tot. So we are on to the next hurdle….Potty training!!!! We aren’t going to push it, but since she enjoys invading everyone’s privacy, the least we can do is get her a potty so she can sit on it so it isn’t a battle trying to explain why she can’t sit on our lap!!!!!

Who knew parenthood could be so much fun:)

By Mara

December 15, 2008 12:51 PM | Link to this

USinUK - I guess freedom’s just another word for nothing left but shoes…

ROTFLMAO!!!

By Huh

December 15, 2008 12:55 PM | Link to this

Please let us know if you get mugged on the subway over there.

as opposed to what? being mugged in Atlanta?

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 12:59 PM | Link to this

chuck -

So our PRESIDENT gets attacked overseas and you think that’s a GOOD THING?!@?!

wow - that’s an “attack”??? you really are soft if you think someone throwing a shoe from across a room is an “attack”

As far as I’m concerned, you’re nothing but a Pseudo-American piece of Euro-Trash.

aw. aw. awwwwwwwwwww … poor widdle chuck is offended … sorry, bub, but I’m an American through-and-through - and, whether you like it or not, part of my first amendment rights as an American is my right to say that I thought the shoe footage was absolutely brilliant.

this administration has shut down free speech for so long (see my post above re having henchmen pose as CIA agents to kick you out of events), you obviously have forgotten what free speech is all about …

here’s a hint: it’s NOT so that the only folks who can speak up are the ones who agree with you.

you may think I’m Euro Trash, but I’m beginning to wonder if you’re better suited to someplace like N. Korea where they call their dictator “Dear Leader”

By American Woman

December 15, 2008 1:04 PM | Link to this

I have flung more than one type of object at more than one male head. (Um, before I matured and got a grip on my temper, of course.) I can say with no hesitation whatsoever that President Bush has had things flung at his head before. The reaction of a first-timer is very different… Heh.. This man ducks with the artfulness and experience of an old pro.

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 1:07 PM | Link to this

Frustrated -

good gravy, it sounds like she is one happy, healthy kid who is in a hurry to grow up!!!

although, the fluid thing did make my stomach heave a bit … thanks for that :-P

So we are on to the next hurdle….Potty training

books. books are your new best friend (and there are loads of potty books on the shelves). and stickers/stamps/rewards for when she does what she’s supposed to. other than that, all I can say is “good luck!!!” my best friend’s little girl was easy to train - her son, not so much.

okay … heading home … have a good night!!! (having fish and chips in honor of GtG/GtW/FtW … yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm)

By Mara

December 15, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this

on a lighter note…just got an e-mail from my sister. It was twenty-six degrees BELOW ZERO in my home town yesterday. Without windchill.

And people ask me why I moved to Georgia…

By American Woman

December 15, 2008 1:09 PM | Link to this

Frustrated, the tot years are utterly precious!!! Treasure them. {:->

By chuck

December 15, 2008 1:39 PM | Link to this

USUK, You are PERFECTLY FREE to use your free speech any way you want to. The fact that you chose to use it to make yourself look like a small-minded, hate-filled idiot is…well, not surprising. The location of the mugging is NOT WHAT WOULD MAKE OUR WEEKEND knucklehead, rather the TARGET of the mugging. Just following your lead here since you think it is funny when people are attacked.

BTW, in case you have forgotten, ASSAULT is not one of the things covered as being protected by the first Amendment.

What a MAROON.

By Archie

December 15, 2008 1:53 PM | Link to this

I agree 100 percent with Andrea on this and I say yes Obama is involved enough because he ain’t the president. These statements: “But that is the job Obama signed up for, and I believe most people would willingly follow if he would lead. It would be entirely understandable if our president-elect didn’t yet know the right path to take, but that doesn’t let him off the hook. Not all of us voted for him, but all of us need him now to take leadership in pulling people together to tackle a time-critical problem, instead of forfeiting his place at the head of the table and having to accept what was pieced together in his absence.”, are nothing more than cow manure. Why not ask the guy that’s in office now to lead? Why not ask Bush to make some decisions that benefit 90 percent of the people and not just the rich? The economic crisis has been going on for months and I have not seen any statement about leadership coming from Shanti, in other words, we have a president but where is he? Obama does not take office legally and rightfully until Jan 20, 2009 and until the other guy is still the president and he ought to be held accountable for everything that’s going on right now that he can do something about. Bush is still the president and I don’t care what Barney Frank says because Mr. Frank knows the law well enough to know that Obama is not the president but the president-elect.

By chuck

December 15, 2008 2:00 PM | Link to this

yeah. TK drank and got loud. just like every other person in DC except the Mormons.

And yet, if that was a REPUBLICAN, you would be asking for his resignation.

By Archie

December 15, 2008 2:07 PM | Link to this

UsinUk, I just saw the shoe incident and I thought it was interesting. There is a good article written by a a guy named Mike Lupica in the New York Daily news about how unbridled greed torn up the American dream. Super rich people just straight up stealing when they already have plenty and that’s a non-partisan thing. On topic Shanti’s commentary is ridiculous, extremely ridiculous because there’s nothing Obama can legally do right now and since Bush is still president he still should be held accoutable for what happens on his watch.

By chuck

December 15, 2008 2:23 PM | Link to this

Archie, I agree totally with you on this one. Obama needs to stay out of this and let the “Grown-Ups” handle this problem. He’ll get his chance in January.

By chuck

December 15, 2008 2:50 PM | Link to this

BTW, USUK, I believe last week you were crying about the fact that I called you a HATER. Thanks for proving me correct.

By "Grown-Up"

December 15, 2008 2:53 PM | Link to this

That’s right. Obama and his sad little proles need to stay out of our grown-up business. They’ve already gone too far! Why, we can hardly loot a few hundred billion from the treasury these days without some pathetic Democratic whiners asking for a few dollars for the blue-collar riff raff. Disgraceful! Have they NO SHAME? What part of “Some people don’t count!” do you socialist vermin fail to comprehend? You morons will get your chance to fail miserably starting in January (and we will entertain ourselves sipping good Scotch while you all go under) so until then, BUTT THE HECK OUT! The Grown-Ups are in charge!

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 3:23 PM | Link to this

chuck -

BTW, USUK, I believe last week you were crying about the fact that I called you a HATER. Thanks for proving me correct

The location of the mugging is NOT WHAT WOULD MAKE OUR WEEKEND knucklehead, rather the TARGET of the mugging. Just following your lead here since you think it is funny when people are attacked.

fercryingoutloud … attribution isn’t your strong suit, is it? that was k who was taking you to task about the whole “hater” thing, not me. and it was someone else who questioned you about the location of the mugging. you also misattributed something to me that mara said last week.

reading comprehension. get some.

