Rossi appeared on Up Front with Robert Mak today. He was asked about the Viaduct, and whether it ought to be replaced with a tunnel of another viaduct. He said (and I’m paraphrasing):
That’s for the engineers to decide.
Really? It’s up to them?
Lordy!
Rossi doesn’t want to take tough positions…why should he, it can only prevent him from getting some votes.
It’s standard for the challenger to take such non-committal positions. If they commit, they’ll just be proven liars upon election anyway.
The righties want to attack Chris because she won’t take a position – other than letting the voters decide. Now I will wait to watch them demonstrate that they are all ass sucking hypocrites as they give Real Estate Broker (er I mean AGENT) D. Rossi a free pass.
The man’s right.
The last people that should be making this decision are Politicians & arm-chair hacks.
If the big dig (Boston) has taught us anything, Politicians getting involved in city planner and engineer jobs causes corruprtion, low grade workmanship, out of control spending as well as design problems.
Looooook OUT!
Here comes Dino-Sore for 2008!
3: Engineers can tell you what can be done, and what it will cost (with some degree of a margin of error, which increases if the project is delayed). Its up to the leadership (politicians) to decide which option to take, and how to pay for it. If they are afraid of political retribution for their decision, they can ask the voter to decide for themselves if they are willing to pay for one option over the other.
The problems such as that recently experienced by the Big Dig occur when someone tries to force too big a project to be done too cheaply. Corners get cut, eventually the taxpayers end up paying more than if the job was done right the first time.
Don’t worry about replacing the Viaduct. If Iraq continues to deteriorate, because of the insane decisions of our president, we will be spending so much on “security” and “the military” there won’t be anything left over for civic projects…. I challenge any of the wingnuts to name one decision the decider made on Iraq that turned out to be the right decision. Name one thing Bush did right in Iraq. (crickets chirping) By the way, I am still waiting for you wingnuts to answer question #1 of the 10 questions Republicans can’t answer.
Question #1 “”Can you name any major legislation they (Republicans) have passed, and Bush signed into law that helped normal Americans, and hurt the super rich, and large corporations.”
It has been 6 months, and you wingnuts have not came up with a single piece of legislation that helped me and hurt Warren Buffet, or IBM.
By the time we take care of the wounded, the Iraq War will cost well over 2 TRILLION DOLLARS, and this is if we leave today. This is not counting the interest on the money we borrowed to wage this war either.
What is really funny is the fact that Bush is at 30% approval without one single investigation…. Imagine what it will be when all his dirty deeds start being exposed by congressional investigations…… How retarded does one have to be to still believe in Bush.
So, as far as Rossi is concerned, the question is: Is Rossi (a) a political hack who isn’t about to take a position which could cost him votes, or (b) a complete idiot who doesn’t know the difference between engineering issues and public funding choices.
Anyone voting for any Republican these days belongs in a nuthouse. Dino included.
Dino ran on a “business friendly” platform. Of course he didn’t admit it was only fortune 500 companies he wanted to help.
When Bush took office he rolled back the corporate minimum tax, and gave 1.2 trillion dollars out in rebates to large companies.
My company didn’t get a single penny, while IBM got a check for 1 billion dollars.
Whatever a Republican (Rossi) says, believe just the opposite. You will be right more than you will be wrong.
re 8: Wingnut ideology stipulates that anything that helps the uber rich AUTOMATICALLY helps everyone else. The only other thing we can do to help them further is to change the adult diapers on their elderly, wash and powder their chaffed and sagging derriers and then lull them to sleep while gently singing Stephen Foster’s, “Old Black Joe”:
“I’m comin’. I’m comin’.
For my head is bendin’ low.
I hear their gentle voices callin’, ‘Old Black Joe'”.
That’s the type of bold leadership we should expect from a Rossi administration. Though to be fair, he probably hasn’t been paying any attention to the issue — or any others — because he’s too busy running for governor.
Imagine that, a wingnut with an intelligent answer. Life never ceases to amaze me……LOL
Hey, Smart Answer…there has never been any corruption in good ‘ol corporate America, I guess. So, who were those guys at Enron who went to jail?
So. I’m wondering who Dino’s Sec of Engineering will be.
#3 Let the engineers decide?
Engineering firms have a vested interest in maximizing the size and scope of any project; both the rebuild and tunnel are viable and provide adequate service.
Which one do you think an engineering firm(s)/contractor(s) partnership will decide upon, if given the choice?
Goldy …
Having a mind, an OPEN mind.
WADR ….
Gregoire did badly in the last election because ????
Now she needs to run again. What has she done that will get her re-elected?
1. Invested an unprecedented amount of her time traveling on behalf of WA state businesses .. the net effect being a lot of debts that should translate into campaign $$$.
2. Sponsored a naive education review that came up with a gutless report. Followed by a knee jerk recommendation for funding lacking any long term plan.
3. Side stepped issues:
…the viaduct, privitization of the UW, unionization of the state colleges, immigration policy, tax reform ..yada yada.
Basically, she has failed to build much of a record to SELL to the public. If I were Rossi .. herw eould be MY issues:
1. Real education reform, with a budget, state wide charter school legisalation.
2. State immigration policy. PRO business, anti illegals.
3. Viaduct decision … ANY decision.
The I would attack her travel.
Rossi’s biggest albatross is the Bushbird. That may well be gone. She/He may be running in a McCain::Obama race that will be less one sided in WA state than 04. Or better for Rossi … Clinton:McCain. Gregoire’s smug sexism is a NEGATIVE. Not everyone admires the idea of an all female state ticket.
Gregoire is a political disaster. She is as hesitant as Locke to show leadership but at least he had the excuse of a less robust economy.
besides Smart Answer,
Hardly anyone thinks the rebuild is a better option over the tunnel when cost isn’t considered.
