Thinking Right

By jbmlaw

January 22, 2008 8:07 AM | Link to this

Good morning all. I have no substance to add to Jim’s argument, other than I am the Nobody mentioned in the last paragraph. To offer a PoFoesque “style” note, I might have rewritten that final complex sentence, as it has too many worthy moving parts:

“Nobody advocates eliminating the federal gas tax – although someone should. The states alone have the competence to solve their highly-individualized congestion problems. Federal taxes and excessive uniform “guidance” on such matters as road and transit pricing options diminish the capacity of the states to cure their discrete congestion problems.”

By Shark Sammich

January 22, 2008 8:20 AM | Link to this

Yeah, there shouldn’t be a federal gasoline tax, because individual states have been so very responsible about building mass transit infrastructure and keeping their urban centers viable.

Just when I think Jim can’t get any more dense… (shaking head)

By getalife

January 22, 2008 8:37 AM | Link to this

The fed cut the key rate today before the market opens to try to save it from crashing today in a unprecendented move. Thank you.

Obama got a taste of what the gop will do to him if he gets the nomination but Edwards took over that debate trying to win his home State. Edwards won that debate.

Now back to your regular local blogging.

By GaVoter

January 22, 2008 8:51 AM | Link to this

Give me a break. The transportation issue and the means to fund it are just like too many other problems confronting our local, state, and fed governments. Politicians and special interests rule the day on topics that they have not a clue of what they say. MBAs and law degrees do no good in solving transportation issues just like they do no good in solving water, sewer, power, education, etc., issues.

By DemDems4Ever

January 22, 2008 9:01 AM | Link to this

Just when you think the liberals are as lemming-like as possible - along comes the Shark to re-enforce the feeling that libs are only happy when Congress has more of our money.

Eliminate the federal gas tax now. The waste is far more than the benefit. The more local the reponsibility for the traffic problems the more control the voters have over the outcome.

The libs have been successful in portraying Conservatives as mindless tax reduction advocates when the reality is that Conservatives seem to be the only people concerned with waste in government.

The deficit is a result of senseless spending, not tax cuts. The federal government revenues are at an all time high, but the earmarks and other waste simply dissipate the money faster than taxes can replenish the coffers.

By Curious Observer

January 22, 2008 9:04 AM | Link to this

Typical short-sighted thinking all around. Instead of looking at the symptom—excessive traffic—why not look at the disease, in this case an old-world mindset that dictates that every employee be in a certain work location, generally a downtown office or suburban office?

Of course there’s no traffic at 2 a.m. Almost nobody goes to work at 2 a.m. It’s the work traffic that causes most of the congestion.

One solution that will avoid tax increases and Washington-based solutions is the implementation of widespread telecommuting for workers whose jobs accommodate it. We harbor a widespread Theory X management mindset that holds that workers will be too lazy to get their jobs done unless some gorilla is standing over them. That mindset is the author of our own misery.

Take a look at what happens when there are federal holidays during which most commercial businesses stay open. The traffic congestion disappears. Yet, the federal government drags its feet about telecommuting. It too is beset with old-line managers who cannot divorce a centralized office location from the work to be done. Many commercial businesses also have jobs that could be done just as well from home.

But instead of looking at the cause of Atlanta’s traffic problems, we will continue to discuss nonsense solutions. There will be the usual cries for rapid rail, trolley cars, and increased highway lanes.

We have grown too stupid to look beyond the box. We would rather make the jobs of managers easier to accomplish and their prejudices easier to exercise than implement realistic solutions.

By Jeff

January 22, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this

How about we put people in power at the National level that support ZERO pork??

Why, that would mean that one would actually have to support the ONLY man currently running for President that has NEVER voted for pork.

And the AJC - even the normally clear headed Mr. Wooten - doesn’t want his name mentioned.

Why else would the AJC hide the fact that DR. RON PAUL BEAT JOHN MCCAIN IN NEVADA????

Mr. Wooten, don’t even try a defense of ‘but he was second place’. You mentioned Rev. Huckabee’s second place finish in South Carolina.

It seems that the only candidate that the AJC ignores is DR. RON PAUL. The ONE man who can bring our Government back in line with the Constitution and maybe even save our country in the process.

DR RON PAUL truly is the ONLY ‘HOPE FOR AMERICA’.

By Jeff

January 22, 2008 9:14 AM | Link to this

How about we put people in power at the National level that support ZERO pork??

Why, that would mean that one would actually have to support the ONLY man currently running for President that has NEVER voted for pork.

And the AJC - even the normally clear headed Mr. Wooten - doesn’t want his name mentioned.

Why else would the AJC hide the fact that DR. RON PAUL BEAT JOHN MCCAIN IN NEVADA????

Mr. Wooten, don’t even try a defense of ‘but he was second place’. You mentioned Rev. Huckabee’s second place finish in South Carolina.

It seems that the only candidate that the AJC ignores is DR. RON PAUL. The ONE man who can bring our Government back in line with the Constitution and maybe even save our country in the process.

DR RON PAUL truly is the ONLY ‘HOPE FOR AMERICA’.

By DemDems4Ever

January 22, 2008 9:16 AM | Link to this

Curious @ 9:04

Amen!

Just as more our money in Washington gives the Congress more power, there are incompetent managers who defend their jobs by having the employees directly under their thumbs.

All of this is about POWER and little else.

By Camus

January 22, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this

DemDems:The deficit is a result of senseless spending, not tax cuts.

Yes, largely true. Yet let’s ask…which party held control of both branches of Congress and the Executive for 6 of the past 7 years? Even Wooten has conceded that the Republicans are not turning out to be the sober stewards of the budget that the True Believers had hoped for.

But hey, the Republicans are the party of ideas! So, as we contemplate the tumbling dice of Wall Street (and the entire world economic market), let’s look at another Big Idea of the right wing…

Privatizing Social Security!! Brilliant.

Yes, who among us can bear the fact that we were not allowed to transfer administration of Social Security funds to the solons of Merril Lynch and Citibank? Surely, we would be better off…

And let’s not even get started on the trillion dollars we spent making Iraq safe for Shiite Theocracy.

Good times, eh?

By Peter

January 22, 2008 9:28 AM | Link to this

Wow Jim writes the states can solve their own problems…….. when are we going to solve ours?

Let’s see we have a two term Republican governor……. no solutions so far, with the roads, or the water situation.

By Shark Sammich

January 22, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this

States have a very poor history of solving tough issues. That’s why we HAVE a Federal government.

I know this stuff makes Republican brains hurty.

By Peter

January 22, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this

Looks like all of Bush’s Great policies are coming to a head……

Inflation, beat up dollar, out of control spending on a made up WAR, and the housing collapse.

Seems like George Bush is getting out just in the nick of time, but wait we have 11 more months of his nonsense.

I am sure he can muck thing up even more !

By getalife

January 22, 2008 9:50 AM | Link to this

Come on gop supporters. Your party needs you to buy some stock to help out the corps they govern for.

