(Yep…this would be an official Open Thread, too.)
UPDATE (Lee): Rather than add another open thread, I’ll just post a link to this week’s Birds Eye View Contest from here.
Can’t Bring Yourself to Type the Word “Ass”?
Eager to share our brilliant political commentary and blunt media criticism, but too genteel to link to horsesass.org? Well, good news, ladies: we also answer to HASeattle.com, because, you know, whatever. You're welcome!
For thosae who defend McD’s vote on Xmas, would someone please tell me how insulting 70% of Americans heled McD make a point?
As those who read SJ know, I am sometimes seen as Anti-Christian. I dislike this time of year for reasons that go back to traditional Xmas Pogroms in central Europe.
BUT, I LIKE Christians, I would say that my best friend is a Catholic if that were not a hackneyed phrase. What would I gain by disisng their holiday? enemies?
McD’s vote was NOT representative eof the District and served only one goal ,,,
1 – First of all, the holiday is CHRISTmas, not Xmas. I have never celebrated Xmas, but I do celebrate CHRISTmas around this time every year.
That said, I think McDermott is just representing the vastly liberal and secular “Happy Holidays” viewpoint shared by most of Seattle. It should come as no surprise. In an extremely left wing city like Seattle, this is what you get.
SeattleJew,
As McDermott himself said, it was a jab at Rep. Steve King, not a statement about Xmas. In any case, how the hell could his vote insult Christians?
@1
For thosae who defend McD’s vote on Xmas, would someone please tell me how insulting 70% of Americans heled McD make a point?
There’s really no explanation for it. It was a dumb vote. Then again, why is Congress actually spending so much time voting on things that have no other point beyond blowing smoke up our asses? We don’t need Congress to vote to tell us that Ramadan or Christmas or Diwali are great holidays that mean a lot to people. If they sucked, people would have stopped celebrating them a long time ago. It’s like having to vote to affirm the deliciousness of pepperoni pizza.
Itchy @ 2,
You fucking moron…McDermott IS a Christian and a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. Can’t you at least do a little background research before posting your tripe?
Oh…and lay off the wingnut talk radio, Squirt…you’re showing signs of being brainwashed.
The ghost of Clement Moore is pissed! GasBaghdad Skunky Jim McDermott not only is a pathetic hack of a politician, he’s also a butcherer of classic American seasonal poetry.
He’s rhythmically inept, evidencing a complete misunderstanding of the meter of Moore’s piece. Skunky has no sense of anapestic prosody!
And what’s with the bolo tie? Trying for a Southwestern, Arizona Republican look?
Here’s the deal: Skunky routinely embarrasses Seattle and environs by his petulant behavior such that local folk get tarred with his brush and lumped pall mall into his categorical thinking. He’s a fringe player, on the margins and increasingly unlistened to and ilregarded.
Having Skunky as your Congressman put’s you in the category defined by my oldest son, the increasingly popular and oft-lauded journalist, Staff Sergeant Mark as, “Seattle, sucks to be you!”
The Piper
@5…Darryl…
Being a member of a church no more makes you a Christian than living in a garage makes you a car…or teaching at a university makes you intelligent.
The Piper
Lee @ 4,
What was so dumb about the vote? Since when have Christians ever felt the need for a mere government to pass a proclamation for them about their 2K year old religious celebration?
No…the only people who get pissed off are Wingnuts (regardless of whether or not they practice Christianity), because they want it to be a political issue.
Piper Scott @ 7,
No shit, sherlock. Please, note that I did not claim McDermott was a Christian because he is a member of a particular church.
Piper Scott,
GasBaghdad? YOU insinuating someone is a GASBAG?????
(*snicker*)
That
dripscascades with irony.@4…Lee..
Since the beginning of the Republic, Congressional resolutions honoring this or declaring that have been a staple of the political landscape. It’s both a way for there to be a sense of the Congress in favor of or in opposition to something and a way for Congress to recognize and honor constituents.
That Skunky went out of his way to insult American Christians, using a transparently thin cover of delivering a swipe at a Republican member of the House, is pinko par for the currish course.
Given that he’s yours, not mine, the deeper he digs his hole, the more he drags you into it. If not a full-fledged one, at least intellectually, philosophically, and esthetically, he’s an honorary HA Happy Hooligan.
And you’re welcome to him!
The Piper
@9…Darryl…
You claimed he was a Christian and offered membership in a particular church as the only evidence.
