Given Dino Rossi’s refusal to detail his stance on reproductive rights (or just about anything) I’ve taken to speculating recently on what an imaginary conversation on the subject with Rossi might sound like. I suppose I could’ve just tried asking Rossi directly, but given my past failures to get his campaign to respond to me through formal channels, I didn’t see much of a point.
Well, Josh at PubliCola did recently ask Rossi some Yes or No questions on choice, and surprisingly, Rossi provided answers. Not surprisingly, the answers were all “No.”
Specifically, Josh queried Rossi on seven pro-choice vs. pro-life votes Sen. Patty Murray took since 2000, and Rossi confirmed that in each case he would have voted the opposite. Plan B? No. Privately funded abortions at overseas military bases, for any reason? No. $100 million to reduce teen pregnancy through education and services? No.
You get the point.
Rossi nearly won in 2004 because the Gregoire campaign and the state Dems did not do a good enough job of shattering the moderate image he crafted for himself in that race. That’s how Republicans win statewide in Washington: by presenting a blank slate to voters on controversial issues in an effort to convince enough independents and soft-Dems that they’re a different kind of Republican. And every Republican running statewide (or King County wide) ever since Rossi’s near victory, has attempted the same tabula rossi strategy.
But the problem with refusing to define yourself — you know, Rossi’s “I’m not running on that issue” approach — is that you give your opponents the opportunity to define you for you. And unlike Gregoire circa 2004, that’s an opportunity I don’t expect the Murray camp to miss.
Well, with a Supreme Court justice confirmation just around the corner and the abortion argument to raise its head again, it should not be missed.
The question is whether Murray’s campaign is going to allocate cash at this early date to tar and brand her likely opponent.
Seems the smart move would be to do so.
“Privately funded abortions at overseas military bases, for any reason? No.”
Is there any Senator that has done more for active military and veterans than Murray? I think not.
The last thing our military personnel and veterans need is an anti-government, anti-gay rights, slash and burn Republican replacing Murray.
If you are a veteran, and voting for Rossi, please explain. I’d love to hear the rationale.
What do you expect? Rossi is a Republican, and the core belief of the GOP Party is they have a God-given right to tell other people how to live, just like the Taliban. The answer to Rodney King’s question, “Can’t we all just get along?” isn’t “no,” it’s “fuck no,” when you’re dealing with people who insist that you must accept their religion and let them run every aspect of your life. When people like that move into your neighborhood, it’s time to load for bear! That’s why liberals must arm.
@2 Well, I think one reason the people who love to send other people’s children to war might vote for Rossi is that Republicans provide job security for soldiers; and, since they refuse to serve themselves, they believe this should be seen as unselfish.
Don’t you think it is appropriate for Rossi to make a statement regarding the BP spill? For example, condemning the statements of Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX), who said the Obama administration had no business compelling BP to ensure that it would pay for all damages?
Source: Bloomberg Business Week: BP’s Spill Fund a $20 Billion Shakedown, Barton Says
But hey, if the Republicans want to side with BP on this disaster, by all means, feel free to go ahead. I’m sure that’s going to go over real well with the voters in southern Louisianna, Mississipi, Alabama, and the entire state of Florida.
Personally, I’m rather amazed the Republicans would be siding with BP on this disaster (and he’s not the only one, I’ve heard that Michelle Bachman has too, but I haven’t heard the quote). But I guess they are “honest Republicans” – once the get bought with oil money, they stay bought.
Shit, if all it takes for a Democrat is to be pro choice to get our unquestioning support, while they collude with the banking industry to take us to the cleaners where globalized capital means that entire governments can be manipulated through capital flight, then we are whistling past the graveyard.
@6 I’ve been hearing and reading comments from a few wingnuts to this effect, either accusing the escrow deal as “Robin Hood in reverse” or whining about how the effect of this on BP’s share price might impact the value of their 401K’s.
Disregarding that the notion that 401K’s in general are an air-pudding replacement to the pensions we once thought we could rely on, if you have your retirement nest egg stuffed in some fund that’s that dependent on a single energy stock, you’ve been taken for a fool.
Which would/will mean fewer abortions! He should be for this one.
Generally…
“the state Dems did not do a good enough job of shattering the moderate image he crafted for himself in that race.”