Nevermind, they are just starting to write off billion dollar losses and begging for billions from the Saudis and China.

The CEO’s need you to buy so they can walk away with your money.

Idiots.

By profit

January 22, 2008 9:59 AM | Link to this

Very soon the roads will be empty of all but essential trucks, as oil will be too expensive to waste on mere commuters. Saudia Arabia will announce within the next year that Matt Simmons was correct, their super giant field is in steep decline, and they must reduce their oil production immediately by 20%. This will be followed by the other Gulf oil producers and fellow opec members also admitting that they have misjudged their oil reserves by a factor of two at least. Remember, you read it here first……Who says Jim and the AJC are irrelevent?

By Redneck Convert

January 22, 2008 10:09 AM | Link to this

Well, seems to me we should just pave all of Atlanta over and put stripes on it. Maybe that will give us enough roads for a few more years. Just don’t raise my gas tax to do it. We can do it by making up the Old Folks Army like jbmlaw wants and using the Social Security money they would make. They don’t do nothing anyway but set around waiting for the next check to come.

Maybe we can get old Sonny to pray about the roads. It worked for the water problem. Only 30 days or so after his prayer we got a shower. It just goes to show prayer will do wonders. I bet if the Rev. Huckabee gets elected he can lead the prayer and all our road problems will be solved in the whole country.

And don’t send no money to Washington. It will never find the way back here. Just save up the money and use it to pave Atlanta over and chase Those People out and maybe use a little for the driveway from my trailer to GA 400. Anyhow, you won’t never get rid of guvmint unless you starve it out. That’s the conservative solution and I’m all in favor of it.

My buddy Jim Earl says the old-timey people didn’t use guvmint for the roads. The countys just named a few farmers to fix stretches of the roads. When it was your turn you got your kids and you out and took care of the gulleys and holes. I think we could go back to that. I would love to see all the libruls that complain about traffic out there humping it with a shovel and pick for a couple weeks. That would be a local solution to a local problem.

Anyhow, I sure hope the libruls stop working on the Global Warming problem. The way things have went the last four days or so, if Global Warming gets any worse I’m going to freeze to death.

Have a good day everybody.

By Peter

January 22, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

Looks like a good day for Rice to announce the US will send Billions more to Pakistan.

“BERLIN - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday the Bush administration will fight efforts to curb billions of dollars in U.S. aid to Pakistan while warning President Pervez Musharraf he must support and promote democracy.”

Gee we need to spend more money I guess…that would be American’s money.

I guess the Republicans should be excited to spend the money. I think in fact Republicans should have to pay more, since they think it is a good Idea to send the cash !

My proposal would be to send a letter to all registered Republicans, requesting more money from them, as the policies of the great Bush need to be implemented!

By Dennis

January 22, 2008 10:12 AM | Link to this

By DemDems4Ever January 22, 2008 9:01 AM “The deficit is a result of senseless spending, not tax cuts.”

Comparatively speaking, perhaps. On the other hand, not one time have the tax cuts helped eleminate any of our deficit(s) either.

The tax cuts have happened inspite of the deficits because you and I and the American people are seen as an unending resource of more and more “wasted” money.

It blows an intelligent mind when those who are well off enough without tax breaks get thousands returned to them, but some guy who get fifty or a hundred or two hundred dollars back thinks the goernment is really looking out for him on an equal basis.

Quite frankly, we need an entirely new congress and we couldn’t find a better place to start than with the two Georgia senators, Chambliss, who’s been nothing but a little wormy rubber stamp for Bush and, has run all kinds of interference against having the Bush administration investigated, and Isakson.

Peter @9:43, is exactly right.

You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it

By TW

January 22, 2008 10:27 AM | Link to this

Aw c’mon, Jim - how about something on privatizing Social Security?

By OneForTheRoad

January 22, 2008 10:30 AM | Link to this

I just sent some more money to Pakistan last week. I bought two more pairs of Levi jeans. I had to get a bigger size because of all the fattening breaded shrimp from China that I’ve been eating. It was a good deal though. I may be getting fatter off the shrimp but I won’t have to worry about getting sick anytime soon. Those shrimp had enough antibiotics in them to kill just about anything. The only other bad side is my increased transportation cost. I’ve noticed that it takes more fuel to haul me to WalMart whenever I need to re-stock on shrimp. Of course, when I take the back roads to WalMart on the dirt roads up here in North Georgia, I do get to bounce a few of those pounds off — just like in that commercial where those pounds are magically vibrated off. That may be why our bus load of school kids stay so skinny compared to the bus that goes by the county commissioner’s house. Maybe his kid doesn’t eat WalMart shrimp anymore and doesn’t need the dirt road to help bounce off the pounds. I wonder where they got the money to move up to the better food. Maybe he can get me a good paying job with good benefits too. If I lose enough weight from eating that good food, he might pave our road.

By Kevin

January 22, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this

So what wooten and jbmlaw were trying to say is: “Local traffic congestion remedies should burden only local taxpayers”.

There’s a clear danger when the Fed tries to ease fears on Wallstreet with rate cuts. It always causes stagflation: no growth and higher prices.

The correct move was a 1/4% here, another 1/4 in the spring, and if needed, another 1/4 in the summer.

The new fed chairman is a dangerous man, and a loose cannon, who clearly doesn’t know what he’s doing.

By chuck

January 22, 2008 10:47 AM | Link to this

Until the American People get fed up and institute a Constitutional Term Limits amendment on Congress, these problems will never get solved. Interstate highways were a great idea and truly enhanced national security. While there is a definite need for improvement and expansion of the interstate system, it should not be a POLITICAL issue it should be a TRANSPORTATION issue.

We also need to do away with McCain-Feingold which limits free speech. As it stands right now, ONLY THE CANDIDATES can control the message getting out in the crucial days leading to an election. As an American Citizen, If I want to buy time on a television or radio station to run an add for or against a candidate, I should be able to do that. Lord knows the so-called “news” organizations are not goingto tell the truth about candidates.

By Camus

January 22, 2008 10:54 AM | Link to this

The new fed chairman is a dangerous man, and a loose cannon, who clearly doesn’t know what he’s doing.

Unlike Greenspan the Great, who pretended to be above ideology but was in fact enslaved by his Randian fantasy? Bernanke can’t be worse than the last guy, though I admit that today’s premature recalculation of the benchmark smells like panic.

But the legend of Greenspan is a perfect example of how dangerous our know-nothing press corps can be. They lionized the guy despite clear signs that he was savagely inconsistent in his actions and that he often ignored significant economic trends (the tech and housing bubbles chief among them). His public pronouncements were the worst kind of pseudo-intellectual mush, and since our press can’t be bothered to actually think, they decided it was some kind of brilliant code. (Recall the fevered speculation on the thickness of his briefcase for more evidence that our press has the collective intelligence of a mushroom patch.) Thus was the storyline established, and few were brave enough to point out that the emperor of the fed had no clothes. A nauseating image to be sure, but why should Andrea Mitchell be the only one to suffer?