And yet, if that was a REPUBLICAN, you would be asking for his resignation

no, actually, that’s YOUR party who wants to be the Morality Police. Drinking is a legal activity if you’re more than 21 years of age - I have no problem with TK drinking or being loud - he’s an adult and he’s allowed to do both of those things.

do I hate W??? I wouldn’t pee down the man’s throat if his stomach was on fire. I hate what he’s done to MY country. I hate what he’s done to MY constitution. I hate that he says he’s for “personal responsibility” - unless it’s taking responsibility for his own actions.

YOU may love him for all those things, but I think he’s beneath contempt.

so, if that makes me a “hater” in your book, GOOD - I’d rather not be associated with anyone who think W’s done a great job during his 8 year tenure.

By SaySo

December 15, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this

But my job as a Republican is to loosen regulations, let those fat-cat guys on WallStreet get super rich while ripping everyone off, put everyone’s economic well being at risk, and then dump it on the Democrats to fix.

Where y’all been the past 60 years?

By Bruno

December 15, 2008 4:27 PM | Link to this

Well, so much for intelligent discussion this week…..

on a lighter note…just got an e-mail from my sister. It was twenty-six degrees BELOW ZERO in my home town yesterday. Without windchill. And people ask me why I moved to Georgia…

I hear you, Mara! If everything goes as planned, I hope to move to Florida next year. Cold weather and short days suck.

By USinUK

December 15, 2008 4:34 PM | Link to this

brunoooooooooooooo -

I hear you, Mara! If everything goes as planned, I hope to move to Florida next year. Cold weather and short days suck.

you’re moving to God’s Waiting Room??? are you heading all the way south (Miami)? where are you thinking???

you know, if you’re looking for warmer weather - you can’t beat Austin (warm weather, killer food and amazing music scene!!!)

:-)

By Bruno

December 15, 2008 4:40 PM | Link to this

Hi, USinUK!

Miami would be great, though I don’t think that I can afford to date any more Dominican women. The weather on the West coast of Fl is a little milder than the East Coast, but, ultimately, I will have to go where the jobs are.

I’ve heard nice things about Austin as well, but have never been there.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

By Gandalf, the White!

December 15, 2008 4:42 PM | Link to this

THIS IS CAUSED BY GLOBAL WARMING! ASK ALGORE!

By Gale

December 16, 2008 8:48 AM | Link to this

God’s Waiting Room Funny. My partner’s 91 year old grandmother lives there and we have been trying to get her to move closer, or at least into an assisted living area for years. She will not leave her apartment and just complains that nobody visits. Um, we work. Vacation time is limited. It isn’t an explanation she accepts. She doesn’t understand why none of the family wants to move there. We are just being stubborn. Ah well.

Bruno, CA is better than FL. But I guess the cost of living is a lot higher. Austin, for all its wonders, probably has a healthier population. You could sure do a big business with geriatrics in FL.

By chuck

December 16, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this

USUK, I didn’t “misattribute ANYTHING except the Mara comment last week and I corrected that myself before you even noticed.

The “location” thing was not actually referring to you, I just didn’t start a new paragraph. I know that you are quite full of yourself, but while there is a center of the universe, it isn’t you.

No (USUK) HATER, I was referring to the KKK comments you made about the President last week. I called you on it because you were hating on Bush and you tried to play it off. You have revealed your TRUE character in the past couple of weeks, and frankly, it isn’t very commendable.

By Qualifier

December 16, 2008 9:14 AM | Link to this

frankly, it isn’t very commendable

according to Chuck and TOJ, of course. Like their opinion matters in the grand scheme of things.

By Sunshine

December 16, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this

Good Morning all!

Very interesting interview with Mr Chaney over at ABC News (I know, I know, they are just biased criminals over there!) But it made me wonder, if a leader from another country said this about the treatment of our soliders how would we feel?:

Cheney said waterboarding was an appropriate means of getting information from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

He was also asked whether he authorized the tactics used against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

“I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared, as the agency in effect came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn’t do,” Cheney said. “And they talked to me, as well as others, to explain what they wanted to do. And I supported it.

By Mara

December 16, 2008 9:24 AM | Link to this

Gale - She doesn’t understand why none of the family wants to move there

I was deterred by those HUGE cockroaches, (aka “Palmetto bugs”) and the freakishly large Banana spiders they have wandering around down there. Love the beaches and the weather but the wildlife…maybe not so much.

By Sunshine

December 16, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this

I have heard from numerous people that live in So. FL that they call it “The Land of the Newly Weds, and the Nearly Deads!”

By Gandalf, the White!

December 16, 2008 9:48 AM | Link to this

SUNSHINE! STFU once again! Torture is a CHOICE! I am PRO CHOICE! You can either torture the POS enemy of your country or let him kill more civilians. Your logic sucks donkey balls girlie girl! Let’s compare, it’s okay to take a human life BEFORE it’s born, but once it’s all grown up, and killing american civilians, then it’s wrong? DUB BASS describes you to a T! At least be consistent! Kill all the time, then I can respect your opinion (Not really, YOU ARE A DUM BASS!)

By Mara

December 16, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this

Sunshine, did you happen to read the Senate report that came out the other day regarding torture and how America got into the business?

It’s pretty enlightening. If you want to check it out, they have a PDF over at the Washington Post and Dan Froomkin has a time-line delineating how it went down. I, personally, thought Carl Levin’s statement was spot-on:

…SERE training is designed to teach our soldiers how to resist interrogation by enemies that refuse to follow the Geneva Conventions and international law. During SERE training, U.S. troops —- in a controlled environment with great protections and caution —- are exposed to harsh techniques such as stress positions, forced nudity, use of fear, sleep deprivation, and until recently, the waterboard. The SERE techniques were never intended to be used against detainees in U.S. custody. The Committee’s investigation found, however, that senior officials in the U.S. government decided to use some of these harsh techniques against detainees based on deeply flawed interpretations of U.S. and international law.

The Committee concluded that the authorization of aggressive interrogation techniques by senior officials was both a direct cause of detainee abuse and conveyed the message that it was okay to mistreat and degrade detainees in U.S. custody.

Tortue became policy because the leaders of our country authorized it. Andrew Sullivan made the point that there is no statute of limitations on war crimes.

