― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 21:28 (seventeen years ago) link
― nuneb (nuneb), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 21:36 (seventeen years ago) link
a. acacia Says: February 12th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Bob: (which is why you don’t see them publically having a fit over the gay-hostility of rap lyrics, another non-starter.)
I think you’re missing the main point: see, it’s off limits to attack another member of what I would call the Diversity League of America (DLA). There’s a chain of command here, with blacks, having suffered through slavery and Jim Crow, at the top of the DLA pyramid, basically UNTOUCHABLE (see Michael Richards). Gays are on the protected list, too. So they can’t, and won’t, run down a fellow member.
a. acacia Says: February 12th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Actually, change the above to VLA - the Victims League of America.
Yeah, better.
Buck Turgidson Says: February 12th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Maybe I’m insensitive, but I’m at a loss as to what was cruel about the going home with AIDS the lips joke.
― After two days in hospital I took a turn for the nurse. (Fluffy Bear Hearts Rain, Tuesday, 13 February 2007 21:43 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 21:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― Eisbär (Eisbär), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:03 (seventeen years ago) link
Directed by: Alex Cox. A gritty urban comedy featuing a young Emilio Estevez, about what happens when a shiftless miscreant decides to become a product member of Reagan's America. Numerous other deviants, criminal elements, and burn-outs from 60's liberalism are shown getting their just deserts. Features the heroic work of federal agents and scientists trying to recover a stolen weapon of mass destruction.
― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:07 (seventeen years ago) link
― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:10 (seventeen years ago) link
Directed by: Ridley Scott. An allegorical fantasy adventure featuring a young Tom Cruise as a free market hero trying to destroy the dark secular communism of FDR's New Deal(played by Tim Curry). This lush, timeless epic includes a riveting score by Tangerine Dream and teaches lessons just as relevant in today's War on Terror as they were back in the Cold War. Keep an eye out for cameos by noted movement conservatives Billy Barty and Robert Picardo!
― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:16 (seventeen years ago) link
Directed and Produced by: Clark Baker. In their own words, Democrats present their strategic philosophy for 2006/2008. Parental advisory: this film contains veiled sexual humor. (Comedy/Documentary, 3 minutes, 2006)
Jesus christ, the college republicans have taken over the term-end F/VS screening
― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― After two days in hospital I took a turn for the nurse. (Fluffy Bear Hearts Rain, Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:33 (seventeen years ago) link
His political resume thin — he served just one term as Massachusetts governor — Romney sought to turn that potential weakness into a strength, portraying himself as the best candidate to meet the country's challenges given his venture capitalist background and proven leadership in the public, private and volunteer sectors.
In doing so, he attempted to draw a stark distinction between his qualifications and those of his top Republican rival, four-term Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona, who is widely considered the GOP candidate to beat after losing to George W. Bush in 2000.
"I don't believe Washington can be transformed from within by lifetime politicians," Romney said, an obvious swipe at McCain without mentioning his name. "There have been too many deals, too many favors, too many entanglements — and too little real world experience managing, guiding, leading."
"I don't believe Washington can be transformed by someone who has never tried doing such a thing before, in any setting, by someone who has never run a corner store, let alone the largest enterprise in the world," said Romney, who added: "Talk is easy, talk is cheap. It is the doing that's hard."
Although he is not well-known nationally and hardly registers in public opinion polls, Romney is considered a serious candidate in the same tier as McCain and former two-term New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Both political celebrities rank at the top of most polls. All three are expected to be able to raise the millions needed for a strong bid.
Yet, all three also have taken positions that don't necessarily sit well with the GOP's conservative base that is pivotal in deciding the outcome of the Republican primaries. Romney also faces doubts among some religious conservatives because if elected, he would be the first Mormon president.
Romney, who ran as a moderate in a failed 1994 Senate campaign and his winning gubernatorial campaign eight years later, is trying to convince the party faithful that he is a solid conservative and sincere in his opposition to abortion and gay marriage, two issues critical to the GOP base.