(A similar storyline is underway with St John the Straight Talker, who gets away with more utter nonsense than most politicians because the story line is set…John talks straight, so there.)

Oh yeah, Mr Wooten…please do tell us how investing SocSec funds in the stock market would be such a great idea. Enquiring minds want to know.

By Back Scratcher Watch

January 22, 2008 11:01 AM | Link to this

The Supremes, in a bold move that surprised no one, sided with friends of Kenny Boy and told the Enron investors who lost everything to go suck it. America is not about justice, and fraud is perfectly acceptable if you s—- the right folks.

By Apocalypse

January 22, 2008 11:01 AM | Link to this

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Barack Obama Wins Delegate Battle in Nevada

Statement from Barack Obama…

We’re proud of the campaign we ran in Nevada. We came from over twenty-five points behind to win more national convention delegates than Hillary Clinton because we performed well all across the state, including rural areas where Democrats have traditionally struggled. The reason is because tens of thousands of Nevadans came out to say that they’re tired of business-as-usual in Washington and ready for a President who can bring this country together, take on the lobbyists and special interests, and end the politics of saying and doing whatever it takes to win an election. It is the kind of politics that feeds our cynicism and distracts us from taking on the real challenges facing America – an economy that’s left working families struggling, a broken health care system, and a war in Iraq that must end.

We ran an honest, uplifting campaign in Nevada that focused on the real problems Americans are facing, a campaign that appealed to people’s hopes instead of their fears. That’s the campaign we’ll take to South Carolina and across America in the weeks to come, and that’s how we will truly bring about the change this country is hungry for.

Statement from Obama campaign manager David Plouffe…

We currently have reports of over 200 separate incidents of trouble at caucus sites, including doors being closed up to thirty minutes early, registration forms running out so people were turned away, and ID being requested and checked in a non-uniform fashion. This is in addition to the Clinton campaign’s efforts to confuse voters and call into question the at-large caucus sites which clearly had an affect on turnout at these locations. These kinds of Clinton campaign tactics were part of an entire week’s worth of false, divisive, attacks designed to mislead caucus-goers and discredit the caucus itself.

We will investigate all of these thoroughly and would encourage anyone who had concern about actions at the caucus sites to call (866) 675-2008.

By jbmlaw

January 22, 2008 11:11 AM | Link to this

Dear getalife @ 8:37 and Kevin @ 10:35, I respectfully disagree. No “key rate cut” will address the market’s concerns. The problem is not a need for more liquidity in the system – consumer spending remains at high levels - it is the looming “world’s largest increase in tax” the democrats proffer, i.e., the reversal of the Bush tax cuts. That adverse potential effect on capital formation destroys any prospects for avoiding recession, and no additional liquidity injection will help. This requires Congressional democrats to come to terms with the havoc they wreak.

Dear Curious @ 9:04, be very afraid, we agree again. Your post is brilliant.

Dear Dennis @ 10:12, I think you err, by a factor of 100%: “not one time have the tax cuts helped eleminate any of our deficit(s) either.” Indeed, I believe in every instance in my lifetime – 1962, 1983, 2002 - cuts in tax margins increased tax receipts. Of course, the Congress in place in each instance also increased spending, by as much or more. Certainly the anti-cut arguments have been wrong in every case, due to flawed “static analysis,” the assumption that tax effects do not cause people to change their behaviors. From a mirror view, is there any leftist who believes the abolition of the Bush tax cuts will increase tax revenues by anything close to the percentage of the tax increase?

Dear Chuck @ 10:47, an easier way (than term limits) to cure the problem may be to abolish Congressional pensions? I fully agree with your argument on freedom of political speech.

By Disgusted

January 22, 2008 11:16 AM | Link to this

Amen to Chuck! Get rid of McCain-Feingold. That way, if I have a million dollars and you have only ten lousy bucks, my speech is 100,000 times freer than yours. It’s not my fault you’re a lazy, free-loading bum.

By Glennie Bench

January 22, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this

As information on the Georgia taxes included in a gallon of gas - it is not 15.2 cents, but rather 18.5 7.5 motor fuel and 11 cents prepaid sales tax) PLUS another half cent underground storage tank fee paid to EPD PLUS whatever city/county sales taxes are assessed - up to 3% of the retail price before taxes - which makes the total tax burden on the consumer as much as 45-46 cents per gallon (fed and state). Before we go assessing more tax on our already expensive fuel, let’s evaluate the sense in charging sales taxes on gas (which means the tax increases every time the price of fuel goes up - a tax increase without having to vote on it and a windfall for our state) when every state around us assesses taxes one a per gallon basis only instead of a combined taxation of per gallon and per dollar basis.

By Kevin

January 22, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this

An excellent parry, Camus, and a fiendish foil to my lunge. However, Greenspan’s tenure marked the greatest prospertiy wall street and our economy has every known. The reason is that he was an immovable and indecipherable stone. Let the media read tea leaves, let the gamblers bet on the width of his ties. He spoke a language that instilled confidence. Investors were glad they couldn’t understand a word he said. It worked.

This new guy is too easy to read, and he’s going to come apart at the seams at a critical time, and I would buy CDs right here. Sell.

I SAID SELL.

By Camus

January 22, 2008 11:33 AM | Link to this

Épée, monsieur Kevin!

I still think the conventional story line on Greenspan is overly facile, but I cannot deny that the apparent prosperity during his tenure was impressive. Perhaps the current crisis results from the possibility that the Greenspan Prosperity was in fact only apparent, and that significant underlying weaknesses were papered over by his policies. That investors preferred obfuscation to clarity may hint at the underlying “irrationality” of the financial markets over the past 20 years.

But, as Glenn notes often, I don’t know what I’m talking about. En garde!

By Dennis

January 22, 2008 11:37 AM | Link to this

By jbmlaw January 22, 2008 11:11 AM Dear Dennis @ 10:12, I think you err, by a factor of 100%: “not one time have the tax cuts helped eleminate any of our deficit(s) either.” Indeed, I believe in every instance in my lifetime – 1962, 1983, 2002 - cuts in tax margins increased tax receipts.”

Certainly you’re entitled to believe that and I would read (and check) your statics - realizing, or course you are a busy man and do not have time to prepare a reasonable presentation to support your opinion.

“Of course, the Congress in place in each instance also increased spending, by as much or more.”

I appreciate you view that Democrats are not the only ones creating more spending and larger deficits.

“From a mirror view, is there any leftist who believes the abolition of the Bush tax cuts will increase tax revenues by anything close to the percentage of the tax increase?”

If you will read your own “lawyerly” question, you will see that it sounds good, but goes nowhere.

Given the present state of the economy (“recession”) the Bush tax cuts have not produced the promised economic stimulus they were promised to do. And you don’t have to be a lawyer or an economist to accept that.