Skunky stands condemned out of your mouth!
Aside from this purported membership, I’ve seen zero evidence to support the assertion.
The Piper
@8…Darryl…
I’m not at all irked…
In fact, Skunky Jim’s antics delight me! An axiomatic rule of politics is that when your opponent is self-destructing, don’t interfere.
Given the demise of the Crocodile, this may be the best entertainment in town! And there’s no cover charge!
Blather on, Skunky!
The Piper
GasBagPiper @ 11
“That Skunky went out of his way to insult American Christians, using a transparently thin cover of delivering a swipe at a Republican member of the House, is pinko par for the currish course.”
Uh-huh…and just how could this possibly insult American Christians? His vote was on a house resolution—a political statement, not a religious statement. As far as I know Christians (in general) have not been lobbying for some kind of governmental sanctification of their traditions and beliefs.
Naaa…Rep. McDermott just pissed off you wingnuts.
@8
What was dumb about the vote was that he voted FOR similar resolutions for Ramadan and Diwali. By being inconsistent, he opened himself up to criticism, which I found to be somewhat dumb.
@11
Since the beginning of the Republic, Congressional resolutions honoring this or declaring that have been a staple of the political landscape. It’s both a way for there to be a sense of the Congress in favor of or in opposition to something and a way for Congress to recognize and honor constituents.
Just because something is tradition does not mean that it’s not pointless.
That Skunky went out of his way to insult American Christians, using a transparently thin cover of delivering a swipe at a Republican member of the House, is pinko par for the currish course.
My lord, is there anything in the world that doesn’t offend you? Are you trying for some kind of world record in political correctness?
Lee @ 15
“What was dumb about the vote was that he voted FOR similar resolutions for Ramadan and Diwali. By being inconsistent, he opened himself up to criticism, which I found to be somewhat dumb.”
He did open himself up to criticism, but political criticism. It’s not Christians in general who were annoyed—only wingnuts. I thing that “criticism” was his objective.
Bravo, Jim McDermott.
Look at how the wingnuts are tearing their hair out, their eyes bulging out, their faces red with rage. And for what? Telling the truth in prose or verse about Republican misrule, corruption and their filthy tactics?
You bring out their true nature, their ugly resentment at being exposed, their unhinged hatred of our beloved district.
It’s one of the reasons I keep sending you to back to Washington.
17 – uh, that other Washington, as in DC.
GasBagPiper,
“I’m not at all irked…”
Oh.
Then if your comment @ 6 isn’t a rant… it sure makes a grim statement about your mental health.
@14 & 15…Lee and Darryl (The HA Dropping Twins)…
Offended? ME??? Pa-leeeeeze!
I’m actually delighted, as I’ve already said, that Skunky has more firmly ensconced his Allen-Edmonds into both his mouth and several feet up the collective HA orifice.
That you find Congressional resolutions pointless, Lee, tells me you fail to grasp a fundamental of politics: recognizing and respecting the lives and paramount interests of your constituents. After all, Members of Congress are elected to represent people, not merely kowtow to your POV.
And Darryl, that Skunky would, as Lee noted, vote in favor of honoring everything under the sun save the Christian faith shows that you’re as politically tonedeaf as is he. Remember, your’s isn’t the POV upon which the Congressional barometer rises and falls.
You guys really are legends in your own minds.
The Piper
@19…Darryl…
You’re just jealous because you can’t write satire as well as me.
I’m LAUGHING…Ho, ho, ho!!! Skunky is about as Bah, Humbug! as you can get, and he’s a poster child for all that’s WRONG and moronic about the looney left.
BTW…have yet to see any of you defend the bolo tie.
The Piper
GasBagPiper,
“An axiomatic rule of politics is that when your opponent is self-destructing, don’t interfere.”
Let’s see…Result of the 2006 election:
Jim McDermott (D) 79.2%
Steve Beren (R ) 16.1%
Linnea Noreen (I) 4.8%
Reality still eludes you, eh, GasBagPiper?
@4:
WHEREAS it be resolved that pepperoni is a spicy pork product from Italy and;
WHEREAS it be resolved that pepperoni goes well with mozzarella cheese, another food of Italian origin, and;
WHEREAS it be resolved that indeed these are complemented by a well-rounded tomato sauce, and;
WHEREAS it be resolved that a fine, thin crust, baked in an oven until hot and crispy, facilitates the consumption of said ingredients,
WE HEREBY RESOLVE that pepperoni pizza, being composed of the above-named components, is delicious, and has an honored place at pizzarias, dinner tables, fraternity parties, and in SUVs and mini-vans throughout America.