By Archie

December 16, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this

do I hate W??? I wouldn’t pee down the man’s throat if his stomach was on fire. I hate what he’s done to MY country. I hate what he’s done to MY constitution. I hate that he says he’s for “personal responsibility” - unless it’s taking responsibility for his own actions. Wow!! Tell us what you really think USinUk! I really thought Bush would have been better but he leaves office being perceived as the worst president of all time! What’s happening now is that the credit card companies are doing what the gas companies did,coming up with a good lie about pricing and risk and just straight out gouging the consumer because they know Bush will do nothing, absolutely nothing and I fault Congress too, because they need to get some courage and put in laws to protect the consumer from the gouging because that’s all that’s really going on. Really, doubling payments for someone already struggling makes sense? As a public we have to, have to stop falling for these bs statements. Also I give McCain credit for not following up the bs of his own party and he still states he disagrees with Obama politically but McCain won’t pile on about the Illinois governor. People will spend money if they’re not being gouged and Obama needs to put his foot in the behind of the credit card companies, wall street, and some of his colleagues.

By USinUK

December 16, 2008 10:02 AM | Link to this

Sunshine -

re: newly wed and nearly dead … I’ve heard that in reference to cruises, but not FL.

Bruno -

I’ve heard nice things about Austin as well, but have never been there.

well, before you go pick up those change-of-address forms from the USPO, book yourself a cheap flight on SouthWest - you’ll la-la-LOVE Austin!! the people are really laid back, very outdoorsy (loads of great hiking trails and water sports on Lake Austin) … when I was there years ago, saw Joe Jackson when he was performing for the SxSW festival. seriously, give it a go before you commit to FL.

chuck -

I know that you are quite full of yourself, but while there is a center of the universe, it isn’t you

then, may I suggest you address your comments to the person you are talking to -

I was referring to the KKK comments you made about the President last week

the truly pathetic thing is that you know now (and you knew then) that I wasn’t referring to the president when I made that statement - but you’re so desperate to prove yourself the most moral person on the board (complete with the shiniest halo), that you’ll willfully misrepresent something I said to (theoretically) boost your own standing.

sad, that.

By Gale

December 16, 2008 10:04 AM | Link to this

I would move as far as Tampa, but not Miami. My partner is sensitive to the heat, so no move. I am sensitive to grey weather so we won’t be moving to the very temperate Oregon and Washington coasts either. It’s probably our biggest difference - temperature tolerance.

Gandalf, The problem is, we keep telling the world we are the good guys. Good guys are not supposed to engage in torture.

By USinUK

December 16, 2008 10:12 AM | Link to this

Mara and Sunshine -

But it made me wonder, if a leader from another country said this about the treatment of our soliders how would we feel?

good grief. I’m so glad I’m not the only person who has thought this everytime I’ve seen pics from Abu Ghraib … criminey, if that was a marine stripped and piled or threatened with dogs, we all know exactly what certain folkses on this board would be saying

but when it’s our people doing the torturing, it’s a-okay.

criminey, how far we’ve fallen as a country.

By Gandalf, the White!

December 16, 2008 10:34 AM | Link to this

Torture? JEEZ! You people have no idea!

By USinUK

December 16, 2008 10:42 AM | Link to this

GtG -

Torture? JEEZ! You people have no idea

yes. torture. which is what waterboarding was determined to be when the Japanese were doing it to our servicemen during WWII.

By Sunshine

December 16, 2008 10:45 AM | Link to this

Wow, let Freedom Ring! From the BBC:

Shoe thrower ‘beaten in custody’

Muntadar al-Zaidi has suffered a broken hand, broken ribs and internal bleeding, as well as an eye injury, his older brother, Dargham, told the BBC.

Mr Zaidi threw his shoes at Mr Bush at a news conference, calling him “a dog”.

Mr Zaidi told our correspondent that despite offers from many lawyers his brother has not been given access to a legal representative since being arrested by forces under the command of Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, Iraq’s national security adviser.

The Iraqi authorities have said the 28-year-old will be prosecuted under Iraqi law, although it is not yet clear what the charges might be.

But I am sure all of you who believe that “Our Great Leader” Mr. GW Bush gave him the “Freedom” to do this will see nothing wrong with the beating, just like there is nothing wrong with torturing him!

By Gale

December 16, 2008 10:57 AM | Link to this

Now the question comes to my mind if Mr Zaidi expected that sort of treatment for offering insult to the head of state of what many Iraqis see as an occupying country. It is a complex situation. Personally, I think Bush was stupid to be there.

By USinUK

December 16, 2008 11:12 AM | Link to this

two thoughts … (well, I have lots more than 2 thoughts about this situation, but I’ll limit this post to 2 thoughts) …

1) so the secret service is willing to take a bullet for the president, but not a shoe??? I mean, seriously - the guy let not one but TWO shoes fly and there was no Secret Service diving in front of the POTUS

2) I wonder if someone is going to bring it to the President’s attention that the “freedom” he was so strongly espousing after the event includes beatings in jail … freedom of speech + side of internal injuries. oh, yeah. we’re winning those hearts and minds one punctured lung at a time.

By Mara

December 16, 2008 11:19 AM | Link to this

If you insult someone, and they either don’t know it’s supoosed to be an insult or they don’t really find it insulting…have you really insulted them?

When Zaidi flung his footwear at Bush he and those from his culture saw it as an insult. Bush called it “silliness” and the entire western world seems to be chuckling right with him. Personally, the first thing I thought about was Eddie Murphy, his Aunt Bunny and Momma’s Boomerang Shoe. :^)

By Gale

December 16, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this

I don’t think we are winning hearts and minds. Wasn’t it just a few days ago I heard about several soldiers being killed while handing out blankets?

By chuck

December 16, 2008 11:28 AM | Link to this

Sometimes the stupidity of the left is deafening. HOW DO YOU KNOW HE WAS “BEATEN IN JAIL”?

Is it possible that those injuries occurred while HE WAS FREAKIN’ BEING WRESTLED TO THE GROUND BY SECURITY????? you know, while he was attacking the freakin’ president of the united states?????

Maybe on your ride home today, all the people on your train will throw their shoes at you. THAT WOULD REALLY BE BRILLIANT. It would certainly make MY WEEK.

By USinUK

December 16, 2008 11:30 AM | Link to this

Mara -

If you insult someone, and they either don’t know it’s supoosed to be an insult or they don’t really find it insulting…have you really insulted them?