Safe to say that had Bush kept his tax cuts, at least he could have used them to improve some of the infrasture here at home, or even provided our soldiers in Iraq with armor plating for their vehicles.

If we must have any more Bush tax cuts, the least we could do would be to tag them with the understanding that they will be used to invest in the economy within the U.S. borders, not in establishing or upgading corporations out of the country.

Americans need the work.

You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

By Glenn

January 22, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this

Camus,

I was unable to post when you put the question about the reasons for overcoming the national ID aversion. I believe that Brownback’s interest derived from his discovery of the scale of identity theft by illegal immigrants (excuse me; unregistered Guests), by their employers, and by those whom they may jointly or severally employ for that purpose. This may or may not have led to Senator Brownback’s disgust with the extent to which the Democratic Party runs interference for this traffic in stolen IDs, the better to “mainstream” a decisive constituency-in-the-making.

The tacit job of the GOP in this regard is, as you know, to run interference in turn for the employers, so for a Republican to attempt to shut down the trade is in my opinion fairly remarkable, especially given the factor you identify: the libertarian extent of the GOP’s privacy mantra. But nonetheless, I’m given to understand, by CA State Sen. Gilbert Cedillo—-who for some years has specialized in shoving DL’s-for-Immigrants in the face of the incumbent and immediately previous California governors—-that ID theft was the issue with the U.S. Senate.

I say “was”, because then came 9/11, which transformed the issue overnight. (And I really mean overnight, as the next day CA Gov. Gray Davis—-whom I plotted to recall, thank you—-made the unprecedented move of having Cedillo’s first successful DL bill withdrawn from his desk, thereby extricating him from the tragic decision between the need to secure the nation and the need to cultivate Mexicans in the hope that they would become Chicano Democrats one day.) Good riddance, Gray, you headless chicken!

From there, it’s a pretty straightforward story of how Brownback and his allies in both houses picked up bipartisan support for a national ID in spite of hobgoblins Orwellian. The new recruits on the Hill were not opportunists (on the contrary, they were willing for Brownback to preserve his priority); rather, they seemed to me quite obviously concerned about safety over partisanship.

Though I worked for Democrats at the time, on 9/13 I was asked by the GOP to provide a report on the role in 9/11 played by California driver licenses and ID cards. (Others were tasked to report on the role of CA public universities.) The FBI field office in Sacramento (immediately prior to 9/11, a covert operation set up to catch political criminals) reported to the Big Five—-the Governor and the four majority and minority legislative leaders—-that an Al-Qaeda handbook had been found in one of the cars the hijackers had left behind in an airport parking lot, and that the handbook contained, in part, detailed instructions on how, when and why to secure driver licenses, and in which states.

If I remember correctly, at least four of the 9/11 murderers (and two others now at GITMO) flew in to California—-two to SFO, four to LAX, I believe—on student visas and within days secured their CA DLs, while assuming the pretense of collegiate life. I think those events occurred about two years prior to 9/11. One pair attended San Deigo State, one pair Sacramento State, and the third pair, the state-run California Maritime Academy. The ones who flew on 9/11 had used their DL’s, as they moved East, as breeder documents to secure additional, updated ID’s, as well as bank accounts and lines of credit, well after the expiration of their visas. This, according to the Bureau, is what the al-Qaeda manual had instructed them to do.

It turns out, then, to be a bigger problem than meets the eye, that the 50 states should recognize more than 75 forms of state-issued ID (I’ve forgotten the exact number), including the drivers licenses of the 50 states, the ID cards of those states that issue them, and the DLs and IDs issued by the transportation departments of D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories.

Not one of them uses a biometric, which ommission is owing to one cause, the ACLU. The most common biometric is a fingerprint. Most states maintain massive datasets of the prints of drivers they’ve licensed, but these simply are not used, partly because of privacy concerns both perceived and actual, and partly because the equipment required to optimize the prints for security uses costs money, whereas the expenditure of public moneys for such a purpose requires political leadership from such cowards as former Governor Gray Davis, recipient of the Bronze Star.

But I’m kidding, Camus. I’m a kidder.

By chuck

January 22, 2008 12:03 PM | Link to this

Hey disgusted…back at ya. Can you tell me please how America is served by forbidding private citizens the right to run advertisements within 30 days of an election? I just don’t understand how “liberals” who claim to be the PARTY OF FREE SPEECH can support a policy that limits it…especially when the candidates themselves won’t tell the truth and news outlets won’t either.

If I want to place an ad telling people tha John McCain is WRONG on the immigration issue, I should be allowed to do so. If I want to place an ad talking about all the “Friends of Bill” who died under curious if not down right suspicious circumstances, I should be allowed to do so. If I want to get together with a bunch of my friends and sponsor an ad for a candidate, I should be able to do it WITH OR WITHOUT HIS/HER PERMISSION. THAT is what the founders were talking about when they wrote that amendment.

By Peter

January 22, 2008 12:06 PM | Link to this

Kevin I am not sure I agree with you on the out right selling …….even though I think the market will trade side ways and even down ward……

The banking sector is beaten up, and certain banking stocks are giving GREAT dividends…. good long term investments.

Plus the rate cuts will help banks create better profits.

By Apocalypse

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

Hillary Clinton is a liar and former Republican:

Jan 22, 2008 12:03 PM Subject: Hillary and her Lies!

A March 12, 2007 article written by Robert Novak sheds a very revealing light on the true sentiment of Hillary Clinton during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement.

Novak writes of one speech at Selma’s First Baptist Church on the 42nd anniversary of the “bloody Sunday” freedom march there, where Sen. Clinton declared: “As a young woman, I had the great privilege of hearing Dr. King speak in Chicago. The year was 1963. My youth minister from our church took a few of us down on a cold January night to hear [King]… . And he called on us, he challenged us that evening to stay awake during the great revolution that the civil rights pioneers were waging on behalf of a more perfect union.” But Novak’s article states that there’s a big problem with her statement.

The fact is, in 1963, not only was Hillary Clinton a republican, but she was also a staunch supporter of republican Senator Barry Goldwater, well known as a segregationist and one of the most vocal senators adamently against the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is why he lost in his presidential bid to Lyndon B. Johnson. Novak writes “…how then could she be a ‘Goldwater Girl’ in the next year’s presidential election?” He continues, “…she described herself in her memoirs as ‘an active Young Republican’ and ‘a Goldwater girl, right down to my cowgirl outfit.’

Novak adds, “As a politically attuned honor student, she must have known that Goldwater was one of only six Republican senators who joined Southern Democratic segregationists opposing the historic voting rights act of 1964 inspired by King. Hillary headed the Young Republicans at Wellesley College. The incompatibility of those two positions of 40 years ago was noted to me (Novak) by Democratic old-timers who were shocked by Sen. Clinton.

No wonder she and her handlers were tempted to imply the existence long ago of a young lady in Chicago’s suburbs who never really existed.”