Want to know what kind of legislator Rossi would be? Well, there’s a pretty wide swath of information on how moderate and bi-partisan he can be in his career in the Washington State Senate. Takes about 30 seconds on line. Or you could just make blanket assumptions based on one issue raised by a party hack.
One issue doesn’t define whether a person is ‘moderate’ or not. Abortion is two things to a legislator; a tiny fraction of the legislative agenda he or she must vote on or oversee, and settled law no-one will be changing (mores the pity.) It’s a non-issue to all intents and purposes. Or it would be if the party hacks didn’t need a deeply emotional issue with little importance to gin up the respective bases.
RHP on BP-
The shouts from the left to nationalize BP, confiscate their assets etc ignore some basic realities. If BP is not allowed to structure their pay-outs in a way consisten with company survival it will fold. I know the left thinks this is simply wonderful, but what about all the jobs directly and indirectly impacted by such a business failure? What about the impact on fuel prices? Maybe, for once, Obama is approaching something with a clear head (or, more likely, being forced to do so by circumctances) and considering all these things.
Are Republicans who decry the responsibility BP is being asked to assume for the spill wrong? Sure. But the rabid anti-business environment on the left is very dangerous for the economic future of this country.
Clarifications-
Party hacks aren’t in themselves bad. They play a role in our democracy. Goldy is advocating for one extreme end of the political spectrum. Others advocate for the other end. Fine.
But I don’t take the salesmans’ word for it that the car is the best model ever made by this manufacturer, and he wouldn’t drive anything else. I do a bit of personal research before actually buying the car. Same with politics.
‘tabula rossi’ — very funny!!
The problem with authority figures who’s answer is always in the negative is that people stop asking them about issues and just do what they feel is best.
There’s no wiggle room in ‘NO’.
Should a 13 year old girl be able to abort a fetus without informing her parents? The Rossi answer, I’m sure, would be NO.
But what if dear old Dad is the father?? Should the 13 year old be forced to obtain his permission.
re 11:
Care to be more specific? Is he a Trotskyite, a Leninist, a Stalinist, a Fabian Socialist?
You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t care to participate in your celebration of ignorance.
Can anyone tell us what Murray’s position is on the proposed Orderly Liquidation Fund?
I have seen no remarks from her on the subject thus far.
@11
There isn’t anyone, left or right, in the US senate that is on the extreme end of the political spectrum.
Goldy’s only slightly left of center.
@7
Yep!
Lost @ 10: I haven’t heard any Congressman (House or Senate) call for nationalization of B.P. Perhaps I missed it.
But if you think about it, there is nothing wrong with seizing a corporation’s assets if there are doubts about it’s ability to pay a liability. It’s called “receivership”, and it’s been around for hundreds of years, even predating modern bankruptcy law. The whole idea is to make sure assets are used to pay claims in an orderly fashion based upon well-established legal principles, and that those in control of the business aren’t able to hide those assets from creditors.
Anyway, it looks like Rep. Barton IS being paid by the oil industry. The oil industry was his second-largest industry contributing to his campaign in the current election cycle, giving him $100,462. BP is one of those contributors, but on a relatively small scale compared with the U.S. major oil companies.
The only industry giving him more money was the electic industry ($162.800), which is often related to the oil industry in places where electricity is generated using oil-fueled generating plants.
Source: MSNBC: “Barton well-funded by Big Oil, including BP”
Michael at 16,
In Europe or Canada Goldy would be ‘slightly left of center.’ In Seattle or New York or LA Goldy is ‘slightly left of center.’ In the America that exists outside of these major metropolitan areas Goldy is far, far to the left of center.
As for the Senate I believe the operative two words are ‘Bernie Sanders,’ a gentlemen with no business in the USA.
RHP at 18
Major political figures no, you’re right. I’m speaking more to the talking heads and pundits, I guess.
Bankruptcy and receivership are old concepts. But unless actually driven by necessity it isn’t the best option, either for BP or the US. It would mean that instead of getting something we the taxpayers and the affected parties in the Gulf area would get pennies on the dollar, if we are lucky.
Re 13
Legislation is not driven by the exceptions or statistical anomalies.
The 13 year old girl who becomes pregnant through incestual relations with her father is statistically extremely insignficant. Her plight is troubling, but it isn’t the stuff of legislation. (Except of course the legislation regarding statuatory rape and incest.)