W might not have gotten the “insult” part of it, but he nearly got the corresponding shiner …

Personally, the first thing I thought about was Eddie Murphy, his Aunt Bunny and Momma’s Boomerang Shoe. :^)

you weren’t alone on that one!! I thought the same thing …

http:// punditkitchen. com/ (third one down)

By Gale

December 16, 2008 11:41 AM | Link to this

So Mara, do you think the entire Arab world now thinks we are —I don’t know what— because the insultee took the insult as “silliness”? That’s why we have ambasadors and Secs of State. They supposedly understand other cultures instead of reacting like Eddie Murphy and his movie families. Possibly, it would have been better if he had left the room and let the Iraqs handle the situation.

By USinUK

December 16, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this

Maybe on your ride home today, all the people on your train will throw their shoes at you. THAT WOULD REALLY BE BRILLIANT. It would certainly make MY WEEK.

at first, this was funny … now it’s just fun.

seriously, chuck, you might want to get that halo checked - cuz I really don’t think your comment above falls under the “WWJD” protocol …

By Mara

December 16, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this

um…Gale? Do you have any idea what I was talking about when I mentioned “Aunt Bunny” or “Momma’s Boomerang Shoe”? I’m guessing not, cuz Momma’s Shoe caused Eddie to react quite like Bush did with the bob-n-weave.

And yes…I thought the shoe throwing was silly, regardless of how insulting the Arab world thinks it is. So? As contemptable as Bush is, in this instance I think he handled the situation fine. Would you have preferred that he get all ‘insulted’ and flounce away in a huff? IMHO it’d be like getting all hysterical every time the Republicans sneeringly call it the “Democrat Party” instead of the correct “Democratic Party”.

By Mara

December 16, 2008 12:22 PM | Link to this

USinUK - the punditkitchen caption was funny! Boy, wouldn’t that have lit a match though, had Dubya actually said it! :^)

By Throwback

December 16, 2008 12:26 PM | Link to this

*Possibly, it would have been better if he had left the room and let the Iraqs handle the situation. *

it would have been better if he had caught it like a football and thrown it back. Poor reflexes there, the first miss I could understand, the second not so much. He must have missed the first PREDATOR. Probably too busy drunking it up around then.

By Gandalf, the White!

December 16, 2008 12:37 PM | Link to this

BET THAT LITTLE RAG HEAD THINKS TWICE BEFORE HURLING ANOTHER SHOE! hehe THAT IS JUSTICE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND THAT’S WHY WE NEED TO TORTURE THEM TO GET INFO! MORE TORTURE! NOT LESS! REAL TORTURE IS THAT DRESS MICHELLE WORE TO THE ELECTION NIGHT PARTY! REAL TORTURE IS AN PODIUM WITH OFFICE TO THE PRESIDENT ELECT! HEHE STUPID PEOPLE GET WHAT THEY DESERVE.

By Jack

December 16, 2008 12:47 PM | Link to this

I think they should tie him down and make him smell the boots worn by 100 soldiers on a hot day.

Almost lunch. Time for some special stew and a side of baby wraps!

Good Day to All.

By Gale

December 16, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this

Mara, I’m not an Eddie Murphy fan, but I imagined that was what the comment meant (bob and weave). What I meant was that yes, we Americans would react that way to a thrown shoe. Probably an Iraqi would dodge it too. However, someone who understood it was a grave insult likely would not have called it silliness. Someone on our team might have explained it to him before he called it silliness. It looked like a complicated situation; something a bit more than a heckler from the security takedown. I don’t know. Given the situation, I think I would have been worried it was morethan just a shoe. Flounce awaay in an insulted huff? No, but I think he should have treated it with more seriousness. The Iraqis have reason to not like him. A more resoning response might have helped his position.

By USinUK

December 16, 2008 12:53 PM | Link to this

Mara -

USinUK - the punditkitchen caption was funny! Boy, wouldn’t that have lit a match though, had Dubya actually said it! :^)

you read it as a W caption?? I read it as a Maliki caption (mostly because of the expression on his face) …

By Gandalf, the White!

December 16, 2008 12:57 PM | Link to this

They sure have reason not to like Bush! He liberated thier country from a sadist war mongering dictator! Dam this Bush! KEEP out the BUSHes, mandate of the people put him in office. Twice as popular as his congress (they suck donkey balls!)…

By Jack

December 16, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this

“If you insult someone, and they either don’t know it’s supoosed to be an insult or they don’t really find it insulting…have you really insulted them? “

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make any sound?

If a man is in the forest and says something will there be a woman there to tell him he is wrong?

By Mara

December 16, 2008 1:24 PM | Link to this

Hi ya, Jack!! :^) Time for some special stew and a side of baby wraps! LOL, we haven’t had a good potluck since the old regulars packed up and moved away! <<hugs>>

USinUK - Bush or Milecki, I don’t think it’d really matter. The hyper-masculine Arab world would’ve had a collective apoplectic fit if either one had said that dude fought like a girl.

Gale - maybe. but, in my humble opinion, and with all due respect for yours, I think the whole dustup is much ado about nothing. Some guy tossed a shoe. Big deal.

GtW - BET THAT LITTLE RAG HEAD…

I’ve sent a request to the AJC to add this term to their filter. It’s offensicve and racist.

By Mara

December 16, 2008 1:47 PM | Link to this

Gale, if it makes you feel better Helen Philpot over at “Margaret and Helen” agrees with you.

Well, I would have written sooner but I couldn’t stop laughing long enough to type more than a sentence or two. Oh my goodness but did any of you see the incident with the Iraqi journalist, Muntathar al Zaidi, throwing his shoes at Georgie Boy? I gotta believe there are millions of us who have wanted to do that very same thing. It’s too bad Zaidi didn’t hit his intended target because he just might have knocked some sense into that thick Bush skull. Not to mention the lucrative Nike contract that surely would have followed.

Eventually I did stop laughing, however, because after the initial reaction wore off, I started paying attention to the gravity of the situation. In truth, it is not funny at all. Offering someone the “sole of your shoe” is considered a grave insult in the Arab world.

But even more sobering is what Zaidi said as he threw the shoes: “This is a farewell kiss, you dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.” And after he was knocked to the ground he continued saying, “Killer of Iraqis, killer of children.”

OK. I am not thinking it is all that funny anymore. How about you?

By Gandalf, the White!

December 16, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this

Mara, Raghead is such a descriptive and appropriate name for shoe throwers! I hope they don’t filter it! And remember boys and girls: “It’s not wrong to hate someone who wants to kill you”.

By Gale

December 16, 2008 2:42 PM | Link to this

Gandalf, that may be part of the problem, Bush really does want to kill Iraqis. No, no, I don’t think that, exactly. But I do think he doesn’t care that much about thier plight in the aftermath of “shock and awe”.