She has worked extremely hard to hide many truths about her past, including ordering that her 92 page college thesis that she wrote at Wellesley College be ‘sealed’ and unavailable to the public, an order forced upon the college by Bill Clinton while president, although all senior thesis’ at Wellesley have been available for public reading for over 100 years, except one….Hillary Rodham Clinton’s.

By Glenn

January 22, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this

Mon Camusant, I hesitate to interrupt you while you are en epee, but I must drive a riposte of your suggestion that I say often that you know not of what you speak. I said so once, in fact, and that, with regard only to your insistence that the lawman Giuliani had vacated the presidential race.

You have been disarmed, sir, with no more than a four-inch radius. Now, relinquish.

By Camus

January 22, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this

Thanks Glenn. In depth stuff. As a more moderate sort of Republican, your embrace of the technology is not nearly as puzzling as the neo-Birchites who have suddenly embraced an all-observing government a la Orwell or Dick (Philip K, not Cheney).

I agree with your assessment of the aptly named “Gray”, btw, though I wonder if the subsequent Guvnah was a trade up, other than bringing a certain panache to Sacramento (which God knows can use all the panache it can get).

I kid. I love Sacramento. I expect to see it when I die.

By Camus

January 22, 2008 12:25 PM | Link to this

Tis true, mon ami Glenn, that you uttered your vile assertion but the once. However, claiming that you slander me habitually makes for a much more pleasing conventional storyline, one that gains more truth with each re-telling. Sort of like the myth of Straight Talking John or Rudy the Invincible, the Man Who Kept Going When History Stopped and Time Stood Still. (Though it appears that the Rudy myth is losing its legs. I will only be placated when this preposterous creature has indeed vacated.)

But really, I love Sacramento. Great place. I spent a week there one night.

By @@

January 22, 2008 12:31 PM | Link to this

Odd you should mention toll roads today Jim.

My brother, a libertarian (at heart) with no place to go in the US that is America, dropped by yesterday. He’s in business for himself. He’s a property tax consultant (mostly commercial) who does well in counties overrun by (D) politicians. He’s also a developer who is struggling with the recent building slowdown. Banking regulations give him gas, which fueled his drive towards libertarianism yesterday. He’s really put out with Bush and gas prices, but would rather live free than to die at the hands of a democratic president.

Anyhoo….yesterday he’s over here ranting and raving. “I wish they’d put a toll fee on every major road” he says—“that way I can avoid the gorge if I so choose.” His rant included some pretty colorful expletives which I won’t share here but…

as I gave him the little sister’s hug that he’s grown so fond of he said “Thanks for letting me vent.”

“Sure thing” I said….”any time.”

‘Ya know Jim…..although there’s still some ice outside my door, I left it open after his departure cause it got dang hot in my kitchen yesterday.

Not to worry though! He’ll be O.K. as long as he’s got me on whom he can kick his ideas around. I’m thinking about putting a sign that says Toll WAY at the end of my drive.

J/K….He ain’t heavy—HE’S MY BUBBA!

By getalife

January 22, 2008 12:32 PM | Link to this

Only one gop candidate has addressed the elephant in the room.

To cut deficit spending, we have to get out of Iraq.

All the Dems are in the correct position to cut deficit spending and stop borrowing billions and sticking your kids with the bill.

By jm

January 22, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this

Peter@10:10 - I wonder which country the US is borrowing the money from to give to Pakistan.

By GS Aplenty

January 22, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this

Nice story, @@, and “local” solution - ductus exemplo.

By Sophocles

January 22, 2008 1:54 PM | Link to this

Dear GaVoter @ 8:51, if your argument is that we should let the ignorant solve our problems, then I’ll agree - the genuine problem-solver needs no certification in my world.

However, I didn’t see any solutions offered in your post. I’ll assume, then, that you’re simply a disgruntled GED-or-less bedwetter who likes to rail about educated folk.

Sounds like education-envy.

By in a (grand) funk

January 22, 2008 2:12 PM | Link to this

zzzzzzzzzzz…

By Copyleft

January 22, 2008 2:19 PM | Link to this

It’s good of chuck to be such a staunch defender of the rights of the rich to control our debates and elections.

Because that’s the sort of “Freedom” our founders had in mind, ya know. Freedom to rule through wealth.

By getalife

January 22, 2008 2:20 PM | Link to this

Corporate will not give up power without a fight

It will get ugly in the general.

By Dusty

January 22, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this

Uh oh,

Scratch Huckabee off my list. I just read that he ate fried squirrel in college. Ya gotta draw the line somewhere!!!

By GaVoter

January 22, 2008 2:35 PM | Link to this

Dear Sophocles @ 1:54,

When I was paid to solve problems, I did just that. Now I am retired and I thoroughly enjoy the time to complain. How about you? Are you a problem solver or a complainer? Employed, Retired, or other?

If there are ignorant people out there that are capable of solving particular transportation problems, then I would assume that their ignorance is not so generic as you would have me believe. My inference was actually more of a reference to politicians trying to solve engineering, or other, problems that are outside their field of expertise. The assumption on my part is that the typical politician is more likely to have an MBA or equivalent business experience or a law degree and that these credentials do not equip the typical politician with the knowledge or work experience needed to properly study, for example, our transportation issues at this stage. Once the “work” progresses to the point of funding and/or protecting all parties involved, then it is time to call in the “big boys” for the next “big dig”. All the politicians need to do initially (assuming the problems to be addressed have been previously identified and prioritized by some means) is provide the funding to those equipped to do the studies. Of course, they also need to put some time constraints on those conducting the studies. Otherwise, they may be waiting a long time for results. I say this based on my own experiences as an engineer.

Granted, there is certainly a limit to what one can discuss on a blog. So, we must all make numerous and usually unstated assumptions. I hope this response helps to clarify my earlier post.

By Redneck Convert

January 22, 2008 2:41 PM | Link to this

I might of knowed Sister Dusty was city folk. Her comment about the Rev. Huckabee is plain old city dumb. Anyway, ain’t nothing quite as good as fried squirrel with squirrel gravy. Tastes a lot like chicken.

Also ain’t nothing like scouting out where the squirrels live in the summer, waiting till the first day of hunting season, and then going out to the place before dark and blasting away when the sun rises. Use to be, we would tie the tails to the car antenna just to show what big hunters we was. Only people to show up at school on the first day of hunting season was a bunch of girls. And a couple sissy boys. Probly Dusty too.

Vote for the Rev. Huckabee. He’s one of us rednecks.

By Dusty

January 22, 2008 2:42 PM | Link to this

Getalife,2:20

The best fight going on right now is the Hillary and Obalmy match. Bill paces up and down outside the ring. This looks like a ten rounder with Edwards taking bets on the side.

They are all losers. DING!!

By getalife

January 22, 2008 2:46 PM | Link to this

That was nothing dusty.

Your party has 250 million to attack in the general for their corporate masters.

Lazy fred dropped out and rudy will too after Florida.

By Dusty

January 22, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this

RedNeck @2:41

I always knew you were a little squirrelly and now I know why. You are right there with the nuts. I shoulda known!!