The 13 year old girl that doesn’t want her parents to know that she is sexually active, or is embarrassed is not so insignificant. But on the tiny, tiny percent of abortions performed for this girl, we take the right of parents of all girls to counsel and help their daughters through difficult decisions away? That is bad legislation in every sense of the word.
Re 14
Ignorant how, exactly? Because I don’t choose to buy a sales line from an advocate of a product I’m ignorant? Then I will celebrate that kind of ignorance.
Ask yourself, if Murray is so great, why don’t we hear that? Failing any concrete reason to boost Murray all Goldy has left is to smear Rossi. Pretty sad comment on Murray, really…
Re 18
Additionally, I’m no attorney, but BP being a foreign company won’t help the legal squabbles for the US. I don’t know what authority the US government has to seize the assets of an offshore company, but I’ll bet the relevant laws get pretty complicated, to say nothing of our relations with Brittain after we do so.
@16
Though to hear some talk you’d think Speaker Pelosi was the second coming of Mao or Stalin.
RE 22
Doesn’t seem quite to get it….
Pelosi and Gregoire share an uncommon lack of charisma with an uncommon bitchiness that seems really odd in politics.
Pelosi is a grifter using leftist politics in
California to feather her nest and give her a sense of personal importance. She is a disgusting person in pretty much every sense of the word. But you have to believe in something to be a Maoist or Stalinist, so she’s off the hook there.
@19
Sorry, but I spend time in places like Spokane, Kansas City, and Springfield MO. I know what exists outside of the Puget Sound Basin and Goldy’s not that far to the left of those folks.
lost
Bernie Sanders is precisely what we need more of in the US Senate–he is constituent-driven, independent and unbeholden, and a policy wonk. I don’t always agree with, but I sure am happy that he’s in the Senate.
Re 24
I suppose viewed through a left of center filter he doesn’t seem that way to you. To anyone I talk to including relatives and friends from Eastern Washington, friends currently living in Europe and college friends all over the country he seems pretty far left. All in the eye of the beholder, I guess.
Re 25
Saying he has no business in the USA was out of line. Everyone has a right to have an opinion and act (within the law) on that opinion. If his constituents vote for him, that’s their business. Though how any American could vote for an openly socialist legislator is beyond me. I mean, everywhere it’s been tried it’s failed miserably.
#24
Continued…
Um… Salt Lake City’s old and rather popular mayor, Rocky Anderson, was a liberal. Jim Matheson, congressman from Salt Lake City, is a Democrat. Half of Spokane’s city council, its mayor and its state senator: liberal. Emanuel Cleaver, congressman from Kansas City MO: liberal. Senator Claire McCaskill from MO has been in one public office or another since the early 1980’s and is fairly Goldy-ish.
Springfield MO is building bike lanes as fast as it can*, has plenty of independent film, coffee shops, and other touches that you tend tend to find in places where liberals hang out. Now we just need to kick Roy Blunt out of congress to make the takeover complete….
*Voters just approved extending a capitol improvement tax to build more bike stuff.
#27
Continued…
I mean, none of these people get into office without getting voted in by supporters. None of the theaters that are indy film only would exist if people didn’t go to the films and most of the people going to those films are center to left. Funky coffee shops like Spokane’s Empyrean, they are havens for the left. Bike lanes? It aint’ the “no more taxes” right that are building those and they are going in everywhere. Those bike lanes are going in not because 3 people in city hall want them, but because they have broad-based popular support.
You think you feel “lost” now, wait about 5 years. The world’s moving on.
Michael,
I’ll ask you what I asked Headless. If leftist policies and leftist candidates/officeholders are so great how come we don’t hear that.
What we hear is how awful the Tea Party movement is. We hear how far to the right Rossi is. We hear about how awful Bush was (and to some extent I agree) but rarely how much better Obama is.
Being rightfully frightened of voter backlash by appearing too far left we just don’t get that rhetoric from the left.
Consider, even in a communist cell like Seattle Goldys radio show didn’t take. But the airwaves are crowded with voices from the right.
The left is simply out of step with how most Americans view themselves and their country.
In 5 years I’ll buy you a bottle of 15 year old Scotch (or Perrier, if you prefer, since Scotch is so conservative) if the current trend doesn’t halt or even reverse. History tells us that the trend of the moment is usually balanced by a pendulum swing sooner or later.