The tunnel will last longer, open-up downtown, and is safer during an earthquake. The only problem is that it costs between 3-5 times more.
There is only the slimest liklihood Rossi defeats Gregoire in 2008. She’s the incumbent. Eastern Wash may go to Rossi with the same margins as before, but W.Wash will tilt more towards Gregoire including KC. Maybe we can finally say goodbye to Rossi being ‘relevant’ after 2008.
Incidentally, what is wrong with paring down the viaduct solution to the two alternatives and letting the voters decide? Why is this not showing leadership? If she would’ve chosen any one of alternatives you’d be blaming her for meddling, choosing the worse alternative, or something else…
Rossi evaded the answer and I have no problem with that. Seriously, he’s in no position to form a truly substantive opinion in terms of implementing policy (he’s not governor); it would strictly be a personal opinion based on publicly attained information. That’s not news. Besides, politically he can’t benefit from choosing an alternative over any of the anothers but he certainly can be hurt by vocally taking a stance (any stance).
His response is a sound-bite response. Possibly poorly worded, but who cares?
BTW, I hate Dino Rossi.
How’s that first day of the hard working 5-day a week “new” Congress going??
Oh.
Wait.
the peHOsi is still hung over from her ‘you like me’ tour and they took the day off for…. FOOTBALL!!!
“Monday, January 8, 2007: The House is not in session.”
DEMS SHUT HOUSE FOR FOOTBALL…
DEM VOW ALREADY BROKEN: HOUSE SETS 4-DAY WORK WEEK
Democrats ran to expand the work week in the House to 5 days.
But guess how long that lasted?
Not even one week!
“Culture Shock on Capitol Hill: House to Work 5 Days a Week” front-paged the WASHINGTON POST in December.
Majority leader Steny Hoyer said members of the House will be expected in the Capitol for votes each week by 6:30 p.m. Monday and will finish their business about 2 p.m. Friday.
Explained the POST: “Forget the minimum wage. Or outsourcing jobs overseas. The labor issue most on the minds of members of Congress yesterday was their own: They will have to work five days a week starting in January.”
But on the morning after the night before, on the first full week of the new congress, Hoyer has pulled back from his vow!
A Hoyer press release boldly declares: “Monday, January 8, 2007: The House is not in session.”
Hill sources claim The House is taking Monday ‘off’ this week, because of the championship football game between Ohio State and the University of Florida.
And, of course, the following Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
100 hours…starting…soon … MAYBE
1. Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Christine Gregoire’s job performance?
Approve 43%
Disapprove 48%
Undecided 9%
9. If the Election for Governor in 2008 was between the Democrat Christine Gregoire and the Republican Dino Rossi, whom would you vote for?
Dino Rossi 51%
Christine Gregoire 44%
Undecided 5%
How soon will we see the madam (the woman in charge of a house of prostitution) illegitimate governor go off on a “trade mission” and miraculously come back without those ugly bags under her eyes?
hag vs handsome
That’s funny, DUMBASS at 19…
It says HERE:
http://www.surveyusa.com/clien.....4e08492815
…that as of 121106 55% Approval (UP from 34% 051505).
Too bad.
LOSER.
ICK and blech
Oh yeah…
That was Survey USA.
Shithead!
I stand corrected: I used and older survey.
You’re still a punk moron.
Too bad.
*an older survey
antilogic
Please accept my thanks for brightening up the slog that generally characterizes a Monday morning in January. Your posts lift me up by demonstrating how juvenile, banal, and dimwitted our opposition is. You even stoop to criticizing our governor’s looks. That is just priceless. Keep it up, you pitiful piece of shit.
OMG I actually linked to wingnutdaily.
My fucking computer’s INFECTED.
Face it asswipe.
Ms. G is the Governor until at LEAST 2012.
You clowns are FUCKED!
TOUT SOUMETTRE!
…And the BEST part is that you did it to YOURSELVES.
NO ONE trusts the Republican Party anymore.
No cred….on ANYTHING.
Thank the Chickenshit in Chief for THAT.
Then thank the DINO-SORE for being the biggest political train-wreck since Ellen Craswell.
Good luck Bucko!!
NOT.
Well nanny nanny boo boo to you, too.
What a fricken’ TOOL.
Pelosi vows big results from Democrats:
WASHINGTON – Newly minted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged Friday that voters would see big results from the Democratic majority in Congress. “It’s going to be wonderful for the American people,” she said.
“It’s such an exciting thing — we’ve come a long way,” an elated Pelosi said at an open house breakfast on Capitol Hill where hundreds of supporters cheered her election as the first woman ever to serve as House speaker, two steps from the presidency. Pelosi, sworn-in on Thursday, presides over the first Democratic majority since 1994.
Pelosi vows big results from Democrats: “It’s going to be wonderful for the American people,” she said.
Markets:
Dow: -0.2%
Nasdaq: +0.0%
antilogic
Why do you hate strong women so much? Do strong women aggravate the insecurities you have stemming from your inability to have an erection (unless aided by Cialis or a portrait of Dino Rossi)?
@1 Uh … Thomas … we’re talking about $1.5 BILLION dollars here. A politician who won’t tell us whether he’s for or against spending an extra $1.5 BILLION on one (count ’em — ONE) (1) local transportation project doesn’t deserve our trust, let alone our vote!
@3 Wrong! The last people who should be deciding whether to spend $1.5 BILLION of other people’s money are engineers.
@3 (continued) So let me get this straight, Mr. “smart” guy. You think people who were not elected by anyone should decide whether to spend our money while people we elect to represent us, who are accountable to us at the polls, should have no say?
And you call yourself “smart”? Not.
THIS is why we need protection against BIG BUSINESS.
(from the BondDad Blog. Economics. A former bond trader.)
http://bonddad.blogspot.com/20.....-salt.html
@7 Both of the above; and, in addition, a poseur, dilletante, and gadfly.