GasBagPiper,
“You’re just jealous because you can’t write satire as well as me.”
You flatter yourself (or you also suffer from delusional disorder?).
@11 PS
Questions for Piper: Do you talk like this in public Piper?
“Since the beginning of the Republic, Congressional resolutions honoring this or declaring that have been a staple of the political landscape.”
Are you an eighth grader or simply a pompous ass?
@25…PM…
I am indeed that erudite. Comes from reading books, you know! And having a grandmother and other kin insistent upon clarity of thought and precise communication, qualities I seek to impart to all the HA Happy Hooligans.
Merry Christmas!
The Piper
@22…Darryl…
I’ve never contended that GasBaghdad Skunky Judgment Jim McDermott wasn’t an accurate reflection of a strong majority of his Congressional district.
Au contraire!
He fits you (save for the fact you live literally in Redmond but figuratively deep in the bowels of Seattle) to a “T!”
I’ve said it before: He’s your’s; you can have hime!
The Piper
My faith is not ever threatened by someone like Bahgdad Jim. The point IMHO is that BJM goes out of his way to insult Christians. That’s ~78% of the US population. The evidence is his recent vote on Christmas, which he attempted to spin a new way every day that it remained in the news cycle….To lamely attempt to claim a protest vote was ridiculous. Also, he goes out of his way to leave GOD out of the pledge when he takes his turn in congress to lead the pledge. Why do that?
BJM is an easy target becuase he makes himself one. He’s out of the mainstream, and his staunch supporters here at HA validate just how fringe his viewpoints really are.
@23…Tlazolteotl…
Smooth move! You’ve just insulted the locally owned Oberto Company! And probably pissed off half or more of the population of what old-times affectionately refer to as “Garlic Gulch.”
http://www.oberto.com/index.asp
Where is it written that pepperoni has to come from Italy?
The Piper
GasBagPiper,
“I’ve said it before: He’s your’s; you can have hime!”
Maybe you said that…but what I was responding to was your statement that “An axiomatic rule of politics is that when your opponent is self-destructing, don’t interfere.”
(BTW: such a rule would certainly not be “axiomatic” in a political philosophical sensu stricto).
I provided a powerful counterexample. A second one would be that during the 2006 election, McDermott went from being in the minority to being in the majority. Hence, it would seem that, rather than being on some trajectory of self-destruction, McDermott is on a trajectory of greater influence. (The same is certainly true of our Rep. Inslee, as well.)
Jeez, Piper. I give up!
You have no fucking sense of humor at all.
Oh, and Piper:
Remember that NE story the other day about Edwards’ ‘love child?’ Whatever happened to that, eh? And what sort of penance are you doing for bearing false witness by repeating that slander?
Again, I say: You are a fucking hypocrite.
GasBagPiper @ 26,
“I am indeed that erudite.”
This reminds me of a clip that will be in my multimedia roundup tonight where Bill-O claims to be an intellectual. (Yeah…he even has the one-year certificate of some kind to prove it.)
Piper Scott…In my occupation I am surrounded by numerous eloquent speakers and writers, and crystal clear thinkers.
I hate to shake you to your very foundations, dude, but you ramble an awful lot. And much of the time you have a very low signal to noise ratio.
Yeah…for some reason your comment brings to mind this exchange in A Fish Called Wanda
Wanda: To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people. I’ve known sheep who could outwit you. I’ve worn dresses with higher IQs, but you think you’re an intellectual, don’t you, ape?
Otto: Apes don’t read philosophy.
Wanda: Yes they do, Otto, they just don’t understand it.
An important story in today’s Alternet about the movie “Charlie Wilson’s War,” how the film purposefully distorts history. Includes an informative video supplement.
Gee, maybe not all of Hollywood is shilling liberal.
The full article is here: http://www.alternet.org/stories/71286/
Tom Hanks Tells Hollywood Whopper in ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’
By Melissa Roddy, AlterNet. Posted December 21, 2007.
“We just can’t deal with this 9/11 thing. Does it have to be so political?” from an anonymous source at Playtone Productions
Charlie Wilson’s War purports to be the true story of a hard-partying U.S. congressman from Texas who engineered the defeat of the Soviet Union by the Afghan Mujahiddin.