By Bubba Li Cious

January 22, 2008 2:48 PM | Link to this

Dusty @ 2:24,

Don’t knock it til you try it. Have you ever had fried frog legs? Tastes like chicken. Really.

P.S. I’m no relation to Red.

By Dusty

January 22, 2008 2:56 PM | Link to this

getalife @2:46,

Weren’t you bragging yesterday about your investments, etc. etc and your gold? You’re the one with the corporate master. Bet you didn’t invest in mom & pop stores.

Fred was just having fun. Rudy will go through Florida like Katrina went through N.O. Prepare for the deluge.

By Jeff

January 22, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this

Well, the Republican field has lost two more candidates… Duncan Hunter (a good man, but a Statist) and …..

ya ready for this???

FRED THOMPSON HAS QUIT!!!!!

Will the AJC FINALLY start covering the one candidate who actually supports LIMITED government based upon the Constitution?

Will the AJC finally cover the fact that this man beat JOHN MCCAIN in Nevada?

When, oh when, will the AJC finally admit that DR. RON PAUL truly is the ONLY ‘Hope for America’?

By Dusty

January 22, 2008 3:04 PM | Link to this

Bubba Li Cious,@2:48

Yep, Bub, I look a leap and tried frog legs. They were Chinese and those folks will cook anything. Their hors d’ouvres are probably squirrel. I wouldn’t eat their sushi until it stopped wiggling. I have my standards, you know.

By Vandstra

January 22, 2008 3:15 PM | Link to this

Are you all still talking? Geesh, get back to work already.

By Camus

January 22, 2008 3:18 PM | Link to this

Good news, Glenn. Lazy Fred has dropped out and Rudy has surged into FIFTH place!!

Feel the Rudymentum!

By Bubba Li Cious

January 22, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this

I know what you talkin bout, Dusty. Even my country stomach has a limit. One of the “Chinese” restaurants I used to enjoy was shut down because they were “found out” ifin you know whut I means. Dogs is made for huntin and pettin. Squirrels are for when the deer wont look into the light. Cats are fair game too. Like you said, they’ll cook anythin. The problem is that they can make anythin taste so dang good. Shore beats a bowl of cold grits.

By Jackie

January 22, 2008 3:28 PM | Link to this

The GOP has another mantra besides cutting taxes with that being privatization. They have leased a highway in Indiana and Illinois and rumor has it, they are trying to build the trans-Canadian highway from Mexico to Canada to allow unfettered access to the American markets. Georgia, especially Atlanta has proposed for years to continue to build highways. A few years ago , there was even an idea that would have had an elevated road all the way round I-285. Atlanta has the greatest commute in the USA; has one of the greatest pollution levels in the country; has more cars than people living in the metro area; has what is considered one of the worst commutes in the country. Building more roads will not solve the problem. Magnetic levitation technology was invented at GA Tech. Wonder why this technology has not been employed to build high speed trains from outlying areas? The GA state government is filed with partisans who believe that taxes are too high and government services are to expansive, therefore, cuts and more cuts are needed. The questions is, what happens when those cuts start to impact the economy? An example of this folly is the kicking and screaming about Hartsfield. Most folks don’t realize this facility is the economic catalyst of the entire Sunbelt economy. If Hartsfield were to be impaired, what happens to the economy? The second problem is water and the potential privatization of this commodity. If this item is controlled by those who are only concerned about profit, what happens when the motive for profit exceeds that of community needs? What happens to those eco-systems downstream and the attendant economies? The economy of scale is the best model to be employed, I would assert. Often, if we all contributes our dollars to the common good, the product may not be perfect, but, we have something to work with.

By Dusty

January 22, 2008 4:02 PM | Link to this

Dear Buba Licious.

Eating cats is going a “fur” piece. I wouldn’t even let my tabby read that.

But lately, I am getting suspicious of “hot dogs”. First they were beef, then pork, then chicken and now a MIXTURE (?)!! And all that red coloring. Can’t blame that one on the Chinese. Unless….is Hormel a Chinese name? The Spanish translation was “hari kari”.

Anyway, I put soy sauce on my hot dogs just in case.

By Sophocles

January 22, 2008 4:11 PM | Link to this

GaVoter, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa & I assume the penalty for any unsportsmanlike conduct.

My intention was to hear a solution(s) to the various transportation issues facing metro-Atlanta, Georgia, the SE and the US. I’m a mid-level business executive in financial services with no civil or other engineering background. Jim’s comments are certainly relevant to any metro resident, and I’d be interested to hear potential funding & alternative use solutions from those transportation-savy bloggers.

Shouldn’t we all just buy an Indian Nanomobile and get on with it?

By chuck

January 22, 2008 4:22 PM | Link to this

Copyleft @2:19

It’s not a matter of “CONTROLLING THE ELECTION”. It is a matter of taking the election out of the control of incumbent politicians who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. I’m not a rich man by any stretch of the imagination, but I bet I could raise a few thousand dollars among my friends to run an ad or two to tell the real truth about some of these despicable candidates.

Let me get this straight now, as a liberal you are in favor of LIMITING FREE SPEECH?

By Kevin

January 22, 2008 4:25 PM | Link to this

yeah, I got your oscar mayer, dusty, RIGHT HERE!

By JohnD

January 22, 2008 4:32 PM | Link to this

Dennis @ 10:12

Actually the tax cuts have always increased revenues to a point that would eliminate deficits only to have the Congress simply spend even more. BUYING votes is what the Congress does!

Scarily, on most of your other points I happen to agree.

By Dusty

January 22, 2008 4:33 PM | Link to this

Then put hotsauce & mustard on it and jump in a lake. LOSER!

By RealRep

January 22, 2008 4:38 PM | Link to this

Condolences to Thompson. The Presidential race isn’t for everyone.

Though McCain is the only other real Republican in the race, Mike shares his handlers’ concerns about his health.

Shame Giuliani doesn’t care about The South. No matter.

A vote for Giuliani is a vote for Hillary.

Huckabee ‘08

By DemDems4Ever

January 22, 2008 4:44 PM | Link to this

Profit @ 9:59

As I have posted here on several occasions,

In 1978(‘79?) when Aramco turned over the Saudi oil fields a report to Congress indicated Saudi reserves were 160+ billion barrels. Aramco had no reason to present false data.

Today the Saudis claim a similar level of oil reserves despite having pumped more than 100 billion barrels over the ensuing 30 years. This is not a misjudgement in their estimate but a calculated ploy.

In the 1980’s OPEC tied production to a % of known reserves and all of the OPEC members began to inflate their reserves in order to pump more oil.

We can only hope they are all on the verge of running dry as there are over 2 trillion barrels in the oil shale in our West. In 2005 President Bush authorized the geologic studies required to extricate this oil. This would make US reserves larger than the rest of the world combined.

The best part of all - the oil is on land already owned by the US government.