New Muslim congressman avoids loyalty questions
Ellison had been greeted by shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar!’ from campaigners
When the first Muslim congressman in U.S. history, Keith Ellison (Hakim-Mohammed) of Minnesota, won the 2006 election and was making the regular thank-you-to-my-supporters speech, he allowed his fans to shout, “Allahu Akbar!,” the same phrase allegedly used by the 9/11 suicide pilots.
Since November he’s addressed various different Islamic groups and organizations, and he’s used the Quran to be sworn into office. He’s also been linked to Islamic organizations with questionable agendas.
What he hasn’t done is respond to requests to confirm that he will, in fact, base his decisions on the laws of the United States on the U.S. Constitution, not the Quran.
It was during his campaign that he raised the issue of his Islamic beliefs himself, and confirmed then that they would play a large role in his decision-making process:
“I am inspired by the Quran’s message of encompassing divine love, and a deep faith guides my life every day,” he wrote in his promotional materials.
He later told a group meeting in Detroit that, “I’m not here to be a preacher, but in terms of political agenda items, my faith informs these things.”
Rick Jauert, a spokesman for the congressman, was reached at his campaign headquarters in Minnesota two weeks ago, and confirmed that the congressman does not believe there will be a conflict between his religious beliefs and his duty under the U.S. Constitution.
But when asked which would take priority if there is a conflict, or to describe how the congressman will resolve the differing philosophies provided by the U.S. Constitution and the Quran, which calls for beheading “infidels,” he said he could not answer immediately.
In a campaign document talking about his faith, Ellison said, “As a young man I was outraged and frustrated by the racism and injustice I saw in my community and the world around me. Those experiences propelled me to become a social activist, using my words and actions to draw attention to the very serious problems of inequality, racial injustice and poverty in our society.
“As I matured, I had to confront my anger and face it down. I eventually realized that it is easy to be a critic pointing out problems and failings, but it is a far more difficult thing to be part of creating the solution. As my father used to say, ‘Any jackass can kick a barn down; it takes a carpenter to build it back up.’ Eventually I understood what my father had been telling me, and I committed to being one of the carpenters.”
But he confirmed he still holds that “outrage” at the direction of the United States.
“No one can be a Muslim who makes or freely accepts or believes that anyone has the right to make or accept legislation that is contrary to that divine law,” Idris (American Open University founder and chairman who supports Sharia, or Islamic law) adds. “Examples of such violations include the legalization of alcoholic drinks, gambling, homosexuality, usury or interest, and even adoption.”
Ellison’s campaign also was backed by the Washington-based lobby group Council on American-Islamic Relations, a partner organization to American Open University-affiliated NAIF. CAIR held fundraisers for Ellison, a civil-rights lawyer and one-time acolyte of Louis Farrakhan who admits to making anti-Semitic remarks in the past (under various alias including Keith Hakim, Keith Ellison-Muhammad and Keith X Ellison).
CAIR’s founder has argued the Quran should replace the Constitution as the highest authority in the land. The group’s director of communications, moreover, has expressed his desire to see the U.S. become an Islamic state.
repeat after me:
“Allahu Akbar, infidels!”
He, Keith Ellison (Hakim-Mohammed) later told a group meeting in Detroit that, “I’m not here to be a preacher, but in terms of political agenda items, my faith informs these things.”
@10 “Though to be fair, he probably hasn’t been paying any attention to the issue — or any others — because he’s too busy running for governor.”
Are you sure? He’s been so quiet lately I assumed he’s been busy collecting rents from the tenants of his flophouse apartments.
@15 But you’re not Rossi — and more importantly, Rossi isn’t you. You’re smarter than Rossi, which is saying nothing. When Rossi had his chance to lead the state by writing the budget, all he did was …
a) Kick 40,000 poor kids off Basic Health, and
b) Try to slap a $200 monthly bed tax on indigent elderly nursing home patients.
If Rossi somehow (God forbid) became governor, all he would do is cut taxes for people who already aren’t paying their fair share. No transportation projects would get built; our schools would continue to deteriorate; our colleges would continue to close their doors to students who have earned the right to be there for lack of funding; and state agencies large and small would be run be partisan hacks with no management skills and a basket full of ideological agendas. Rossi’s second highest priority, after cutting state taxes for people who already pay minimal state taxes, would be getting science out of the classroom and “intelligent design” into the classroom. Rossi is a nothing, a zero, an empty head.
Oh.
Now I get it.
“anti-liberal” is the same psycho who used to post all the off topic wingnut shit. I can’t remember the handle (thank god).
OK.
@15 (continued) “Viaduct decision … ANY decision.”
You call THAT leadership? We don’t need to elect a governor to do THAT; a monkey could do THAT in its asleep.
As you’re so smart, answer these questions: If the decision is a tunnel, where will the money come from? who will pay? what mix of tolls, taxes, special assessments, etc. will be used? will homeowners in Pasco pay higher property taxes for the tunnel? how about homeowners in rural east King County? or retired homeowners in Auburn or Bothell who will never use the tunnel? what about downtown property owners whose property values will increase from improved views, should they pay?
@18 Wow. Should they repeal the New Year’s Day holiday too? Should NFL football be banned so congressmen work 1 extra day a year? Is this the issue you wingnuts plan to run on in the ’08 congressionals? Go ahead — I dare you!
@39 “allowed”? Since when can a congressman (or anyone else) tell a crowd what to say?
dear alcohol addled, brain dead, attention starved, stupid rodent and total ASS, can you tell me… exactly when were OHIO STATE and the UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, admitted to the NFL?
43 Auntie Looney is a professional spammer named Kevin Carns who is paid $90,000 a year by the BIAW from L & I tax revenues intended for injured workers.