Anyway, once all the doom and gloom global warming lies are exposed as such you guys won’t have anything to scare the swing voter with.
Re 28
The ‘lost’ in the tag is a reference to the Seattle area. In most of the country I’m unexceptional politically.
Re 31
Despite what my mother used to tell me, sadly I’m unexceptional in any other way as well. “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them” and some are just average everyday folks. Oh well.
Got work to do on the master bedroom I’ve been promising my wife would be done a month ago. The mechanics car and the carpenters house never do quite get finished. Have fun.
@31: In case you weren’t paying attention: Obama won the Presidency with the largest popular vote in history.
You are not only out of touch in Seattle, in Washington state but also across this country.
Get used to it Lost – only simpole minded fools and bigots believe the right wing nonsense that you spout.
Less regulation? That sure helped in the mining disasters, the oil spill, the banking mealtdown that ruined the economy.
Did you ever apply for a loan in the old days? Banks and mortgage companies were very careful about lending THEIR money – but after Phil Gramm engineered the cridti-default swap – well the mortgages could just be bundled and sold and who knew how many were good or bad.
Yup – the banks and lending companies were deregulated and they cheated…just like we knew they would.
@21: In case you didn’t know it Lost, BP is mostly owned by Kuwait.
Lost, “In Seattle or New York or LA Goldy is ’slightly left of center.’ In the America that exists outside of these major metropolitan areas Goldy is far, far to the left of center.”
That’s just too simplistic and ignorant a thought for words.
“a communist cell like Seattle”
Whatever. And you’re a fascist and a rather stupid one at that.
“In most of the country I’m unexceptional politically.”
I find most fascists like you to be, um, unexceptional.
Re 33
Umm, Neithercorrectnorright, you’re not correct.
Obama places 26th historically by margin, when taking population into account. Here’s the link, if you doubt me. And he did this on a wave of voter anger and fear about the economy. Really doesn’t say much about the ideological trend of the country in that context.
He likely will win in 2012, as the economy, despite his idiotic policies, will presumably have stabalized or recovered in the natural course of these things. He will get the credit from an unreflecting public, and win, probably handily. Getting credit for a thing and deserving credit for it are, alas, different altogether.
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com.....-ever.html
“since Scotch is so conservative”
My bottle of Glenlivet is a fascist? WTF?
Steve,
From Webster
“Fascism- a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition”
Umm, really contrary to pretty much everything I’ve ever written here. Sorry, you must have mistaken the term for a different one.
Nice, comfy little echo chamber…
Oh, I get it, Lost. You can call us names but it’s a big fucking no-no when we do the same to you. Typical wingnut fascist. You want to dish it out but you cry like a fucking baby when we dish it back. Go to hell.
Lost @ 21: As for BP being a multinational corporation, I’m not sure how Obama handled the meeting with BP, but if it were me, I would begin the meeting by having a staffer recite a list of things which the administration could do to BP within it’s executive authority.
This would include having the Environmental Protection Dept. issue stop orders at all BP refineries within the U.S. until thorough safety investigations were conducted, which could take weeks. Then they could go down the list, including the cancelation or non-renewal of military procurement contracts, and putting all offshore drilling by BP withing U.S. controlled waters on indefinate hold until “all safety concerns are resolved to our satisfaction”. Finally, they could have the Justice Dept. open a civil case which would begin by asking the court to put BP into receivership, and asking the court to freeze all of BP assetts in the U.S. in the interim to prevent them from moving them offshore to avoid paying damages.
Then the aid could read off a list of legislation which the administration could present to Congress, which could include some pretty nasty surprises to multinationals including barring them from any government contracts – forever – if they are deemed to have been reckless with regard to environmental safety issues.
Sure, BP could decide to pull out of the U.S. altogether. But it would lose a huge amount of money if it did so. For them, the danger of losing market share and facilities in the U.S. market is greater than any fines which could be imposed.
Re 34
Wow, that invalidates every point I made about the legal difficulties in taking over the company and the possible diplomatic ramifications.
Wait… No it doesn’t. Kuwait still is independent of the US, right?
Re 38
Even at Washington States socialist liquor stores a really good scotch that makes Glen Livet taste like Budweiser is available, but I can’t recall the maker. Oh well, Glen Livet is good, even if libs drink it.