…
In the latter half of the movie, there is one big lie and one item of anti-Afghan propaganda. The lie is that U.S. support to the mujahiddin went only to the faction led by Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Afghan leader who was assassinated on Sept. 9, 2001. I spoke with Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-Texas, in 2002, at which time he called Massoud “a Russian collaborator.” I find it disingenuous that Wilson and his Hollywood biographers now want to throw their arms around him. (Note: George Crile’s book does not make this false claim.) Moreover, if this movie succeeds in convincing Americans that the U.S. support went to Ahmad Shah Massoud alone, it will have effectively let the CIA and Wilson off the hook for their contribution to the circumstances leading up to 9/11. During the 1980s, Wilson engineered the appropriation of approximately $3.5 billion to help the Afghans fight the Soviets. According to Milt Bearden, CIA chief of station to Pakistan, Massoud received less than 1 percent of it.
…
Right Stuff @ 28
“My faith is not ever threatened by someone like Bahgdad Jim.”
Exactly!
“The point IMHO is that BJM goes out of his way to insult Christians.”
Really? Where? And given that he is a Christian, is this like Polish people telling Polish jokes?
“The evidence is his recent vote on Christmas, which he attempted to spin a new way every day that it remained in the news cycle….”
But as you provide testimony for above, how could a Christian ever be insulted by a vote on a house resolution? That doesn’t make any sense at all. On the other hand, I could see how it would insult people’s politics.
“To lamely attempt to claim a protest vote was ridiculous.”
Not only did he “lamely attempt to claim” his vote was a protest vote, he ACTUALLY DID state his vote was a protest vote.
“Also, he goes out of his way to leave GOD out of the pledge when he takes his turn in congress to lead the pledge. Why do that?”
My guess is that he believes in strong separation of church and state…as many, many Christians do.
“BJM is an easy target becuase he makes himself one. He’s out of the mainstream, and his staunch supporters here at HA validate just how fringe his viewpoints really are.”
Of course, he intentionally made himself a political target.
Outside the mainstream? He seems to represent his district exceedingly well (i.e. re-elected with almost 80% of the vote with a liberal 3rd party candidate running as well)—that’s what Representatives are supposed to do!
Very interesting, 34. I was impressed years ago by the sloppiness of Crile’s book, and by its explosive implications that a vital piece of our foreign policy was being run by a fat Democrat hack, Tip O’Neill, and by his Democrat pet, Cocaine Charlie. During a Republican administration, a House cabal was making up policy as it went along, using Israel as a gun-running intermediary between Pakistan and the Saudis. Those were the days.
@31…Tlazolteotl…
Ditto.
The Piper
Jim McDermott’s political values and politics are far more consistent with Christian values than are those of George W. Not even close.
Since this is an open thread, I wonder how incorrectnottobright reacts to this news?
http://epw.senate.gov/public/i.....63dc2d02cb
Again Puddy was ahead of the curve bring to incorrectnottobright the view many scientists are afraid to speak out due to
1) Political Pressure
2) Loss of Publication rights
3) Loss of Funding
4) Being called assholes
5) Being called idiots
6) Kicked off the IPCC
7) Being called Republican
and he said http://www.horsesass.org/?p=3971#comment-719490
“Many of the scientists featured in this report consistently stated that numerous colleagues shared their views, but they will not speak out publicly for fear of retribution. Atmospheric scientist Dr. Nathan Paldor, Professor of Dynamical Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, author of almost 70 peer-reviewed studies, explains how many of his fellow scientists have been intimidated.
“Many of my colleagues with whom I spoke share these views and report on their inability to publish their skepticism in the scientific or public media,” Paldor wrote. [Note: See also July 2007 Senate report detailing how skeptical scientists have faced threats and intimidation – LINK ]”
Typical, so typical
It it were up to me, we’d burn all the Christians at the stake or feed them to the lions. They’re responsible for most of the wars, death, destruction and bullshit that makes this planet suck. Yea Congressman Jim! Congtrats. Too bad, so sad for those right wing asslickers who can’t find a way to get you out of Congress.