“allowed” and more importantly NOT DISAVOWED
repeat after me:
“Allahu Akbar, infidels!”
ps: have you guessed yet that YOU are the infidels, morons?
@46 As a beer swilling redneck wingnut you surely know the answer to that better than I. After all, I’m merely a 16-inch-tall, below-ground dwelling rodent. But God help us if anyone ever asks you what’s in the First, Fourth, or Fifth Amendments.
Oh great.
So…you know when your kid comes home from school with the note about the HEAD-LICE and ya take ALL the bedding and wash it with the A-200 and you shower EVERYBODY with Rid and ya think it’s all over…
…then you find ANOTHER nit.
Well…
…jch is BACK.
Fuck.
@47 Weren’t all those “Allahu akbar” hotheads our FRIENDS back when they were sacrificing themselves to wage jihad against the Russkies? Didn’t we give them guns and missiles? And lots of money? Actually, I think they can make a persuasive case that God likes them better than us — after all, She gave them 3/4ths of the world’s oil.
Hey “anti-liberal=jch”…
…can’t wait till you LEAVE again.
Newsflash:
My kids NEVER came home with head lice.
Isn’t that a low class, low rent, public school malady?
I’d be willing to bet rujax knows the answer… intimately.
@51 I’m not an infidel. I worship the Rabbit Spirit who gave me my fur, pink ears, and cute cottontail. Want to lick my tail? Call 1-800-LICK-ROG for an appointment!
Newsflash:
My kids NEVER came home with head lice.
Isn’t that a low class, low rent, public school malady?
I’d be willing to bet rujax knows the answer… intimately.
antilogic
Keith Ellison has more respect for the Constitution than does your hero, GW, any day of the week. Unlike your hero, he’s even read the thing.
@56 Yes, I can see where YOUR kids would never bring lice home … YOUR kids would take it to school in the first place … they would be the source …
Indiscriminant fucking rodents carry lice as well.
Hey “jch”-
Ever heard of an “allegory”?
Dumbshit fuckwad.
re 41: anti-liberal: You need to verify this — or it’s just more wingnut BS. “Since November he’s addressed various different Islamic groups and organizations, and he’s used the Quran to be sworn into office. He’s also been linked to Islamic organizations with questionable agendas.”
What constitutes a “questionable agenda” in your opinion? No angry blathering, please. Just back it up or apologize for lying.
Actually, the reason anti’s kids never got lice is that no other kid will come near them. I’ll bet they smell like sour milk, or maybe piss.
63
It’s actually quite distressing to hear that anti has reproduced. The gene pool took a hit when that happened.
@5
“The problems such as that recently experienced by the Big Dig occur when someone tries to force too big a project to be done too cheaply. Corners get cut, eventually the taxpayers end up paying more than if the job was done right the first time.”
No… The problems with the big dig ocurred when Unions in the back pocket of Boston and MA State politicians contracted corrpupt contractors, who made as much money as possible off of these contracts. They charged for premium materials and then used sub standard materials and then cut every corner they could. Had engineers, not Politicians been in charge, this oversight would have been caught during construction, not when tiles started falling and leaks started forming.
Good try to make it sound like not enough money was spent. I’m sure that many of Teddy Kennedy’s friends and families had entire careers built on this project.
Yeah smarty-pants…
It’s ALWAYS the big bad union’s fault with you clowns.
Hey, auntie-lib, you should really quit embarrassing yourself. By equating Rep. Ellison with terrorists because of shared faith, you keep up the same old wingnut doctrine that anyone who isn’t of the True Faith is obviously some sort of enemy. By that logic, that would make every Christian representative, senator, et al., no different than the terrorists who killed innocents in the name of Jesus in Oklahoma City. Want a better analogy? Try the Crusades. History has shown that the holy warriors caused nearly as much death and destruction to the surrounding countryside on their way to Jerusalem, and then the indiscriminate killing continued, when they got there.
Such a typical wingnut fundie attitude. Makes me glad I abandoned the concept of organized religion. Go ahead, auntie, mock me, tell me I’ll burn in hell. Hell holds no horrors to one who never believed the lie in the first place.
@66
Not so…..
But your guys have been in charge for a long time… and the trans issues in this region are a consequense of your leadership…..trans policy (get people out of cars onto public trans) or lack there of….
Our Gov is more concerned with politics than public policy….(many politicians are.. not just dems) and that is unfortunate.
leadership is about making decisions that are sometimes unpopular, but for the greater good, need to be made.
Our Gov. tried to “punt” then revised her remarks, yet still hasn’t made a firm decision.
The gas tax vote was the referendum to replace the viaduct, fix 520 and other projects…To have Seattle vote on a tunnel is silly.
@16
“Hardly anyone thinks the rebuild is a better option over the tunnel when cost isn’t considered.”
well gee, if cost isn’t considered, let’s just buy everyone a personal helicopter and the training to fly them so that we can really get cars off the roads…
Nichols wants a legacy and the tunnel is his chance…
Again politics v public policy
…just what the fuck are you talking about?
Nimrod at 68 that is.
Government’s War Against Hemingway Cats
” … American novelist Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West for a decade in the 1930s, in a stone mansion on Whitehead Street with his wife, Pauline, and a six-toed cat named Snowball.
“Hemingway divorced Pauline in 1939, but Snowball stayed on. Today, about 50 of Snowball’s descendants roam the grounds, to the delight of many tourists who visit the Hemingway Home and Museum. But the cats won’t be roaming much longer, if the federal government has its way.
” … U.S. Department of Agriculture … inspectors say … the museum must be licensed as an exhibitor of animals, and … the cats, which sometimes climb over the wall surrounding the grounds, must be confined to the property. …
“The dispute has festered into one of those big-government-vs.-the-little-guy showdowns that involves a growing cast of characters, including locals in Key West, members of Congress, the U.S. Department of the Interior and, last week, a federal judge. …
Darby Halladay, a USDA spokesman, says … ‘[t]here’s always a possibility of confiscation … that is a remedy.’