Um… Leftists aren’t that great. We’re talking about center left stuff here.
Seattle is hardly a communist cell.
We hear all the time about the benefits of and growth of biking, of public health programs, of the rebirth of urbanism, of plant and animal populations recovered to the point of coming off the endangered species act, of the arts… These are the benefits of everything the left has been working on.
Make it a bottle of Dry Fly Whisky made in Spokane from Washington State wheat for me!
re 41
Little testy today, Steve? Call me a name that fits and I’ll laugh along with you. Anyway, other than extreme leftists I don’t recall calling anyone names at all. Really that’s less a pejorative than an opinion, but nevertheless..
Seems to me the name calling (bigot, simpleton, fascist etc) have been pretty much on one side. Good thing that such names mean little to me, I guess.
Re 42
RHP,
You’re absolutely right. I assume and hope that was done weeks ago, but it’s standard negotiation tactics anyway. Doesn’t mean that all the options are good ones, or good in every circumstance. Obamas administration is faced with a moving target of damages versus BP ability to pay for them. Until the leak is stopped and sufficient time for a damage assessment environmentally and economically has been done, no-one knows the cost. At least as far as I can understand it.
Steve @38, quoting the blue sea loser:
For the record, Scotland is anything but conservative. In the recent Parliamentary election, the 59 MPs in Scotland were distributed thusly by party:
Labour 41 (69.5%)
Liberal Democrat 11 (18.6%)
Scottish National Party 6 (10.2%)
Conservative 1 (1.7%)
The SNP is probably to the left of all of the other parties; Sean Connery is one of its adherents.
Oh, and of course even the Tories are “socialists” by USA standards. They back the NHS to the hilt.
“But the rabid anti-business environment on the left is very dangerous for the economic future of this country.”
Well, what’s a commie to do, huh, Lost? Hell, I even rabidly hate my own business.
Christ, you’re one simple-minded fascist, Lost.
Re 44
Dry Fly huh? I’ll have to try that. Available without taking the 6 hour drive?
Anyway, if I don’t sign off and finish that bedrooom I’ll have to build a second one just for her. This is a consumation devoutly not to be wished. See ya.
According to the original fascist (Mussolini):
http://www.brainyquote.com/quo.....86804.html
Read up on your “pedigree”, bucko:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism
@48
Dry Fly makes whisky, vodka & gin. The whisky and gin are fantastic, I don’t like vodka. It’s available state wide, but it’s small batch stuff so you have to get it while the getting is good. Right now it looks like there’s just vodka and gin in stock.
http://liq.wa.gov/services/brandresults.asp
“Little testy today, Steve?”
Any dumbfuck KLOWN that shows up here with the kind of shit you bring is deserving of a beat down and I’m glad to deliver it. Learn to like it, Lost, or you can just get the fuck out of here.
“Call me a name that fits and I’ll laugh along with you.
Jesus fucking Christ, Lost, you just called Seattle a “communist cell” and you can’t laugh along with me when I call you a fascist? What, were you actually trying to be serious about everybody being a damned commie? Eh, I’d say you’ve got yourself a humor deficiency problem going there, Lost.
#44 Continued…
See there’s even a gay pride parade in Springfield MO. In the freakin’ Ozarks*! This isn’t leftist, this is mainstream, main street, America .
http://www.flickr.com/photos/d.....698147365/
*Well, right next to the Ozarks anyway
Lost seems to think that any fact that disturbs the serenity of his extreme correctness on all things is just an insignificant hiccup in the righteousnes of his all-knowing correctness.
Lost states UNEQUIVOCALLY that in AZ, Goldy would be considered a far leftist. But, once again, Lost has failed to take into consideration that Pima and parts of Cochise Counties (very populous — Tucson is there) are significant progressive Democratic strongholds.
Ever hear of the Udall brothers and Bruce Babbitt, Lost?
Who the hell are you to pronounce Bernie Sanders unfit to be in America? Go fuck yourself — and your ‘tard ex-president as well.
You are just like every other fact-challenged stuffed-shirt on the right — your mostly WRONG about everything.
Speaking of fascists, why does Republican Rep. Joe Barton hate America?