Mara, it didn’t bother me that you didn’t find the situation as serious as I do. We disagree from time to time and it is not that important. It is all opinion after all. Unlike Helen, (thanks for the alert that her topic had changed. And thanks, btw, for the pointer to that site.) my first reaction was not laughter. My first reaction was that many Americans felt like throwing things at Bush, but would never dis the office of the President in that manner. It was only after hearing what Iraqis think of that gesture that I decided it was a more serious matter.

By Jack

December 16, 2008 2:55 PM | Link to this

towel-head sounds better.

By USinUK

December 16, 2008 4:03 PM | Link to this

dear churck …

http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/ article/2008/12/16/AR2008121601754.html?hpid=topnews

please note. everytime you tout how “interest rates were at historic lows with Bush Senior” it doesn’t mean what you think it means.

low fed rates = economy circling the drain

(the exception being the 1970s - but that was because the Fed was following the traditional economics school of thought where low inflation meant high unemployment, a la the Phillips Curve, so they kept raising rates to curb inflation. they weren’t accounting for cost-push inflation brought about by OPEC … but that’s a whole different story).

so, next time you want to put on your short skirt and pick up your pom-poms to cheer on Papa Bush and his “historic low interest rates”, think about today, when the Fed lowered rates to 0-.25% and remember how a crappy economy made it possible.

to paraphrase my hero Inigo Montoya, “low interest rates. I do not think they indicate what you think they mean”

(side note: the interesting thing in all this is that Baby Bush looks to match his daddy’s unemployment numbers in the high 7% range)

By Gale

December 17, 2008 8:34 AM | Link to this

From the article USinUK noted: The Fed declined to explicitly cut its target to zero percent for technical reasons Amd I the only IT person who reads this as most software thinks a zero % entry is an error? Funny actually.

By USinUK

December 17, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this

has anyone else been following the Madoff case??

The investigation could thus include the relationship between Mr Madoff’s niece, Shana, and Eric Swanson, a former SEC inspections official she married last year. Mr Swanson left the SEC in 2006.

http://www. ft.com/ cms/s/0/ 92bd4c68-cbd7-11dd-ba02-000077b07658.html

GAH!

By Gale

December 17, 2008 9:45 AM | Link to this

As the FBI says, follow the money.

By USinUK

December 17, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this

Gale -

As the FBI says, follow the money.

between Madoff, Blago, and the whole Marc Dreier thing (http://www. nytimes.com/2008/12/14/ nyregion/14lawyer.html?scp=2&sq=dreier&st=cse), I find myself constantly needing to ice my jaw due it the fact that it keeps hitting the floor.

I mean, the absolute and utter greed … avarice … hubris … mendacity … it’s stunning. it’s the stuff of really bad movies where you sit back and say “now, come on … NO ONE would be that brazen” … and, yet, here are three prime examples.

By SaySo

December 17, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said the problems go much deeper. The Madoff affair “illustrates the lack of credible enforcement over several years by the SEC,” said Reed, who chairs the Senate banking panel that oversees the SEC. He criticized the agency’s “lack of a strong commitment to be vigilant.”

what would you expect from a GOP administration who cuts funding for the SEC, basically mandates a Ignore any irregularities and thinks it is the God-given right of people on Wall Street to rip everyone off and destroy the economy in the process?

By USinUK

December 17, 2008 10:02 AM | Link to this

last newsy bit for now … don’t get too used to that cheap gas … OPEC isn’t happy with $43/bl and wants to cut production

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top exporter, and other producers said that OPEC was considering a cut of two million barrels a day, or the equivalent of 2.5 percent of global production, to “bring things in balance,” according to the Saudi oil minister, Ali al-Naimi.

It would be the third cut announced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in three months, and comes on top of previous pledges to slash daily production by a total of two million barrels. OPEC producers account for about 40 percent of the world’s oil.

http://www. nytimes. com/2008/12/17/ business/worldbusiness/17opec.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1229526026-O8TzI4eT2qtCgzQrvzcgJA

By Gale

December 17, 2008 10:04 AM | Link to this

Mark Morford’s comment on the shoe *http://www.s fgate.com/cgi-bin /article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/12/17/notes121708.DTL (cut paste remove blanks)

This one is funnier and less sarcastic than many of Mark’s columns.

By USinUK

December 17, 2008 10:12 AM | Link to this

ahhhhhhhhhhhh … I was wondering what those screams and thumping sounds were … now, I know it was chuck and TOJ banging their heads against the wall:

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama has won another contest: He’s been named Time magazine’s ”Person of the Year” for 2008.

pooooooooooor St. Sarah of the Tundra … denied again …

By USinUK

December 17, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this

Gale -

This one is funnier and less sarcastic than many of Mark’s columns

fantastic read … thanks!!!

By Gale

December 17, 2008 3:06 PM | Link to this

sssssh. be vewy quiet. We’re hunting wabbits.

By Sunshine

December 17, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this

I know I shouldn’t do this here but oh well….

Report: Obama Team May Reverse Bush-Era Abortion Rules President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming administration has begun reviewing a Bush regulation that allows medical staff to refuse to participate in any practice they object to on moral grounds, including abortion but possibly birth control and other health care as well.

President-elect Barack Obama is looking to reverse a regulation being finalized this week by the outgoing Bush administration that allows health care providers to refuse participation in any practice they object to on moral grounds, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The regulation establishes a “right of conscience” that gives medical staff the right to refuse abortions and other health care as well.

The new administration will determine whether to cut funding for sexual abstinence programs; whether to increase funding for comprehensive sex education programs that include discussion of birth control; whether to allow federal health plans to pay for abortions

We are leaving the dark ages! Imagine, information about sex that includes info on Birth control! Oh the horror! (snark)

By Archie

December 17, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this

As for cheap gas, USinUk, it will get cheaper as long as oil companies believe Obama can make good on his threat and whether they cut production or tell us oil is so much per barrell they still price it as they please here in the states and they have clever public relations people to tell the public a lie that the public accepts. Even though interest rates are going down my electronics credit card is changing terms to become a variable rate card thus giving the right to go up at will. The gougers and thieves are always one step ahead because they know the truth and public just thinks it does. Many members of the public never thought gas would ever get back to 1.42/gallon but it did because that’s what oil companies want to charge. The public would be better served if we just said we don’t know how oil companies price their product but we need some protection under the law from gouging and then the oil companies can still make plenty of money but you wouldn’t have consumers being gouged at a whim.