By Camus

January 22, 2008 4:57 PM | Link to this

DemDems,

If this is accurate, it would be truly good news, though it would forestall the inevitable need to become less dependent upon oil as the primary energy source. Still, it would be good news.

One point of concern. You state: The best part of all - the oil is on land already owned by the US government.

How long do you think it will take our govt. to transfer ownership to the oil companies at sweetheart lease rates? The recent histories of mineral leases are indicative of how this will likely play out.

Dem or GOP in charge, I assert it will make no difference on this. We have an increasingly corporatist government, regardless of party.

By deegee

January 22, 2008 5:00 PM | Link to this

Have you ever driven between Birmingham and Memphis? There is a new 4-lane highway that goes practically the whole distance. It is almost always empty. Getting to the highway is a bear because you have to drive about 60 miles of backroads through some small towns outside of Birmingham. But once you get on the highway you can fly. I figure some senator or congressman in Mississippi got the road for a present in exchange for a vote that was needed by some congressman in Nebraska or something. That’s how Washington does cost-benefit, decision making and innovation. I guess that the congressman that represents that 60 miles of backroads outside of Birmingham isn’t as innovative as the one from Mississippi.

By DemDems4Ever

January 22, 2008 5:01 PM | Link to this

Camus @ 9:17

Yes the Congress was technically in Republican control but that does not mean “in the hands of conservatives”. My post never mentioned the R’s or D’s.

Once elected members of both parties only take those steps designed to guarantee reelection. George Bush has not governed as a conservative.

In the years mentioned in another post, 62 and 82 I think, the Congress was in the hands of Democrats but the result was the same. Increased spending!

As for SS privatization you ignore the right of the individual to simply invest in certificates of deposit which out-perform the SS system.

Congress has deserted the American people on far more issues than you address. The elimination of control over the banks and credit card issuers, the more stringent bankruptcy laws that benefit only the aforementioned banks and credit card issuers, the less stringent controls over the utility monopolies, the failure to secure our borders, the failure to maintain oversight of the mortgage industry (in an attempt to make loans available to minorities unable to bear the responsibility) and on and on.

The collapse, or near collapse, of our economy will fall directly at the feet of the 535 Members (what a great word for them) of Congress. Elected to govern the R’s and D’s have instead only worked in their own best interests - not ours.

By GaVoter

January 22, 2008 5:02 PM | Link to this

Sophocles,

Unfortunately, I think most of the really good solutions still reside in Sci Fi land. It’s such a shame though that politicians have to resort to such underhanded tactics as “Elect me and I’ll fix fill in the problem here for you”. I get frustrated hearing some of the bull and I blurt it out from time to time.

By Mrs. RepubLady

January 22, 2008 5:06 PM | Link to this

Wha? Thomson…quitting? But but but… but… I thought he was gonna be our next REAGAN! Where’s our next Reagan coming from? Oh. My. Gosh. This is terrible!

By DemDems4Ever

January 22, 2008 5:08 PM | Link to this

Camus @ 4:57

I believe all you must do is “Google” Rocky Mountain oil shale, or US oil shale, or even Bush and oil shale.

The point of US ownership was that we will not then be required to pay royalties to the landowners, eliminating one level of cost. No doubt there will be leases to the various oil companies but we must stay on top of the process to keep Congress on the up and up.

A daunting task I admit.

By Glenn

January 22, 2008 5:11 PM | Link to this

If you love Sacramento, Camus, you are not the swordsman you once were. Not for nothing do Kings fans bring cowbells to showdowns with the Lakers.

What’s preposterous about Rudy? While I think it preposterous to attempt to govern NYC according to conservative principles, he did it, and made it work. He was given the opportunity to do it because he’d done what J. Edgar Hoover refused (probably because he was subborned over his private life) to attempt: he’d broken the back of organized crime. Consider the hoodlums in prison, and the others who died there. Think of how preposterous it would have been for any of them, in happier days, to have considered that creature preposterous.

And do not mention his getting whupped in the recent polls out of NY. It’s too painful, my friend. And those Brooklyn paisans take stuff like that a bit too hard.

But seriously, the NY diaspora in FL are more in tune with his law-and-order record, so we’ll see what they have to say. It certainly is looking like a mistake for him to have put his remaining eggs into FL, though, isn’t it? Very dramatic. Almost operatic.

By Camus

January 22, 2008 5:18 PM | Link to this

DemDems:Congress has deserted the American people on far more issues than you address. The elimination of control over the banks and credit card issuers, the more stringent bankruptcy laws that benefit only the aforementioned banks and credit card issuers, the less stringent controls over the utility monopolies, the failure to secure our borders, the failure to maintain oversight of the mortgage industry (in an attempt to make loans available to minorities unable to bear the responsibility) and on and on.

Amen to that!

Dang, Dems, you are starting to sound like a regular Daily Kossite!! Careful or Dusty will jump all over you.

And I’ll say straight up…while all of this occurred under Republican control of all branches of the Federal Government (incl. the Supremes, who have gleefully joined in the corporatist parade in the cable tv and Enron decisions of the past week), more than a few Democratic lawmakers were part and parcel of this giveaway scheme.I’m looking at the two Joes (Biden and Lieberman) as tops on the list, but there is plenty of culpability to go around.

Good thing about not having to pay the landowners any royalties…there is that much more margin to give away to the oil companies! win-win!

By DemDems4Ever

January 22, 2008 5:22 PM | Link to this

Camus @ 4:57

PS. We have used oil as our primary source of energy for approximately 100 years. For argument sake the time of the Wright brothers.

In that 100 years we have gone from being “earth bound” to outer space and back. Hard for me to imagine oil will be the primary source until we have no more. In fact, I read a report not too long ago that said oil is actually replenishing. I have no reason to doubt or believe the report

Of the billions of dollars, and other currencies, sent to the OPEC nations - what benefit to mankind has resulted? Any medical discoveries or environmental saviors or anything at all to benefit others?

Are there any Arab Nobel prizes for science or medicine? None that I know of today, yet although there are only 15 million Jews spread around the world ( a number I read but do not dispute) there are hundreds of such discoveries and awards among the Jews (and I am not Jewish).

There is apparently only one thing that is exported by Arabs - violence.

So, if the trillion barrel estimate is accurate and the OPEC nations are rapidly depleting their resources then the one BIG benefit would be the elimination of the money trail leading to the terrorists.

By Glenn

January 22, 2008 5:28 PM | Link to this

So there I was, pondering GaVoter’s assertion that lawyers can’t help with transportation problems, and so I sez to myself, I sez “Self,” I sez? Sez, “Self, you got to get your Self a Ph.D. in Transportation Planning from Ann Arbor or Berkeley or MIT or one of them places, ‘cause you could write your own ticket in this state.” So I’m thinking, I ought to go down to the library next time it’s open for business, and check out one of those memory books the smart people use to cram for their equivalency exam. Then it’s off to Michigan for me! Ka-ching!