“… Cara Higgins, the museum’s attorney, says that the federal Animal Welfare Act, which sets care standards for animals in zoos and circus acts, should not apply to the Hemingway Home. …
“The dispute began when a USDA inspector showed up at the museum in October 2003 …. Long negotiations and multiple inspections ensued … the agency rented a room in a guesthouse near the Hemingway property in order to videotape the cats.
“In a report of one inspection, on Dec. 1, 2004, the USDA noted that ‘during the inspection, a cat was seen scaling the fence and leaving the property.’ Another report cited the death of a cat … struck by a car after leaving the property. …
“The Hemingway Home is one of Key West’s most-visited attractions … many tourists come just to see the cats. Key West is known … for its cats … [which] arrived in … long ago with visiting sea captains, who employed them as shipboard rat catchers. Today, cats wander Key West. …”
Quoted under Fair Use; for complete story and/or copyright info see http://tinyurl.com/yhmarn
Roger Rabbit Commentary: According to KING 5 News’ noon report, the government has sent investigators to the museum posing as tourists, staked out the grounds, conducted extensive video surveillance, and filed over 3,000 pages of court documents. They’re probably setting up a prison camp in Cuba for the cats — they’re probably leftists and subversives, and maybe even terrorists, ya know? Isn’t it nice to know the Bushies are on the job — protecting us from six-toed cats. Looks like somebody has too much time on their hands.
Viaduct/bridges…Let’s pick a plan and get to work!
The point of this post was that there is a “politician” in the WORST sense of the word who has an opportunity to carve out a piece of dirt on an important issue and he won’t pull the trigger.
I don’t like Nickels a lot of the time, but he sticks his fat neck out at least. Gregoire will take a position from time to time, but the DINO-SORE is pretty much a useless p.o.s. Which is why he lost. He ALMOST weaseled his way in…and we would have had the small scale equivalent of the Chickenshit-In-Chief…but he lost, and he’s DONE.
Better get another horse to ribe in ’08, chumps.
BTW…
TUNNEL, baby!!!!!!
RR @ 71
Though not a big fan of cats, I recently visited the Hemingway museum in Key West, and found the whole scene quite charming. Six-toed cats had the run of the place. I suspect that the feds are targeting the innocuous situation because Hemingway was a bit of a subversive–he hung out with intellectuals, you know. The Bushites don’t like people who spend time thinking, and they don’t like writers, even dead writers, who might get people to thinking. So, they target Papa’s cats. Anything to keep people out of his museum.
“He said (and I’m paraphrasing):
That’s for the engineers to decide.”
I would like to know what was said rather than a paraphrase.
Egyptian Weekly Roz Al-Yousef: Bush Should Be Executed
On the cover of its January 6, 2007 issue, the mainstream Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Yousef featured a manipulated photo of Saddam Hussein’s execution, in which Saddam’s head was replaced with that of U.S. President George W. Bush (see below). The photo was titled “Bush’s Execution.”
Inside the issue was an article of the same title, by Shafiq Ahmad ‘Ali, accompanied by the photo and calling on the Americans to execute their president for the murder of Iraqi civilians and “as a true measure of justice, revenge and democracy.”
“Allahu Akbar, baby, Allahu Akbar!”
you muffin brained liberals need a bigger white flag
“Allahu Akbar, baby, Allahu Akbar!”
@28 so is your wife
Bad news, America haters and white flag bearers…
from the Kuwait Times
Iraq on the right path
Slowly but steadily, “80 per cent of Iraqis are creeping (back) to (normal) life.”
“Um Qasr, in the southeast extremity of Iraq on the Persian Gulf” which was deserted by the spring of 2003 is back to normal. “It is back in business as a port with commercial and military functions. “Hundreds of families have returned – joining many more who have come from all over Iraq.”
“The boom in Um Qasr is part of a broader picture that also includes Basra, the sprawling metropolis of southern Iraq”
“Newsweek has just hailed the emergence of a booming market economy in Iraq as “the mother of all surprises,” noting “Iraqis are more optimistic about the future than most Americans are.” The reason, of course, is that Iraqis know what is going on in their country while Americans are fed a diet of exclusively negative reporting from Iraq.” …and of course the white flag dems think they have power… no wonder Americans are negative, but I digress…
“Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the number of private companies in Iraq has increased from a mere 8,000 to more than 35,000 this year. Each week an average of 60 new companies spring up in Iraq ‘s booming areas. A good part of the investment in southern Iraq , including in Um Qasr, comes from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.”
“That good business is possible in Iraq is reflected in the performance of new companies, most of which did not exist three years ago. One privately owned mobile phone company is expected to report revenues of more than $500 million this year, a sevenfold increase in three years. Another private firm marketing soft drinks has seen profits double since the end of 2003. The number of luxury cars imported has risen from a few hundred in 2002 to more than 20,000 this year. The leading export of Iraq is producing nearly $41 billion in revenues.”
“But, judging by the talk in teahouses and the debate in Iraq’s new and pluralist media, most people welcome the switch to capitalism and regard it as an exciting adventure.
“Since 2003 the salaries of average Iraqis have risen in excess of 100 per cent. In addition the Iraqi government has slashed the income tax rates from 45 per cent to just around 15 per cent. That has resulted in the average Iraqi family being able to develop long term nest-eggs (we call them IRAs).”
78
Go live there, then, dumbfuck. You’ll enjoy the lack of civil liberties. You’ll especially enjoy religious authorities telling you what to do.
Anti-liberal at 57 says:
“My kids NEVER came home with head lice.
Isn’t that a low class, low rent, public school malady?”