Oil biz lackey Joe sez while groveling in front of the BP CEO at the congressional hearing, “I’m ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it’s a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown.”
After the hearing, “I’m only speaking for myself. I’m not speaking for anybody else, but I apologize. I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong and is subject to some sort of political pressure that is, again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize.”
After more thought, “I want the record to be absolutely clear that I think BP is responsible for this accident, should be held responsible and should in every way do everything possible to make good on the consequences that have resulted from this accident. And if anything I have said this morning has been misconstrued in opposite effect, I want to apologize for that misconstruction.”
Um, yeah, I seem to have misconstrued what you meant by “shakedown”.
After a trip to the Boehner woodshed, “I apologize for using the term “shakedown,” and I retract my apology to BP.”
Uh-huh.
Steve,
Fair point. I associate American communist cells with granola eating, sandal wearing hippies. Basically harmless. I associate Fascists with Mussollini. Basically murderous bastards. My bad.
I will say that general assumptions about Seattle aren’t quite the same thing as personal insults because the politics aren’t tasteful to a person, but hey, no big deal.
Micheal,
Thanks for the tip.
Lucy,
I could say that I woke up and the sun rose in the east, and you’d quarrel with that, I’d bet. Even conservatives can be right sometimes, no pun intended, though.
I was trying to indicate that major metropolitan areas tend to be liberal while the suburbs and rural areas tend to be conservative. I was trying to do this using a few such areas as indicators. If you’d like, consult an atlas and add in most of the big cities you see. It was a poorly written sentence that started that off on my part.
BTW, I noticed this in Paris, Rome and Frankfurt as well. (At a guess most of the bad press about Frenchmen is from tourists/visitors to Paris. Outside the city I found the French helpful and pleasant. Inside it I found them arrogant and rude. And I speak French, if badly and with an attrocious accent which has most Frenchmen begging me not to sully their beautiful language, so the language element can be removed.) Large cities seem to have more in common with each other than with the surrounding country in which they’re located. They tend to be less nationalistic, and they tend to be more liberal from my perspective. I don’t say this is bad or good, just interesting.
Headless @ 53
I missed this gem of left wing civility.
“Who the hell are you to pronounce Bernie Sanders unfit to be in America?” For what it’s worth, I mentioned at 26 that that comment was out of line.
“Go fuck yourself — and your ‘tard ex-president as well.” And you go and have a pleasant evening as well.
@53 “Lost seems to think that any fact that disturbs the serenity of his extreme correctness on all things is just an insignificant hiccup in the righteousnes of his all-knowing correctness.”
Spot on, headless, and just too damned funny. But I don’t expect Lost to laugh with us much. heh- It’s common knowledge that fascists like Lost don’t have a lick of humor.
Steve,
I do have a very slight tendency to arrogance, which I diligently and with the help of friends and bi-weekly therapy sessions, work to correct. My therapist says that in 2 or 3 years of such sessions he should be able to retire to the Bahamas. But he doesn’t hold out much hope for me. Oh well.
“general assumptions about Seattle”
Your so-called assumptions should insult any intelligent and decent person. Such comments reflect both your utter ignorance and what is obviously a very ugly bias. Combine that with your vacuous and preening prose, and you can just go fuck yourself, Lost.
Steve,
You mean the kind of assumptions that Democrats and Republicans make about Seattle, or any area? The kind supported by Census data, election results, and so on? The kind of assumptions supported by data in their case and 20 years of experience in mine?
Geez, talk about being lacking in a sense of humor.
Well, first coat of paint is dry. Off to apply the second and install some doors. With any luck the bedroom will be done tomorrow so I can get some fishing in this weekend. And my wife will be happy, which is what really matters.
Have a good evening Steve.
@60 “You mean the kind of assumptions that Democrats and Republicans make about Seattle, or any area?”
Democrats assume that Seattle a commie cell? No, they don’t, Lost. That’s what you do. It’s not so disgusting in itself. What’s disgusting is how you whine about civility and a higher ground after throwing shit like that out there. That’s your tired act here in a nutshell, Lost. You toss out some ugly nonsense and then it’s “tut tut” when we respond.
“The kind supported by Census data, election results, and so on?”
Census data, election results, and so on have confirmed that Seattle is a communist cell? Damn. In that case I say we nuke the city. Obviously. But give me time to get my dear Ms. Wingnut and her dog and cat out of there first.