By Camus

January 22, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this

I’ll admit that my use of “preposterous” may have verged on the operatic, too. But I’d suggest that his near-hysterical invocation of 911 in his major advertising efforts rises only to the level of light comic opera, at best. Really awful stuff that sounds like it was written by a drunken pulp novelist.

“When the world wavered, and history hesitated, Rudy never did.”

History hesitated? It must have been a dark and stormy night.

I would not dream of citing today’s polls that put Rudy in fourth place in Florida. It would be impolitic (sic).

By the way, Mister Wooten…could tomorrow’s column be about how great it would be to have SocSec funds invested in our financial markets? Pretty please? It’s topical, it’s Right Thinking, and it would be a barrel of fun, don’t you think?

By DemDems4Ever

January 22, 2008 5:35 PM | Link to this

Camus @ 5:18

I was trying to be so nice and then you have to “Kos” me.

I am definitely conservative but that does not mean I can’t recognize wrong when I see it - my complaint is with politicians who sell the voters down the river without a twinge of remorse.

Again, I do not believe who is in control matters one whit, the “Members” are in this for themselves. The “citizen politician” is long gone and bringing back a pride in service is the first step to regaining control for the populace.

The size of our federal government makes possible the shenanigans we must endure from Congress and the Executive Branch. Take us back to the federal government the Founding Fathers envisioned and in the process you eliminate the ability to disguise their tricks.

As a friend ends every email - REELECT NOBODY!

By GaVoter

January 22, 2008 5:35 PM | Link to this

I think the best reason for considering the oil shale as our fallback oil reserves is the fact that we won’t have to invade another country to gain access, deal with a dictator, etc. Right now, it’s just an expensive option not worth considering. Who knows what the future holds. I personally hope we find more environmentally friendly and less costly solutions to our energy needs.

By Glenn

January 22, 2008 5:41 PM | Link to this

That’s quite unfair, Camus. PoFo had nothing to do with scripting those Giuliani commercials. He did post-production.

Yeah, I find them embarrassing, not so much because they’re irrelevant to the campaign—-they are relevant, though his miscalculated when he though security would continue on the top of the voters’ lists—-but because they’re irrelevant to what I admire about him, which is his administrative record and his brave and winning commitment to the good old Rule of Law.

I haven’t yet seen that gaseous one about global suspended animation (which must be the World According to Gore again). I have nothing to do with the media campaign, though it’s the only place to make good money with Rudy. Twain, you’ll remember refuted the facile notion that history repeats itself, while he did conceded that it stutters from time to time.

We’d have to aks PoFo whether that line would work: While history stuttered, Hizonner alone could speak unhaltingly!

Not bad, eh?

A real vote-getter in an insipient recession, non?

By Glenn

January 22, 2008 5:50 PM | Link to this

Mm-m-mn. “Insipient” with an “s”. An insipid incipience, or a sapient one? And what role lipids? You’d have to be a sipper to buy that sop.

I agree that the “Members” are always, after a fortnight of their swearing in, out for themselves—-and usually are so many moons prior to that. I think we can do no wrong with “Throw the Rascals Out”, unless we go so far as to deny the minority the right to vote to keep a veteran in. Sometimes even rascals can know what they’re doing. I take that to be the gist of the tributes to Tom Murphy, for example. That kind of mastery just takes awhile. Unless you’re Abraham Lincoln.

Fortunately we’ve got plenty of those on hand.

getalife,

Why do I get the impression that you pine for a single-party system?

[Rudy 08]

By DemDems4Ever

January 22, 2008 6:04 PM | Link to this

GaVoter @ 5:35

The original argument against extracting the oil in Colorado’s shale was the expense. The price of oil at the time would not support the $35-40 per barrel cost.

Now with oil at $100 per barrel the cost is not relevant. In addition, time has allowed for development of environmentally friendly means to extract the oil without the destruction to the landscape seen in Canada.

To assert “this is just an expensive option not worth considering” simply reeks of a lack of knowledge of the process. Study and come back later.

By Dusty

January 22, 2008 6:11 PM | Link to this

Glenn@ 5:41

You don’t have to worry about getting that PhD. Gena Abraham is now head of DOT and just happens to have a PhD from Tech.

Now that may not please Camus and others who sit home with their knitting and know how to run the world. But thought you might like to know.

I ‘ve been a bit bored today, even resorting to fried squirrel. Must be the weather. They were giving recipes for carmelized sugar over at Luckovich’s. Even PoFo aka Kevin was dull. More sunshine!! Less black ice!!! And may the libs take the road less chosen in politics!!

By Camus

January 23, 2008 8:27 AM | Link to this

Jim must be hard at work on his column extolling the virtues of investing SocSec funds in the financial markets. Either that or he is mourning the departure of Lazy Fred (aka the New Reagan) from the stage.

By Copyleft

January 23, 2008 8:37 AM | Link to this

Dusty: Liberals are already taking “the road less chosen” in politics; we’re focusing on integrity, honesty, and public service.

Isn’t that a nice change after seven years of Bush?

By Jeff

January 23, 2008 8:52 AM | Link to this

Copyleft:

Honesty such as Bill “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” Clinton?

Integrity such as Ted “Murdered a woman by watching her drown and did nothing to help her” Kennedy?

Public service such as John “A woman has a right to murder a completely defenseless human being” Kerry?

Gee, one wonders why the Democrats are having such a hard problem getting through to people with role models like that…

By GaVoter

January 23, 2008 8:53 AM | Link to this

DemDem @ 6:04PM, January 22, 2008,

Per your request, I have studied and provided an update to my response:

By GaVoter

January 22, 2008 5:35 PM | Link to this

I think the best reason for considering the oil shale as our fallback oil reserves is the fact that we won’t have to invade another country to gain access, deal with a dictator, etc. Right now, it’s just an expensive option not worth considering. Who knows what the future holds. I personally hope we find more environmentally friendly and less costly solutions to our energy needs.

Please let me know if you need further clarification.

By GaVoter

January 23, 2008 9:20 AM | Link to this

Well, I for one think it is obvious that there has indeed been a failure to align supply and demand. If the road to work had only been properly aligned with my residence, then I would have demanded less. There once was a time when residences sprang up around the “work”. We outgrew that structure long ago. Now, we find ourselves in need of planning. Something that other cities have been able to accomplish as well as implement with varying degrees of success. I was impressed with Oklahoma City the first time I visited there. The grid layout did provide many alternate east-west and north-south routes. I imagine timing the traffic lights is easier now than it once was. There are also some nice rail systems in the US. However, they are certainly more effective in places such as NY city. I’d like to see what our new DOT leader comes up with for Atlanta — assuming she is not overly constrained with the politics.

By DemDems4Ever

January 23, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this

GaVoter @ 8:53

OK, no clarification needed.

You speak without facts, make ignorant statements not supported by facts and are otherwise unworthy of consideration.

PLAIN enough for you?

By GaVoter

January 23, 2008 3:45 PM | Link to this

DemDem,

Yes, your ignorance is in plain view.