Gee, my kids never had head lice either, and they attended school in the Edmonds and Everett public school districts.
But my co-worker, who’s children are in the Bellevue school district (you know, the one that had three of the top 20 high schools in the country), recently complained that they just received their THIRD report of head lice form the school.
It doesn’t take much for head lice to spread, and they don’t limit themselves based upon the income or class of their hosts. Once they get settled, its really hard to get rid of them, and they spread pretty easily.
But that’s not what you really wanted to hear, was it? You just wanted to throw out another insult. Facts are unimportant to you, only whatever insults you can throw out which support your preconceived prejudices.
I imagine if the decision is to build a tunnel, half of the population will be up in arms and demonstrating against the project. But, on the other hand, if they replace the Alaska Way Viaduct, half the polulation will be up in arms and demonstrating against the project.
Friday, December 29, 2006
End of Another Year…
You know your country is in trouble when:
The UN has to open a special branch just to keep track of the chaos and bloodshed, UNAMI.
Abovementioned branch cannot be run from your country.
The politicians who worked to put your country in this sorry state can no longer be found inside of, or anywhere near, its borders.
The only thing the US and Iran can agree about is the deteriorating state of your nation.
An 8-year war and 13-year blockade are looking like the country’s ‘Golden Years’.
Your country is purportedly ‘selling’ 2 million barrels of oil a day, but you are standing in line for 4 hours for black market gasoline for the generator.
For every 5 hours of no electricity, you get one hour of public electricity and then the government announces it’s going to cut back on providing that hour.
Politicians who supported the war spend tv time debating whether it is ‘sectarian bloodshed’ or ‘civil war’.
People consider themselves lucky if they can actually identify the corpse of the relative that’s been missing for two weeks.
A day in the life of the average Iraqi has been reduced to identifying corpses, avoiding car bombs and attempting to keep track of which family members have been detained, which ones have been exiled and which ones have been abducted.
2006 has been, decidedly, the worst year yet. No- really. The magnitude of this war and occupation is only now hitting the country full force. It’s like having a big piece of hard, dry earth you are determined to break apart. You drive in the first stake in the form of an infrastructure damaged with missiles and the newest in arms technology, the first cracks begin to form. Several smaller stakes come in the form of politicians like Chalabi, Al Hakim, Talbani, Pachachi, Allawi and Maliki. The cracks slowly begin to multiply and stretch across the once solid piece of earth, reaching out towards its edges like so many skeletal hands. And you apply pressure. You surround it from all sides and push and pull. Slowly, but surely, it begins coming apart- a chip here, a chunk there.
That is Iraq right now. The Americans have done a fine job of working to break it apart. This last year has nearly everyone convinced that that was the plan right from the start. There were too many blunders for them to actually have been, simply, blunders. The ‘mistakes’ were too catastrophic. The people the Bush administration chose to support and promote were openly and publicly terrible- from the conman and embezzler Chalabi, to the terrorist Jaffari, to the militia man Maliki. The decisions, like disbanding the Iraqi army, abolishing the original constitution, and allowing militias to take over Iraqi security were too damaging to be anything but intentional.
The question now is, but why? I really have been asking myself that these last few days. What does America possibly gain by damaging Iraq to this extent? I’m certain only raving idiots still believe this war and occupation were about WMD or an actual fear of Saddam.
Al Qaeda? That’s laughable. Bush has effectively created more terrorists in Iraq these last 4 years than Osama could have created in 10 different terrorist camps in the distant hills of Afghanistan. Our children now play games of ‘sniper’ and ‘jihadi’, pretending that one hit an American soldier between the eyes and this one overturned a Humvee.
This last year especially has been a turning point. Nearly every Iraqi has lost so much. So much. There’s no way to describe the loss we’ve experienced with this war and occupation. There are no words to relay the feelings that come with the knowledge that daily almost 40 corpses are found in different states of decay and mutilation. There is no compensation for the dense, black cloud of fear that hangs over the head of every Iraqi. Fear of things so out of ones hands, it borders on the ridiculous- like whether your name is ‘too Sunni’ or ‘too Shia’. Fear of the larger things- like the Americans in the tank, the police patrolling your area in black bandanas and green banners, and the Iraqi soldiers wearing black masks at the checkpoint.
Again, I can’t help but ask myself why this was all done? What was the point of breaking Iraq so that it was beyond repair? Iran seems to be the only gainer. Their presence in Iraq is so well-established, publicly criticizing a cleric or ayatollah verges on suicide. Has the situation gone so beyond America that it is now irretrievable? Or was this a part of the plan all along? My head aches just posing the questions.
What has me most puzzled right now is: why add fuel to the fire? Sunnis and moderate Shia are being chased out of the larger cities in the south and the capital. Baghdad is being torn apart with Shia leaving Sunni areas and Sunnis leaving Shia areas- some under threat and some in fear of attacks. People are being openly shot at check points or in drive by killings… Many colleges have stopped classes. Thousands of Iraqis no longer send their children to school- it’s just not safe.
Why make things worse by insisting on Saddam’s execution now? Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, naturally, but who else? There is a real fear that this execution will be the final blow that will shatter Iraq. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and quietly preparing for the worst.
This is because now, Saddam no longer represents himself or his regime. Through the constant insistence of American war propaganda, Saddam is now representative of all Sunni Arabs (never mind most of his government were Shia). The Americans, through their speeches and news articles and Iraqi Puppets, have made it very clear that they consider him to personify Sunni Arab resistance to the occupation. Basically, with this execution, what the Americans are saying is “Look- Sunni Arabs- this is your man, we all know this. We’re hanging him- he symbolizes you.” And make no mistake about it, this trial and verdict and execution are 100% American. Some of the actors were Iraqi enough, but the production, direction and montage was pure Hollywood (though low-budget, if you ask me).