In honor of Jim McDimWitt’s vote Puddy found this because I don’t have time to compose it as I gots more shopping to do:
Deck the halls with boughs of non-endangered plant species, Fa la la la la, la la la la
‘Tis the season to be self-actualizing, Fa la la la la, la la la la
Don we now our alternate-lifestyle apparel, Fa la la la la, la la la la
Toll the ancient non-denominational-winter-solstice-holiday carol, Fa la la la la, la la la la
See the blazing log of non-denominational-winter-solstice-holiday-non-endangered wood before us, Fa la la la la, la la la la
Play the harp without unnecessary brutality and join the chorus, Fa la la la la, la la la la
Sing we emotionally stable in a collective group effort, Fa la la la la la la la la
Heedless of the weather patterns despite the effects of global warming, Fa la la la la, la la la la
Fast away the mature year passes, Fa la la la la la la la la
Hail the new year without any implicit ageism, ye persons, Fa la la la la la la la la
Dance in a non-hierarchical manner in merry measure, Fa la la la la la la la la
While I tell of non-materialistic, non-denominational-winter-solstice-holiday
treasure, Fa la la la la, la la la la
In honor of Jim McDimWitt’s vote Puddy found this one too since most of his constituents are members of this house!
The Fucking Night Before Christmas, Dammit
==========================================
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Everybody felt shitty — even the mouse.
Mom at the Whorehouse and Dad smoking grass;
I’d just settled down for a nice piece of ass.
When out on the lawn I heard such a clatter
I sprung from my piece to see what the matter
Then out on the lawn I saw a big dick
I knew in a moment: it must be Saint Nick.
He came down the chimney like a bat out of hell
I knew in a moment the fat fucker fell.
He filled all our stockings with pretzels and beer
And a big rubber dick for my brother the queer.
He rose up the chimney with a thunderous fart
The son of a bitch blew the chimeny apart,
He swore and he cursed as he rode out of sight
“Piss on you all and have a hell of a night!”
@31…Da-Da-Da-Darryl…
“Sensu stricto?” Is that as opposed to your sensu lato stanso?
It is axiomatic both strategically and tactically, and certainly, Judgment Jim soiled his political pants by voting against a simple resolution recognizing the Christian faith and Christmas. His convenient backpeddling protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, once again he was made to look like the doofus he is.
The 2006 elections only made him a member of the majority party in Congress; his “influence,” such as it is, grew no larger. If anything, now the spotlight is upon him to deliver since he’s got the Speaker on speed dial. That he can’t or won’t just means…even his own kind find him to be a dunderhead.
With his seniority, if he’s “on a trajectory of greater influence,” why isn’t he in leadership? Instead of being a Congressional laughing stock on cable news shows?
Hmmmm???
The Piper
How about this title:
“Frosty the Snowdragqueen?”
Here’s anothe title Christmas Jim would love:
“I’m dreaming of a multicultural gay marriage in Seattle on Christmas”
Or for Christmas Jim:
“Rudolph the specially equipped Rainbow Coalition Reindeer-American?”
Oh shucks, Puddy has to compose sumtin since Christmas and Jim McDermott are diametrically opposed objects:
Away in a hovel, no crib for a bed,
The little Abdullah laid down his Keffiyeh head.
His 72 virgins in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Abdullah asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, No steaks to be grilled,
But little boy Krishnan no crying he’s still.
I love thee, boy Krishnan! Look down from the sky,
And stay by my side until the naan bread is nigh.
Be near me Little Buddha,
I ask thee to stay.
Close by me with incense,
And love me I pray.
Bless all the dear wiccans,
In thy tender care.
And take them to wherever,
To be with thee there.
Ted Kennedy can relate to this:
A Drunk’s Night Before Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
There were bottle of booze left around by some louse.
When through the North window there came loud a yell
I sprang to my feet to see what the hell…
And what to my bloodshot eyes should I see,
But eight drunken reindeer caught up in a tree.
And there in the branches, was a man with a sleigh.
I knew it was Santa, quite tiddley and gay.
Staggering nearer those eight reindeer came,
While he belched and hiccoughed and called them by name:
“On Whiskey! On Vodka! we ain’t got all night,
You too, Gin and Brandy, now all do it right!
Clamber up on the roof, and get off this wall,
Get going you rummies, we’ve still got a long haul!”
So up on the roof went the reindeer and sleigh,
But a tree branch hit Santa before he could sway.
And then to my ears like the roll of a barrel,
A hell of a noise that was no Christmas carol.
So I pulled in my head and I cocked a sharp ear,
Down the chimney he plunged, landing smack on his rear.
He was both plump and chubby, and tried to stand right,
But he didn’t fool me, he was high as a kite.