By Gale

December 18, 2008 8:32 AM | Link to this

Gas price speculation? You betcha. OPEC says they will do something - the price of gas at the corner went up 5 cents overnight. Why? The price of oil is actually down at the same time the dollar is sliding down again. If anything, I would expect oil to go up. I think we have more control over this price issue than we give ourselve credit for. OPEC wants to change the supply? We can reduce consumption again.

By Gale

December 18, 2008 8:50 AM | Link to this

Sunshine, I don’t know where Bush got the idea that a pharmacist should be able to refuse to fill a birth control prescription because s/he is anti-choice. If the person is so unprofessional, s/he should find another line of work; research perhaps.

By USinUK

December 18, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this

Gale -

I don’t know where Bush got the idea that a pharmacist should be able to refuse to fill a birth control prescription because s/he is anti-choice. If the person is so unprofessional, s/he should find another line of work; research perhaps

and this is why I think you rock!

where did he get the idea?? a group called Pharmacists for Life - they’ve been around for years and have been really making a big push for the last 5 or so. you don’t want to distribute birth control pills or RU 486 pills - get in another flippin line of work.

I always wonder what the hew and cry would be if a pharmacist who was a scientologist suddenly decided that he didn’t want to fill any prescriptions for anti-depressants or anti-psychotics … would they be as vocal about their “conscience clause” then??

I mean, honestly.

By Sunshine

December 18, 2008 9:42 AM | Link to this

Amen Ladies! I just think the whole issue of pharmacist refusing to do their job based on a “moral objection” is nonsense. If you were hired to do a specific task, you knew that that task may involve medications that you do not feel comfortable dispensing then maybe you shouldn’t take that job? It’s like a vegetarian taking a job at a restaurant and then refusing to cook/serve meat? Ummm, you knew what we did when you got hired!

By Mara

December 18, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this

It’s not just pharmacists though.

According to a recent survey by the University of Chicago, 86% of physicians believe that they are obligated to present all treatment options to patients and 71% believe that they should refer patients to another doctor who may perform treatments which they themselves personally oppose. This means that 14% of doctors don’t believe they are obligated to present all treatment options and 29% of doctor’s don’t believe they are obligated to refer patients to another physician for treatment which they personally oppose.

As a result, tens of millions of Americas are currently seeing doctors who don’t believe they have any obligation to even let their patients know about all their options, much less direct them to a physician who can help them, if they have personal objections to some of the options in question.

and then there’re the emergency room nurses who won’t give out Plan B to rape victims.

Even though many state laws require hospitals to offer emergency contraception after sexual assault, rape survivors who go to Catholic hospitals may find that it is not, in fact, offered to them.

In New York in 2004, a 22-year-old rape survivor was denied the emergency contraception drug Plan B by a nurse who told her, “We’re a Catholic hospital and don’t do birth control.” It was one of a growing number of reports of hospitals denying access to this medication, which prevents unintended pregnancy.

Directives approved by the Vatican for all Catholic hospitals permit Plan B after sexual assault, but advocates say the hospitals sometimes withhold it.

Law enforcement nurses at some jails won’t either. -

[As] the premedical student… walked north…, she was grabbed by a man with crooked teeth and raped behind a building

After the assault, the man ran off. The woman walked to her car, which was parked on the University of Tampa campus. At 3:40 p.m., after finding her vehicle, she called police.

As police assisted her, taking her to a nurse examiner’s clinic, and processing her report, an officer found two outstanding warrants for the woman in Sarasota County.

…when the officer learned of the warrant, [he] cuffed her and placed her in the back seat.

The student had failed to pay $4,585 restitution after a 2003 juvenile arrest, McElroy said. Moore said his client is convinced that she paid the fine and that the warrant was probably the result of a clerical error.

{snip}

Jail records show the woman was booked about eight hours after the reported rape.

A doctor had given her Plan B, the so-called “morning-after pill” approved by the FDA, to prevent pregnancy. But Moore said a medical supervisor at the jail refused to let her take the second of the two pills on Sunday.

Too many people in too many jobs where their moral viewpoint impacts other people’s well-being.

Personally, I’d like to see even ONE instance where someone has refused to fill a Viagra perscription because they believe that if God wanted the guy to get a boner…

By Gale

December 18, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this

group called Pharmacists for Life Really? Who knew?

By Gale

December 18, 2008 10:47 AM | Link to this

Mara, re:Viagra. That just points out the sexist nature of many situations and the still overriding opinion in many corners that women are intended to be breeders. It doesn’t matter how it got there, breeding is natural and certainly no imposition to any real woman. Compared with the position that erectile dysfunction is a serious problem that merits insurance coverage. But hey, I’m just another hen in the henhouse clucking about the roosters.

By The Other Jack

December 18, 2008 10:52 AM | Link to this

USinUK

I was wondering what those screams and thumping sounds were … now, I know it was chuck and TOJ banging their heads against the wall:

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama has won another contest: He’s been named Time magazine’s ”Person of the Year” for 2008.

TIME’s long-held policy of choosing movers and shakers resulted in Man of the Year honors being bestowed on Adolf Hitler in 1938, Joseph Stalin (twice, in 1939 and 1942), and Iran’s Ayatullah Khomeini in 1979.

And didn’t Obama just appoint some big dog from Time as a member of his cabinet?

Ahhhh.

That long lost smell of decaying flesh and garbage.

Scandal after scandal.

Nothing they touch is on the up and up.

Dealing with lawyers, unions and crime bosses, truly the scum of the earth.

The term Good Old Boy Network was originated, talking about the democratic party.

The reappearance of the first family of American Royal fascism, THE KENNEDEYs.

The media avoiding earth shaking stories to protect democrats.

Fascist child killers demanding that doctors perform their deadly deeds or lose their career.

Union votes forced to be made in public in front of union thugs and fellow workers, doing away with the constitutional right to a private ballot.

Yes. I can definately see the parallel between Barrack Obama, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and The Ayatullah Khomeini.

Bend over America.

The democrats are in charge.

By Sunshine

December 18, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this

Bend over America.

The democrats are in charge.

In the voice of TOJ “the sky is falling, the sky is falling, hide your children the democrats will eat your babies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RUN!!!!!

By USinUK

December 18, 2008 11:01 AM | Link to this

DANGITALL, MARA!!!

I’ve been having a hectic / crazy / stressful week at work - and now you’re trying to get me even more riled. GAH, those people pi-sugar-sugar me off to no bloody end. who the eff do they think they are imposing THEIR morals on other people HEALTH CARE SERVICES???!!!