That is, of course, why Talbani doesn’t want to sign his death penalty- not because the mob man suddenly grew a conscience, but because he doesn’t want to be the one who does the hanging- he won’t be able to travel far away enough if he does that.
Maliki’s government couldn’t contain their glee. They announced the ratification of the execution order before the actual court did. A few nights ago, some American news program interviewed Maliki’s bureau chief, Basim Al-Hassani who was speaking in accented American English about the upcoming execution like it was a carnival he’d be attending. He sat, looking sleazy and not a little bit ridiculous, his dialogue interspersed with ‘gonna’, ‘gotta’ and ‘wanna’… Which happens, I suppose, when the only people you mix with are American soldiers.
My only conclusion is that the Americans want to withdraw from Iraq, but would like to leave behind a full-fledged civil war because it wouldn’t look good if they withdraw and things actually begin to improve, would it?
Here we come to the end of 2006 and I am sad. Not simply sad for the state of the country, but for the state of our humanity, as Iraqis. We’ve all lost some of the compassion and civility that I felt made us special four years ago. I take myself as an example. Nearly four years ago, I cringed every time I heard about the death of an American soldier. They were occupiers, but they were humans also and the knowledge that they were being killed in my country gave me sleepless nights. Never mind they crossed oceans to attack the country, I actually felt for them.
Had I not chronicled those feelings of agitation in this very blog, I wouldn’t believe them now. Today, they simply represent numbers. 3000 Americans dead over nearly four years? Really? That’s the number of dead Iraqis in less than a month. The Americans had families? Too bad. So do we. So do the corpses in the streets and the ones waiting for identification in the morgue.
Is the American soldier that died today in Anbar more important than a cousin I have who was shot last month on the night of his engagement to a woman he’s wanted to marry for the last six years? I don’t think so.
Just because Americans die in smaller numbers, it doesn’t make them more significant, does it?
– posted by river @ 1:00 PM
——————————————————-
From http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
A real blog, really from Iraq, by a REAL Iqaqi.
He said (and I’m paraphrasing):
That’s for the engineers to decide.
Ok watched the video……..
and
No not what he said.
He did in fact say that if he had the staff the gov has looking at this situation, he would have made a decision.
He also said that a vote by Seattle on a tunnel is not responsible, as any overages that would occur on the project will likely fall back to the state to cover, not Seattle.
I agree that SR99 (state route) should be a state of wa decision.
So all you BushWar assholes are sooooooooooo proud of yourselves.
Great job.
In the public-works arena, it’s an easy and common cop-out for the politicians to “leave it to the engineers”–and then dump the blame on them if things don’t turn out to everyone’s satisfaction. It’s a little like closing the books on a plane crash by blaming the pilot for running the aircraft into the ground–notice how much more frequently this is the official conclusion when everyone in the cockpit perished. Many years ago, I was in a high-school French class taught by the wife of the architect when one of the many attempts to put lipstick on the pig that is the King County Courthouse turned into a general clusterfuck. He had some serious health problems, which made him all the more convenient a target, and it certainly hastened the poor man’s death.
Rejax.
I’m sure we can find as many who are grateful for our efforts there.
And……
Now, thanks to our brave soldiers and the resolve of our country, this person is FREE to have a blog, and “spew their opionion”
Did you EVEN read that?
How are we making their lives better.
You are fucking INSANE!
#86
You’re so sure…
…YOU go find ’em.
I did read it, and other entries in the blog.
The tone is almost like this person used to be part of the “favored” bathists, and now finds themselves having to deal with life without papa Saddam. Notice the blog starts in August of 2003….
Ask the Kurds if their lives are better?
AS I said, we can easily find another Iraqi who is overjoyed with conditions there…
I person’s view is just that.
Again, since you skipped it.
This person’s blog began in 2003, After liberation.
take a deep breath….stop hyperventilating
Who uses the viaduct to get through Seattle?
Why doesn’t someone answer this? If the major goal is imporving access to Seattle, then the tunnel or the viad make no sense.
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/
here is one
re 89: The Wingnut debating Dictionary defines rightstuff’s comment as a variation on the “WOBLies” maneuver. Check it out:
– Claiming that a policy cannot be racist or elitist because at least one old black woman has been found to support it. From Marc Rogers’ WOBL==’Wise Old Black Lady’, describing a character common to many horror or sci-fi movies who knows everything necessary for the white heroes to move forward in the plot without dying immediately.
This person is a real Iraqi.
An average person.
An average person living in hell.
A hell brought to them by BushCo, the friendly folks at PNAC and Faux News.
There was a way and a time when the US COULD have made a difference…could have shown what and who we were and how our ideals worked.
But when Rumsfeld went in with NO plan for the aftermath of the invasion and destruction of the Iraqi government and infrastructure, and NO interest in the welfare of the Iraqi people when toppling the Baath Government created a vacuum of leadership and direction, these people were doomed. And Our National Soul is STAINED by the vile actions of the Bush Administration hacks.
Just like Republicans everywhere. I’ll get mine and fuck you.
Rossi…what a joke. “I would have MADE a decision by now.” Sure, buddy. And I would have gone for it on fourth and one.
THIS…right here is what’s wrong with you guys.
You don’t believe in government, so you CAN’T govern properly. You WON’T because you CAN’T. For REAL. For ALL the people. You can only cater to those you know. Those you can enrich, who therefore can enrich you. You don’t understand PUBLIC SERVICE like your father’s GOP did.
Teddy Roosevelt was a Republican. He busted up the trusts. Wanna wait ’till Bush does that? Wanna HOLD YOUR BREATH?
Rossi governs the same way. Privatize (give the contracts to the big donors), cut bennies for the lower classes (to afford tax cuts to the already wealthy), cut budgets to State Regulatory Agencies (don’t need ’em…the “market” polices itself…snicker, snicker), break open the piggy bank, divvy up what’s left and walk away. The old fashioned “Mafia bustout”. Just like they did in DC. Then turn the mess over to the Democrats to sort out.