As he tries to runs to the right of McCain and Giuliani, Romney wants to avoid being seen as a Massachusetts liberal flip-flopper, a label that led to the downfall of 2004 Democratic presidential nomineeJohn Kerry in his race againstPresident Bush.
Hours after announcing his candidacy, Romney addressed some 300 people who braved the snow to see the candidate at the state fairgrounds in Iowa, the first stop on a campaign tour of the early voting states that will end with a major fundraiser in Boston.
Romney's shift on some issues didn't bother at least one voter.
"I know he's changed his views, but I'm satisfied," said David Bowen, who works at an agriculture seed company in Grimes, Iowa. "He has more solid social views than anyone, including the other Republicans."
Romney, 59, was a businessman who spent years amassing a fortune by helping found a venture capitalist firm that invested in fledgling businesses and guided them to grow into healthy corporations.
In 2002, he triumphantly turned the scandal-plagued Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City into a success. As governor, he led Massachusetts out of fiscal woes without raising taxes and pushed through a comprehensive overhaul of the health insurance system.
He hopes his record of accomplishment across those sectors will trump any uneasiness conservatives may have about his right-flank credentials and any skepticism they may feel about his Mormon faith.
Some 24 percent in a USA Today-Gallup poll released Tuesday said they would not vote for a Mormon. Almost half in a recent Newsweek poll said the nation is not ready to elect a Mormon president.
In a coming-out of sorts, Romney announced his long-expected candidacy in Michigan, the place of his birth and upbringing as well as an important stop on the path to the GOP nomination.
Just outside of Detroit, Romney laid out his campaign themes before several hundred sign-waving supporters at the sprawling Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. It was a site chosen for its emphasis on ingenuity that dramatically transformed the nation.
The past meeting the present, Romney spoke from a podium in front of an American Motors Corp., Rambler from yesteryear and a Ford Escape Hybrid in the airport-hangar-like museum. He invoked the memory of his late father, George, who served as governor in the 1960s and made an unsuccessful bid for president.
Romney's wife, Ann, his five grown sons, five daughters-in-law and 10 grandchildren sat off to the side of the main stage as he spoke of the need to strengthen families.
"America can't continue to lead the family of nations if we fail the families at home," he said, adding that values and morals are "under constant attack" and promoting families where a mother and a father are in each child's life.
At home, Romney called for reining in government, making it smaller and less bureaucratic with fewer regulations, and giving power and freedom back to the people, in part, in the form of lower taxes, better schools and more available health care.
On Iraq, Romney reiterated his support for President Bush's policy in the nearly four-year-old war, although he did not name the president, and said that failure in Iraq "could be devastating" for the United States and could mean a future with far more military involvement and far more loss of American life.
Obama has easy trip to New HampshireObama, who entered the race on Saturday in his home state of Illinois, came to New Hampshire on the heels of New York Sen.Hillary Rodham Clinton. She faced criticism last weekend for not saying her vote to authorize the use of force inIraq was a mistake.
Obama, by contrast, faced little of that skepticism. Even his sharpest questioners began by offering praise and support.
"He hasn't gotten into specifics, but that'll come," state Rep. Jeffrey Fontas said after a Nashua house party with 60 activists. "It's early, so we'll see more and more."
That house party in Nashua brought questions about:
_An Equal Pay Act. Obama helped a state measure during his time in Illinois but didn't commit to a national version.
_Childcare. Obama said it was a problem; he didn't offer specifics.
_The USA Patriot Act. Obama is against parts of it but didn't offer an alternative.
Even while the first-term senator from Illinois didn't have specific solutions, voters in this first-in-the-nation primary state gave him a pass.
"He takes time, he answers fully," said state Rep. Melanie Levesque. "I think we need people who can bring people together. He can do that. We're going to have a tough decision to make."
Obama called for a national solution to health care but stopped short of endorsing or rejecting proposals for mandatory insurance. He said more young people should consider teaching but stopped short of specific incentives.