He spoke not a word but went straight to work
And missed half the stockings, the drunken old jerk.
Then putting his thumb to the end of his nose,
He fluttered his fingers as he quoted prose.
As he sprung for his sleigh at so hasty a pace,
He tripped on a shingle and he slid on his face.
But I heard him call back as he passed out of sight,
“Merry Christmas, you lushes, now really get tight!”
Jim McDermott is a patriot and a hero. He should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He sacrificed himself to save America from Republican tyranny.
GasBagPiper,
It is axiomatic both strategically and tactically, and certainly…”
Ummm…dude, I don’t think you understand what the word “axiomatic” means in the sense you first used it above.
“…Judgment Jim soiled his political pants by voting against a simple resolution recognizing the Christian faith and Christmas.”
Yes…he did vote against a resolution. But, here is where your wingnuttery fails you. You seem to equate “voting against the resolution” with voting against “the Christian faith and Christmas.” That is factually and practically incorrect. Your wingnuttery has caused you to invent a connection where none exist, and actual evidence offers counterexample.
“His convenient backpeddling protestations to the contrary…”
What the hell kind of pseudointellectual babble is this?
“…notwithstanding, once again he was made to look like the doofus he is.”
Sure…to you hate-filled wingnuts. But, you would claim the same about of video of him scratching his arm. Come, on…I mean, seriously, you say the exact same thing about every liberal politician ’round here (you know…McDermott, Inslee, Oemig). You’re a broken record with your head in your own little Wingding world…and you are stuck on a really boring track.
“The 2006 elections only made him a member of the majority party in Congress; his “influence,” such as it is, grew no larger. If anything, now the spotlight is upon him to deliver since he’s got the Speaker on speed dial. That he can’t or won’t just means…even his own kind find him to be a dunderhead.”
I am not aware of any surveys that demonstrate that McDermott is less popular than average among his own kind. I rather suspect you are pulling stuff out of your ass again.
“With his seniority, if he’s “on a trajectory of greater influence,” why isn’t he in leadership?”
Not being in leadership only means that he could be more influential. Your statement was that he is “self-destructing.” I’ve shown a couple of ways that your claim is incorrect (he is more influential by virtue of being in the majority, and he is widely popular among those he represents). Showing that he can ascend further is not the same as showing he is descending.
‘…Instead of being a Congressional laughing stock on cable news shows?”‘
So, I’ve actually seen much (perhaps all) of the mainstream cable news accounts of this. Aside from your fellow wingnuttia like Bill-0, I haven’t seen instances of him being treated as a “congressional laughing stock.” Care to link to some Youtube footage? Or is this just more wishful thinking on your part?
Come on, GasBagPiper…if you clench your fists really tight and click your heals you just might transform the world into your land of makebelieve. Keep at it!
“It is axiomatic…”
It truly is a shame when people mistake pompous flourish for true erudition. Erudition requires using words not because they sound fancy, but because they actually convey the required meaning and connotations for the remaining content and context.
Darryl,
Allow me to translate Piper’s use of the word “axiomatic”: It means he believes the statement to be true, and no amount of evidence to the contrary is capable of shaking his belief.
I went and read the text of the “Christmas resolution” in question. It seems there are a couple of sentences that were scratched out of the version that went up for the final vote, that were basically a heavy-handed fundy screed that could easily have been construed as a statement that fundamentalist Christianity is the only religion that’s worth jack shit. For the Congress of the United States, whose members are all sworn to “uphold and defend the Constitution” (and that includes the First Amendment, boys and girls) to have passed the resolution in its original version would have been a travesty. I can’t help but wonder whether McDermott was fully aware that said portion had been edited out when the vote took place.
Even the final version leaves little doubt that its authors oh, so want the United States to be officially a “Christian nation”.
President Bush wished everyone, “Happy Holidays!”
Looks like we won the war on Christmas!
Mission Accomplished!
Darryl,
YOU and I know what JM claims motivated this faux pas! Does that make it more effective? If he pee’d on the floor or snored onto a Mike would that help too????
If he really wanted to be effective he would have introduced the Comprehensive Holiday Act, aka CHA CHA, proposing that we recognize ALL holidays that occur within 60 days of the solstice by inviting an appropriate priest, rabbi, iman, medicine man, guru, arhant to address congress for 10 minute on his or her holiday and its significance.