While this is true, the overall population is further to the left than you think. Hence, gay pride parades in Roy Blunt and John Ashcroft’s back yard in Springfield.
More and more, I think that traditional left/right comparisons don’t work. The early, middle, and late adopter model that is used in the technology sector seems like a better fit to me.
It also seems like political ideology is overplayed and income level and social class are underplayed. Given the choice, I’ll describe myself as working class before I’ll use political ideology.
These paradigms we use really only seem to fit the more extreme ends of the spectrum. I jokingly call her Ms. Wingnut, and she is a wingnut, but there’s so much more to her as a person than her wingnutiness. I look for redeeming qualities in our trolls and I can say that with a couple of these guys I’ve found a bit more than that. We can still disagree as I often do with Ms. Wingnut, but it now seems to be with a respect well earned. Lost breaks my heart though. He raises my hopes for him in one sentence and then dashes them two sentences later. For this I shit on him.
I’m still holding out hope. I do get the impression that if I ran into him out hiking or somewhere we’d get along fine.
@65: I like a good challenge but ignorant blowhards suck as companions. No way we’d hang.
Not to worry: I’d bet he’s part of the ATV/quad totally crazy asshole brigade, which means you’ll probably never see him while hiking anyway.
ATV/quads/snowmobiles are fun.
hiking…not so much.
Wow good old headless let a skeleton out of his closet
Please tell us more headless! Where are your “statistics” on this? Is Planned Parenthood hiding something again?
65
lost seems to like to go fishing. I think I could probably do that with him, unless he’s a bait fisherman. My best old fishing buddy, who has now moved out to NYC to prepare to die, is a rightie, though he didn’t buy into the right’s social agenda too much. He’d been an Army doc and never quite got over some fascination about the military that I, a lifelong pacifist, couldn’t quite grasp. We both love trout and salmon, and moving water, and dorado and billfish, and blue water. Politics would come up from time to time, from Montana to Mexico, but no fisticuffs ever ensued. We’re even talking about one last trip–Alberta for trout, perhaps, or maybe some warm flats somewhere for bonefish.
@69 I somehow suspect when you meet someone new that you don’t grill them on their politics in order to determine whether you like them or not. I hope you can have one last outing with your best old fishing buddie. Best wishes on that, Dan.
@21
BP has several US subsidiaries and substantial US assets. Including a large chunk of Alaskan and Gulf production. Remember that over the years they bought Standard of Ohio, Amoco, and ARCO among other things.
@43
Lagavulin and Aberlour are both good. Though I don’t think there is anything wrong with Glenlivet.
Lost @ 45 said: “…RHP,
You’re absolutely right.’
And apparantly, hell has officially frozen over, as Lost has found something I said with which he agrees.
I won my bottle of Glenlivet playing golf. That was three years ago and I’ve barely touched it. Sigh! I’m just not much of a drinker anymore. A touch of Bailey’s in my coffee maybe once in a blue moon is about as far as it goes these days.
Re 72
For all the things on which we disagree, I think we find common ground pretty regularly. But given the weather this summer a hypothesis that hell has frozen over seems sustainable.
Re 71
The US could seize BP in probably a number of ways over the gulf spill. The question is if that’s desirable. BP as a viable company paying out money for the spill for the next 10 to 30 years is one option. Another is a bankrupt BPs assets paying whatever percentage of those costs the assets will cover. Usually in a bankruptcy creditors get pennies on the dollar. In this case many of the less quantifiable claims will likely get nothing. Tourism losses and such would be in that category, for instance. Pretty easy to put a price on a fishermans boat. It’s more difficult to put a price on what he might have made with it, and might have lost by the spill. If BP is still around there is time to press these claims.
There may be a point at which BP bankruptcy is the only option. I’m just saying I don’t think it will be either as easy as some folks think, or as advantageous in the long run if it does happen.
RE 66
Sorry to disappoint, but I prefer sails on the water and feet while in the woods. Nothing quite like the sound of sails full of wind, or the quiet of the woods at a slow pace.
All my summer plans are ruined by your unwillingness to ‘hang’ with me. Damn. I’ll have to forego the pleasure of vulgar personal insults in lieu of real argument. I’m heartbroken.
@74: You’re such a pussy.