Thank God for the State GOP, the clowns who can’t shoot straight, and the People of the great State of Washington who saved us from that.
And God Save us for what we’ve done to the Iraqi People.
Rujax! says: This person is a real Iraqi.
An average person.
Moron, did you ever stop to consider how that “poor average” Iraqi has the means to
a. have electricity? – when you claim conditions are so horrible
b. have access to the internet? – when you claim conditions are so horrible
c. OWN a computer? – when you claim conditions are so horrible
d. has all that time to blog? – when you claim conditions are so horrible
Your mini-muffin sized brain is for more than keeping your little pinhead from collapsing in on itself and causing your backward hat to fall around your rounded little shoulders, attempt to use it.
How misery-mongers and white flag waving, cut and run cowardly punks, like Rujax, view the country they despise.
America Sucks Donkey Balls*
America sucks. We are evil, vile, murdering sons of motherless goats. We have nothing to offer the world as a whole.
Nothing good has ever come out of America, nothing.
We will bring about the destruction of all mankind.
Everyone hates us.
We hate everybody.
America alone is responsible for all of mans ills: Disease, global warming, Aids,war, famine, hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, global conflicts, Darfur, terrorism, pain, suffering, cancer, crotch rot, nail fungus,beer shortages at the World Cup, Taco Bell’s bad green onions,Britney Spears, hip-hop,Paris riots,muzzie rioting over Danish cartoons,the Popes talking smack,Mountain Tapirs being hunted to extinction………
We are the Great Satan, and we should all just kill ourselves now.
With love to my fellow terrorists, cowards, Kerry’s and Frenchmen, from Rujax!
*This post courtesy of your local Moonbat and the AMERICAN MEDIA, who we own. We have kidnapped Jenn and will behead her for her infidel ways. We’d like to thank the AMERICAN MEDIA for spreading our blatant f-ed up propaganda, we’ll save you some virgins on the other side.
95
One thing this nation has produced which is indisputably embarrassing, a real blight on our heritage and a national black eye, is you and people like you. Of course, we have always produced a small contingent of nativist haters who believe they have answers for others. Fortunately, people like you, though loud and boisterous in your zeal to share your vitriolic nonsense, are a rather insignificant sliver of the population.
A-L: THE TRUTH HAS A LIBERAL BIAS. THE TRUTH IS YOUR DEAR LEADER IS A COMPLETE FAILURE IN ALL THINGS EXCEPT TWO – 1) LOOTING THE TREASURY OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR THE BENEFIT OF HIS MASTERS AND 2) FINDING LAP DOGS LIKE YOU TO WORSHIP HIM WHILE HE’S SCREWING YOU IN THE HIND QUARTERS.
THE TRUTH IS THAT YOU’RE A RUBBERSTAMPING, JACKBOOTING, WIRETAPPING, BEDROOM SNOOPING, GAY AND MINORITY HATING, BROWNOSING, SYCOPHANTIC, WINGNUT PROPAGANDA SWILLING, FASCIST CREEP!
Wow!
Today I am so proud!
Proud to be an AMERICAN!
PROUD…
…to be…
…RUJAX!!!!!!!!!
More vodka, anti-lib.
You’ll feel better.
…dumbshit.
why do you hate your motherland rujax?
why do you agree with terrorists, cowards and dictators?
how do you reconcile despising the country that gives you your freedom?
you aren’t proud to be an American, you filthy pig fucker. you are proud to be an America hater but too fucking cowardly to come out and say it.
Rat
Ugly
JackASS
America hating
X chromosome mutant
!
Anti Liberal is an: Iron Butt – Someone who parks his butt on a comment thread and matches the rest of the world, comment for comment.
Anti Liberal engages in: “Malkinization” (n.) – Usage of questionable or irrelevant anecdotes in support of a position when statistics disprove the position. Cognates: Malkious, malkiniously. From Malkin, Michelle.
Anti Liberal suffers from: “oughtism” (n.): The act of providing unsound political advice for one’s ideological opponents.
malkin (MO-kin, MAL-kin) noun
>
> 1. An untidy woman; a slattern.
>
> 2. A scarecrow or a grotesque effigy.
>
> 3. A mop made of a bundle or rags fastened to a stick.
>
> 4. A cat.
>
> 5. A hare.
>
> [From Middle English Malkyn (little Molly), diminutive of
> the name Maud or Molly/Mary.]
>
> A related word is grimalkin, referring to an old female cat
> or an ill-tempered old woman.
>
Ernest @ 103
My post above concerning the word “malkin” is from wordsmith.org. The definition seems to fit Ms. Malkin, in at least a few of its variations, wouldn’t you agree?
“They charged for premium materials and then used sub standard materials and then cut every corner they could. Had engineers, not Politicians been in charge, this oversight would have been caught during construction, not when tiles started falling and leaks started forming.”
In your rush to blame the politicians and the unions, you made my point. Corners were cut. You are blaming the politicians, but I’m sure you will find plenty of engineers who were in charge who you could blame. I’m sure there was a lead engineer on the project from day one.
And there will be plenty of finger-pointing. The contractor will blame the engineer. The engineer will blame the politicians for insisting on a design which costs the least money, not the one which was the safest. That’s my whole point.
re 106: yes. I agree.
http://stommel.tamu.edu/~baum/.....onary.html
This is the url to the Wingnut Debate Dictionary. It is so accurate it usually shuts them up for a few minutes — until their OUTRAGE battery hits full charge again.
Gee I guess that means I’m off the shithead’s Christmas Card list.
Fuck you, rujax. Can’t handle reality?
So Blo Job-
What KIND of REALITY can’t I HANDLE?
This oughta be good.