I would not give flying donut hole about this IF there were other evidence that Jim McD does more than preen himself for his latest grandstand appearance every day.
Just to come real close to home. He DOES represent the UW! When didja last see his face on campus! I can not think of any issues where this guy has helped shape local opinion other than the important issue of healthcare thgat I gather he was involved in before going to DC.
Lets put it this way .. do a thought experiment. Put Jimbo on KIRO weekends and Holdy in the Capital. Do ya suppose it would make a difference?
Have a good Xmas. We will be at Jewday (we get movies cheap on savior day) watching our annual flick and celebrating the birthday on our daughter, the true messiah!
BTW, I have been thinking about something you told me. How come we see so little trouble from Bangladesh and so much from Pakistan???
@16 Darryl
I am not a Xtain and I was annoyed. It was insulting to my fellow Americans … kinds like farting in an anthorpology lecture w/o apologizing for the stink.
@38 Puddy:
Try this on for size: Instead of a Republican report – I give you an actual wikipedia entry on the actual 2007 IPCC report. If the so-called scientists (cited in the above republican opinion piece) had any credibility they would have actually contributed to the IPCC report.
“Lord Rees, the president of the Royal Society, said, “This report (the IPCC report) makes it clear, more convincingly than ever before, that human actions are writ large on the changes we are seeing, and will see, to our climate. The IPCC strongly emphasises that substantial climate change is inevitable, and we will have to adapt to this. This should compel all of us – world leaders, businesses and individuals – towards action rather than the paralysis of fear. We need both to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases and to prepare for the impacts of climate change. Those who would claim otherwise can no longer use science as a basis for their argument.”[9]
U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman told a news conference that the report was “sound science” and “As the president has said, and this report makes clear, human activity is contributing to changes in our earth’s climate and that issue is no longer up for debate.”[10] Kurt Volker, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, said, “We support the recent IPCC report, in which U.S. scientists played a leading role.”[11]
Based on the IPCC report, 46 countries in a “Paris Call for Action” read out by French President Chirac, have called for the creation of a United Nations Environment Organization (UNEO), which is to have more power than the current United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and is to be modelled after the more powerful World Health Organization. The 46 countries included the European Union nations, but notably did not include the United States, China, Russia, and India, the top four emitters of greenhouse gases.[12]”
Incorrectnotveryright: Why do you run away from my questions? Can’t you stand up on your own feet?
Amazon.com to Anchor South Lake Union Complex
We now know who Paul Allen’s mystery tenant is:
“SEATTLE (AP) – Web retailer Amazon.com Inc. is planning to move its headquarters in 2010 to the city’s South Lake Union neighborhood being developed by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen.
“Amazon’s campus will include up to 11 new buildings, or up to 1.6 million square feet, on six blocks along Terry and Boren Avenues between Mercer and John Streets. …
“In exchange for the City Council’s approval to break height regulations for three of the buildings earlier this month, Vulcan said it will contribute about $6.4 million for affordable housing and take measures to reduce traffic, among other conditions. …
“In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Amazon said it will pay up to $1.5 billion over 16 years to occupy the full 1.6 million square feet. Amazon also has options for additional space.”
Quoted under fair use; for complete story and/or copyright info see http://money.aol.com/news/arti.....0909990001
LIES:
* Somehow, the MLK story manages to get worse for a certain former Massachusetts governor: “Mitt Romney went a step further in a 1978 interview with the Boston Herald. Talking about the Mormon Church and racial discrimination, he said: ‘My father and I marched with Martin Luther King Jr. through the streets of Detroit.’” Oh my.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/
CORRUPTION:
* When the Bush administration balked at California’s request to impose greenhouse-gas regulations beyond federal requirements, it ignored the evidence completely: “‘California met every criteria … on the merits. The same criteria we have used for the last 40 years on all the other waivers,’ said an EPA staffer. ‘We told him that. All the briefings we have given him laid out the facts.’” Better yet, Bush’s EPA leaders made their decision on California’s application after cutting off consultation with their technical staff and before a justification for the rejection could even be written.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerrepo rt.com/
CORPORATE CONTROLLED:
* On a related note, before EPA administrator Stephen Johnson rejected California’s application, auto executives appealed directly to Dick Cheney, and Johnson delayed his decision until after the VP had talked to the execs: “On multiple occasions in October and November, Cheney and White House staff members met with industry executives, including the CEOs of Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler. At the meetings, the executives objected to California’s proposed fuel economy standards.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/
OK Puddypud, peeper, etc give us your Rush Limbaugh style Clinton did this and then did that like what Clinton did changes the lies and corruption and bribe taking of the Bushies magically into good governance. How do you sleep at night you pathetic trolls knowing that the goverment you so ardently support are liars and thieves and morally corrupt down to their toenails?? And oh yeah! they’re fucking war criminals too!