(going to my Cmas happy place, now) … mmm … Christmas pudding … trifle … sugar cookies … leftover turkey, stuffing and cranberry sammiches … Cmas tree lights …

By USinUK

December 18, 2008 11:16 AM | Link to this

TOJ / Truth / BCD / Kennedy -

*TIME’s long-held policy of choosing movers and shakers resulted in Man of the Year honors being bestowed on Adolf Hitler in 1938, Joseph Stalin (twice, in 1939 and 1942), and Iran’s Ayatullah Khomeini in 1979. *

… and they picked YOU in 2006. Other notables (since you seem to have a few holes in your memory) … The “Good Samaritans” (charitable rich folk / celebs), Whistleblowers, Pope JP II, Uncle Ronnie (twice), Eisenhower (twice), MLK, Jr., Queen Elizabeth II (yay!), Ghandi …

And didn’t Obama just appoint some big dog from Time as a member of his cabinet?

um …? no. (cabinet members as of today)

http://www. google.com/ hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5grbkxsqgj1jgjmex2KaPC-9FtE4wD954Q6F81

Fascist child killers demanding that doctors perform their deadly deeds or lose their career.

yep. that’s us. making even non-health care professionals do our bidding. mwahahahahahahaha

By USinUK

December 18, 2008 11:23 AM | Link to this

Gale -

btw - I forwarded the “things to throw at Bush” column to a couple of friends of mine … one of them responded with: “May I add to the list a cup of gumbo from New Orleans. Gumbo for Dumbo.”

:-)

By Gale

December 18, 2008 11:50 AM | Link to this

gumbo! Great addition. I wish I’d thought of that.

By Mara

December 18, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this

USinUK - I’ve been having a hectic / crazy / stressful week at work - and now you’re trying to get me even more riled

LOL! Sorry. Perhaps this’ll help restore your equanimity -

The outgoing Bush administration this week will finalize a regulation establishing a “right of conscience” allowing medical staff to refuse to participate in any practice they object to on moral grounds, including abortion but possibly birth control and other health care as well.

In transition offices across town, officials in the incoming Obama administration have begun considering how and when to undo it.

{snip}

Women’s health advocates also expect early action on the “global gag rule,” which bars foreign organizations from using their own money for abortion services or advocacy if they accept U.S. aid for family planning. This policy was instituted by President Ronald Reagan, immediately overturned by President Bill Clinton and then reinstated by Mr. Bush.

Mr. Obama is also expected to restore federal funding for family planning to the United Nations Population Fund soon after taking office.

…antiabortion activists are gearing up to fight the Freedom of Choice Act, or FOCA, which would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law. Mr. Obama said last year that he would sign the bill. Depending on how it is interpreted, the bill could overturn state laws regulating abortion, such as parental notification and mandatory waiting periods.

happy, happy day! Women. Being treated like they can think for themselves and make choices that are best for them. Finally.

By Mara

December 18, 2008 12:03 PM | Link to this

Sunshine - …the democrats will eat your babies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RUN!!!!!

ROTFL!! Rolled up in a nice flour tortilla with a dash of Texas Pete. With a side of Jacks Famous Stew. :^)

By Jack

December 18, 2008 12:04 PM | Link to this

the dingo ate your baby…

By Jack

December 18, 2008 12:07 PM | Link to this

I taught I saw a puddy cat.

By USinUK

December 18, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this

Mara -

happy, happy day! Women. Being treated like they can think for themselves and make choices that are best for them. Finally.

obviously we can’t … that’s why we have the “Stupid Woman” laws … ooops, sorry, I mean the “24-hour waiting period” (because, you know, we all just use those drive-thru abortion services without even thinking about what we’re doing)

and, despite what some people say (or what they’ve been told) - you can’t just drive up to a clinic and have an abortion on the same day. never have been able to. it’s just like any other doctor’s office - you have to make an appointment and wait.

By USinUK

December 18, 2008 12:16 PM | Link to this

Jack -

the dingo ate your baby… … one of the funniest Seinfeld episodes ever.

By Sunshine

December 18, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this

Since there is nothing but tumbleweeds here…Hubby just told me last night that we are having a Babymoon this weekend in Orlando! He has tickets to cirque du soleil and got a free hotel through CC points! I won’t be able to do any of the big parks but he said that is fine, we can go out to dinner, hang out at the hotel pool, do put-put and other things, ha! One last shin-dig before the baby! We are leaving tonight (he cleared it with work as a surprise!). I am soooooo excited!

By USinUK

December 18, 2008 2:09 PM | Link to this

Sunshine -

YAY for your babymoon - enjoy yourselves - (and tell your hub I said “well done!!”)

:-)

By Gale

December 18, 2008 2:19 PM | Link to this

Have a great time, Sunshine. The hubby gets major points for this one. Nice surprise.

By Sunshine

December 18, 2008 2:41 PM | Link to this

Thanks Gale and USin! Boy is it dead around here! Guess its time for a new topic!

By Gale

December 18, 2008 2:50 PM | Link to this

We only have this afternoon for a new topic. We have all been shuffling around since Friday.

By Gale

December 18, 2008 4:08 PM | Link to this

So, what do you think about people who steal Christmas trees? What I really hate are the ones that top a live tree in somone’s yard for their tree. That crime should be lots higher on the list from simple theft. Where I came from, people would spray paint trees to make them less attractive so theives would not destroy a beautiful tree, just to put it in their own living room.

By lozen

December 18, 2008 4:25 PM | Link to this

Oh yes, that long lost smell of garbage and decay! And the end of anti-American torture in Abu Graib. Scandal after scandal, forgetting of course Republicans tapping feet in bathroom stalls, men leaving their sick wives for younger women (McCain and Gingrich among others) and VPs milking our tax money with their Halliburtons, bank failures, and lack of any regulation to protect the citizens of the USA. I don’t know about anyone else but I think we’ve been bent over for the past eight years.

By lozen

December 18, 2008 4:33 PM | Link to this

Mara! I’d love hear of one pharmacist who refused to fill a script for Viagra because s/he doesn’t believe God wants every man to have a boner….LMAO!

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this

TOWEL HEAD, RAGHEAD, DUM BASS…this is a test.

By Gale

December 19, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this

Is that the same thing as a rag top, Gandalf?

By USinUK

December 19, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this

WTF of the day …

… so, I’m walking back to the office (been out doing a little Cmas shopping for Mr. USinUK) and I spy a bus ad encouraging women to get regular cervical screening (“Cervical screening saves lives” kind of thing). All well and good.