Later Monday, at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, Obama discussed Iraq. "Unless we bring that war to a close, we cannot deal with all those other problems I just mentioned," he said. "Not only has it resulted in the tragic loss in our brave soldiers, but it means we're spending $400 billion rebuilding Iraq with money that could have been used here."
Obama did outline an energy plan — a reduction in emissions, cap-and-trade plans for polluting industries, and development of biofuels including ethanol. He also repeated his stance on gay marriage — that civil unions are fine, but marriage is a religious bond.
"I believe that every American has basic rights that have to be respected," said Obama, who noted that his parents perhaps broke the law when they entered into a biracial marriage in the 1960s.
A member of the university audience asked about his appeal to social conservatives. Obama said one of the best lessons he learned in politics was that he couldn't make 100 percent of voters happy. He then noted his friendship with the Rev. Rick Warren, who leads one of the nation's largest megachurches.
And of course this has recieved a lot of attention:
Targeted blogger quits Edwards campaign One of the chief campaign bloggers for Democratic presidential candidateJohn Edwards quit Monday after conservative critics raised questions about her history of provocative online messages.
Amanda Marcotte posted on her personal blog, Pandagon, that the criticism "was creating a situation where I felt that every time I coughed, I was risking the Edwards campaign." Marcotte said she resigned from her position Monday, and that her resignation was accepted by the campaign.
Kate Bedingfield, a spokeswoman for the Edwards campaign, confirmed that Marcotte was "no longer working for the campaign." She declined additional comment.
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, demanded last week that Edwards fire Marcotte and a second blogger, Melissa McEwan, for remarks he deemed anti-Catholic. Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, called the messages personally offensive, but decided to keep Marcotte and McEwan on staff.
"No matter what you think about the campaign, I signed on to be a supporter and a tireless employee for them, and if I can't do the job I was hired to do because Bill Donohue doesn't have anything better to do with his time than harass me, then I won't do it," Marcotte wrote Monday night.
Earlier Monday, Marcotte wrote on her personal Web site, "The Christian version of the virgin birth is generally interpreted as super-patriarchal, where ... women are nothing but vessels."
Donohue called both Marcotte and McEwan "foul-mouthed bigots." He did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday night.
McEwan remains on the Edwards campaign staff. She did not return messages left Monday.
― PPlains (PPlains), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:45 (seventeen years ago) link
― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:50 (seventeen years ago) link
― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:51 (seventeen years ago) link
criticising religion != bigotry
"The Christian version of the virgin birth is generally interpreted as super-patriarchal, where ... women are nothing but vessels."
And men are nothing but cuckolds.
― After two days in hospital I took a turn for the nurse. (Fluffy Bear Hearts Rain, Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:52 (seventeen years ago) link
― Eisbär (Eisbär), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:54 (seventeen years ago) link
Directed and Produced by: Benjamin Wilbanks. A group of American Christians travel to Iraq to teach a group of Iraqis how to operate a printing press, and in the process discover that Iraqis are grateful for America's help and want freedom and progress as much as anyone else. "A Journey to Iraq" shows a side of the War on Terror that is rarely seen in the mainstream media. (Documentary, 43 minutes, 2006)
― Eisbär (Eisbär), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 22:56 (seventeen years ago) link
Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell. An aspiring young capitalist (John Cameron Mitchell) struggles to escape the communist Eastern Bloc only to be betrayed by a confused deviant youth who does not respect intellectual property rights (Michael Pitt).
― After two days in hospital I took a turn for the nurse. (Fluffy Bear Hearts Rain, Tuesday, 13 February 2007 23:04 (seventeen years ago) link
Right now, I'm leaning toward John Edwards in the primaries. He has problems -- a thin political résumé, a fancy estate at odds with his populist message, and a dated hairstyle that looks femme and foofy at a time when military buzz cuts and Caesarian close crops are in. But Edwards is a ferocious, knife-sharp debater with foxy, seat-of-the-pants smarts, and I hope he creams his opponents. It would be a relief to have an articulate president again...