Ah the wisdom of the Republicans free market at work:
Sometimes, the national healthcare scandal isn’t limited to those without insurance; sometimes it’s equally outrageous what happens to those with insurance. (thanks to LM for the tip)
The family of a 17-year-old girl who died hours after her health insurer reversed a decision and said it would pay for a liver transplant plans to sue the company, their attorney said Friday.
Nataline Sarkisyan died Thursday at about 6 p.m. at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. She had been in a vegetative state for weeks, said her mother, Hilda.
Attorney Mark Geragos said he plans to ask the district attorney to press murder or manslaughter charges against Cigna HealthCare in the case. The insurer “maliciously killed her” because it did not want to bear the expense of her transplant and aftercare, Geragos said.
Nataline was battling leukemia — she had received a bone marrow transplant from her brother — but experienced liver failure as a complication from the treatment. Gigna reportedly balked at the cost of the transplant, calling the procedure “experimental” and outside the scope of coverage.
In the wake of the decision, 150 students and nurses protested at the company’s offices. Cigna, apparently afraid of a public-relations nightmare, reversed course and said it would pay for the liver transplant.
But it was too late. Nataline died within hours of Cigna changing its mind about the procedure.
Impeachment – 9 Years Ago This Week
In December of 1998, the House of Representatives, through a bill authored by serial adulterer Henry Hyde, during a lame-duck session of Congress where Speaker and serial adulterer Newt Gingrich (who started up with a mistress while his wife was in the hospital with cancer) had to hand over his gavel to Ray LaHood, during a floor debate marred by the resignation of potential House Speaker candidate and serial adulterer Bob Livingston, voted to impeach the President of the United States for only the second time in American history. The count was 228-206 on the perjury charge, and 221-212 on obstruction of justice (two other counts failed). Being the anniversary week, C-SPAN decided to air large portions of the House debate.
I couldn’t stop watching.
You actually can read the transcripts here, but believe me when I tell you that the phony sanctimony from the Republicans is striking. I’ve never heard so many renderings of history, deep intoning about the Constitution and reverance for the rule of law come out in such a stream of pabulum in my life. Set against the background of the current Administration, which has lied us into war, spied on American citizens, tortured and indefinitely detained suspects without trial in secret sites all over the world, subverted the will of the people through deliberate deception, and brought this country to its knees, all in full view of many of these same lawmakers, the experience of watching them speak is almost otherworldly.
What the Republicans were actually doing is throwing a hissy fit. They saw in the Lewinsky case an opportunity to whine and cry and get a media predisposed to hating Bill Clinton on their side. After all, he came in and trashed the place, and it wasn’t his place. So they would use every rhetorical means at their disposal to make the impeachment about these abstract concepts of justice that they
regularly ignore these days, so that they could mask the fact that they were trying to remove a President over a blow job, and among those voting to sustain that were Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Randy “Duke” Cunningham and the entire cast of sexual and moral deviants.
The media, not recognizing that the public largely didn’t care about Clinton’s infidelity as much as they cared about his policies, played the scandal to the hilt, using sensationalism for ratings glory, but also trying to cast a member out of their Village they prized so much, because the Clintons weren’t part of their gang. The endless series of blonde female prosecutors filled the cable nets, pundits of the kind of Chris Matthews sat around looking grim, and the High Broderists moaned about the “crisis” in Washington, which was the only place in the country there was a crisis, of course.
@34…YP…
Saw “Charlie Wilson’s War” last night, and I recommend it.
But it doesn’t assert, as you claim, that Ahmad Shah Massoud was the only game in town. In fact, the reference to him in the movie is almost in passing.
While books upon which movies are based are always more complex, with many more characters and infinitely more intertwined plot twists, “Charlie Wilson’s War” does a good job of capturing the essence of the book, and it’s a great reminder of a time when many liberals where fervent and quite violent anti-communists and militaristic players on the international scene.
Nice touch with his dress shirts too, epaulets and all.
The Piper
I love Jim McDermott. He is a jewel in the crown of WA State.