The picture on the ad: a 20-something year old GUY. Handsome in a scruffy way, but still a GUY.

Now. I know I’ve been married a while - and it’s been even longer since I’ve dated a guy in his 20s - but last time I checked, guys don’t have cervixes. (unless this is a new thing for the guys - kind of like tattoos or those earrings that gradually increse the size of hole in your earlobe)

Maybe it’s me - but, I think that if you’re going to have an ad about those “south of the border” parts, maybe the picture in the ad should reflect someone who actually, you know, has those parts …

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 9:15 AM | Link to this

Lozen, can you say bitter? :-)

By Gale

December 19, 2008 9:20 AM | Link to this

Hmmm, USinUK, maybe it is to remind women that guys are one big reason they are vulnerable to cervical cancer? Or maybe, they are telling guys, in a weird way, that it is ok to get that prostate screening because, hey, women have a test requiring surrender of their dignity as well? Or maybe, the people resonsible for the ad are just dumb.

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 9:21 AM | Link to this

EXPAT: Young Guys wreck cervixi! All young girls hook up all the time, so if you get your cervix wrecked, you need to get it checked out! Oh and Cmas? WTF of the day? Do you mean Christmas? Even Dickens got that right! “God Bless us all, everyone!”, and Gandalf carried the Christmas spirit in his heart all the year round. Don’t take Christ out of Christmas, Charles Dickens wouldn’t approve!

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this

YEAH, I JUST HEARD SUNSHINE IS OUT OF TOWN! THANK YOU BABY JESUS FOR MAKING MY CHRISTMAS WISH COME TRUE!

By USinUK

December 19, 2008 9:31 AM | Link to this

GTW -

Young Guys wreck cervixi

criminey, are those wrecking balls in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me???

seriously, it’s also a screening for cancer (which is far more aggressive in young women) - which doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with making the beast with 2 backs (it can be linked, but isn’t in all cases).

either way, I think a pic of a young woman would be more appropriate - unless the caption is “SEE THIS GUY??? HE COULD BE WRECKING YOUR CERVIX” ;-)

and, yes. Cmas. don’t go all O’Reilly on me - it’s better than Xmas.

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this

Rag Top is what Nick Nolte wants to drive around in…Caddy only maked the XLR now (Correction, Cadillac may have made it’s last vehicle, the union has killed GM.) But Porshe and several European companies make tasty rag tops. Now import fact Gale, no man will ever be seen in new generation Beetle Rag Top, if that’s important to you, stay away from the Beetle. But if your patner likes it, go right ahead and get a VW. I am sure Sunshines girly man would love one.

By USinUK

December 19, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this

Gtw -

Even Dickens got that right! … funny … none of the characters went to church that day - church bells rang and all, but all Dickens talked about were feasts and parties.

just sayin’.

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 9:41 AM | Link to this

EXPAT CMOS is on your PC! CHRISTMAS is better that CMOS anyday, and more fun that Festivus! Isn’t there a new vacine for Cervical Cancer? I have boys, not girls, so I am not completely up to speed on that. Oh and Obama picking that preacher from Arizona, means he is changing his mind on baby killing and queerasfolk marriages, he is now pro change.

By Jack

December 19, 2008 9:44 AM | Link to this

Lozen! Thought you had left forever. XOXOXOXOXOX to you.

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this

EXPAT…did they not go to Church? Does Chas say that none of them went to church? Just askin’…it was kind of a given, the Church of England kinda had a monopoly at that time….

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this

EXPAT…did they not go to Church? Does Chas say that none of them went to church? Just askin’…it was kind of a given, the Church of England kinda had a monopoly at that time….

By USinUK

December 19, 2008 9:58 AM | Link to this

GtW -

Isn’t there a new vacine for Cervical Cancer? I have boys, not girls, so I am not completely up to speed on that.

there is a new vaccine that prevents the transmission of HPV which is one of the causes of cervical cancer. but, you gotta get it when you’re in the throes of puberty - over a certain age (16, I think), it loses its efficacy.

while I don’t think the selection of Warren was a move I can agree with, I see it as an easy way for him to reach across the aisle. it grates on me and I obviously disagree with the guy’s views, I can understand why Obama sees this as an olive branch.

unfortunately, he doesn’t realize that the right is only going to take the olive branch and try to ram it up his as-pirations.

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this

DEAR EXPAT: An excerpt from A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens: “He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted the children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows; and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk—that anything—could give him so much happiness. In the afternoon he turned his steps towards his nephew’s house.”

By USinUK

December 19, 2008 10:09 AM | Link to this

GtW -

Just askin’…it was kind of a given, the Church of England kinda had a monopoly at that time…

no monopoly, they - there were/are still a number of RCs about - and there was the beginning of Jewish immigration at the time, as well (folkses fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe)

but, no. he only mentions “keeping Christmas” as being kind to others, taking care of those less fortunate, being generous and loving. no mention of Christ / God / any other random assorted divinity or admonishments to “go services at least once a week”

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this

EXPAT: Isn’t this selection about Obama’s Changing? Changling? hehe GOD Bless us all, Even our Muslim friends. (see I didn’t say Raghead, or towel head, when you know I wanted to!)

By USinUK

December 19, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this

GtW -

An excerpt from A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens: “He went to church, and walked about the streets

I humbly stand corrected!! :-)

(I must have been far more focused on the great party that was going on at his nephew’s house)

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this

EXPAT! Christmas is Christ Mass! hehe you must have missed that. Christmas may have it’s roots in pagan beliefs, but it’s completely a Christian Holiday, celebrating the virgin birth of the Son of God. And Eb did go to church on Christmas morning!

By USinUK

December 19, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this

GtW -

And Eb did go to church on Christmas morning! you know, the more I sit and think about it, even the Cpt. Jean Luc Picard version of Christmas Carol had him going to services. So, I’m standing extra-humbly-corrected ;-)

me - I admit to being a lot happier about the solstice than anything else - it’s dark here at 4:30. And I’m talking DARK - not “getting dark”, not “dusk” - I mean DARK. I look forward to the days getting longer like nobody’s business. I can see why the early Christians co-opted it -

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 10:27 AM | Link to this

we debated this in a men’s group last night, so I am 1 up on you today on this subject. I believe that Dickens book is very faith based, my protaganist believe otherwise. I of course had to resort to crude insults about his heritage, but won. As someone named Vince once said “Winning isn’t the only thing, it’s everything!”

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

New SUBJECT!

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

New SUBJECT!

By Gandalf, the White!

December 19, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

New SUBJECT!

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