I love the way Barack Obama has nimbly upstaged the ponderous Hillary machine. It's a Bette Davis/Joan Crawford bitch fest! But Obama's effusive gusts of generalities irritate me; it's all sizzle and no steak right now. He needs seasoning: 2012 may be his year...
On the Republican side, I've never understood liberal journalists' infatuation with John McCain, who's as mercurial as Hillary in his ideology-of-the-day. Those two are peas in a pod -- always dialing up the weather report and sleeping next to a window with their fingers in the wind. If Rudy Giuliani improbably wins the Republican nomination, which would require primary voters shutting their eyes to his liberal social views and checkered sex life, he would roll like a juggernaut into the White House on the strength of his macho authoritarianism in this time of war. Giuliani's got balls, but do we want this democracy drifting any further toward a police state?
http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2007/02/14/return/print.html
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 17:42 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred Soto (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 17:43 (seventeen years ago) link
If he can really channel the Wellstone thing, he has a shot.
― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 19:58 (seventeen years ago) link
Well Alfred, she also accuses A___ N___ Smith of having comic verve or something.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 20:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:05 (seventeen years ago) link
also, C. Paglia is no longer worth any of my neuronal function
― nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― Mr. Que (Party with me Punker), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:12 (seventeen years ago) link
― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:19 (seventeen years ago) link
― nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:22 (seventeen years ago) link
― nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:22 (seventeen years ago) link
― nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:24 (seventeen years ago) link
i'm glad paglia is back, she's always interesting to read. strangely i see the dem presidential field in much the same way & am def. supporting edwards right now, i like his straightforwardness and the fact that he doesn't have much to lose this time around, and i also like that he doesn't take obama's "transcend politics" approach which might sound nice but is arrogant and kind of insults the voters' intelligence, politics is everywhere and not any more/less dirty than anything else in life. hillary prob has too much $$$/organizational savvy for edwards to defeat her but you never know.
― dar1a g (dar1a g), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:40 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:42 (seventeen years ago) link
you rule out the possibility that he's playing left because there's no other way for him to get sufficient $ and primary voters?
― nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:42 (seventeen years ago) link
I am leaning Edwards for the moment... dar1a, how will you bear it if we support the same horse?
Franken tackled some heckler during the '04 campaign!
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:44 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:46 (seventeen years ago) link
his hem/hawing about s.s. unions has been discouraging tho.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:51 (seventeen years ago) link
It doesn't matter re: far-left appeal, the far-left isn't going to win you anything (most dem primary voters aren't far-left, esp Iowa, NH), being against the war & for starting to bring troops home is mainstream right now, universal healthcare has a lot of mainstream support, Edwards has a lot of ties to organized labor & has been working on building/strengthening them since 04, he's also by far the savviest in use of blogs/technology without showing any sign of letting that aspect of his campaign pick up and run away with wild fervor a la Dean. and like Iowa last time around I see him as.. having enough of his own support + being seen as a viable alternative by supporters of the other candidates, it could be a winning formula - he's not polarizing.
I wouldn't call Obama dead in the water but I don't see his campaign as having near the solid support of Edwards and expect him to be the Dean type flash in the pan this time around, albeit less likely to have a spectacular crash and burn
― dar1a g (dar1a g), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:52 (seventeen years ago) link
My ref to the far left/money angle was just in response to gabbneb's comment about Edwards' need for $$$. (I know the far left doesn't have a) a lot of money or b) the sole power to win elections)
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 21:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― dar1a g (dar1a g), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 22:01 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 22:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― dar1a g (dar1a g), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 22:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― nuneb (nuneb), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 22:07 (seventeen years ago) link
here's a link to the proposals
― dar1a g (dar1a g), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 22:08 (seventeen years ago) link
do you see Obama having this same problem? this is an honest question, I'm not sure myself.
"And to the extent you believe that he was 'taken out', the people purportedly responsible for same are part of the coalition lining up behind Obama now."
Well right, which is one of the reasons why I don't think he faces the same intra-party threats as Dean.
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 14 February 2007 22:13 (seventeen years ago) link