From The Stranger, who quote Grist:
On Monday, Clinton named Joy Philippi, the former president of a the National Pork Producers Council, the main trade group representing confined animal feeding operators, as co-chair of Rural Americans for Hillary.
You known who’s in change of rural outreach for the John Edwards campaign?
John Edwards.
Brilliant! Appointing someone in charge of an industry that is ruing rural America to be the head of outreach to rural America. It doesn’t get any better than that.
http://nocafos.org/
I thought all the pigs were Republicans!
In reality, Roger Rabbit, Pelletizer, is really a fat oinker sitting on his fat butt wallowing in his one slop.
Oh he calls it is Westlake hole.
own slop, one slop, it’s all in his hole
Roger Rabbit, how come evolution’s natural selection skipped you?
@6 I am the highly refined result of millenia of selective breeding. Got any more stupid questions?
@3
Clinton’s barely a Democrat.
A Pack Of Liars
FactCheck.org, via Newsweek, blows the whistle on the GOP presidential candidates:
“Another debate, another round of fact-checking. The GOP meeting in South Carolina was the third for Republican candidates in a week, but they haven’t run out of exaggerations or misstatements:
“- Romney claimed Massachusetts gained jobs ‘every single month’ he was governor … [i]n fact the job gains seesawed, with seven of 36 months producing job losses.
“- Huckabee escalated his misleading claims about cutting taxes, saying he cut taxes for the first time in the history of the state of Arkansas, which is untrue. Others put through tax cuts before he did. Overall, Huckabee raised taxes.
“- Romney falsely claimed to have been endorsed by the Massachusetts Right to Life Association. …
“- Thompson … said he’d been endorsed by the National Education Association. But he was actually endorsed only by the New Hampshire chapter …
“- Huckabee claimed that highways in Arkansas had gone from the ‘worst road system in the country’ to the ‘most improved’ in the ratings of a trucking magazine. He failed to mention … they remained fourth from the bottom on the ‘worst’ list.
“- Giuliani asserted that cutting the corporate tax rate ‘will get more revenues.’ …”
For more, see http://www.newsweek.com/id/91535/page/1
when will they (dem and GOP horses) really discuss iraq ….the new efforts and focus on surge and money will not work . sunni or latter
Last night, after reading that Kerry endorsed Obama:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22590831/
“Kerry endorses Obama for president”
“… Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the third contender in the Democratic presidential race, was Kerry’s vice presidential running mate in 2004. Despite their political alliance, the two men were not close personally and differed behind the scenes on campaign strategy in a race that President Bush won.
Edwards responded to word of the endorsement with a diplomatic statement: “Our country and our party are stronger because of John’s service, and I respect his decision. When we were running against each other and on the same ticket, John and I agreed on many issues.”
“….Kerry and Edwards had their differences during the 2004 campaign over strategy and spending, and Edwards has said he would have been more aggressive in challenging the unsubstantiated allegations of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth questioning Kerry’s military record.”
Kerry sure didn’t waste time last night! Mere hours later, he sent me an email, soliciting money for Obama. In turn, I sure didn’t waste time either, hitting the “Unsubscribe” link to Kerry and ALL his domains! Part of Kerry’s support is to supply his email lists of all the small time donors and organizational support he received (myself included).
Edwards worked his a$$ off to help Kerry get elected, now it doesn’t sound like he was even given the courtesy of advanced warning about that endorsement. From what I’ve read many times, Edwards urged Kerry to hit hard and hit FAST when the Swift Boaters started their lies. Kerry chose not to do so, and the rest – as they say “Is History”.
Edwards guy is Mudcat Saunders … and it’s not a smooth ride.
http://time-blog.com/swampland.....acist.html
Meanwhile, Philippi really is representative of a lot of family farmers.
@10
Richardson was the only Dem in the race truly committed to getting us out of Iraq and he’s not in the race anymore.
@10: Saying that a lobbyist for “confined animal feeding operators” (a euphemism for noxious, anti-competitive factory pig-making) represents “family farmers” is like saying a WalMart lobbyist represents rural America’s downtown associations just because they’re both in retail. They’re not on the same side. At. All.
@10
What Geov said.
CAFO’s are killing rural America.
http://nocafos.org/
Well, maybe she is just trying to carry out her mission to put women in charge. After all, it must be awfully hard to find a man in the rural confined meat growing council community who will support her.
@16
More likely trying to make sure the Tyson Foods gravy train keeps on rolling along.
#14: Funny thing about that. H. Clinton was on the Wal-Mart Board of Directors for 6 years, while they put rural mom and pop stores out of business:
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0207-34.htm
Wow! A litany of heartbroken Dems all feeling cheated by either the HRC or BHO organizations.
How soon before you all start shooting your wounded?
Dems…sucks to be you!
The Piper
@19
BHO isn’t in the post or the comment thread and I doubt any of us, “Feel Cheated” by HRC.
If nobody pays taxes, we’ll collect more revenues than ever!
That’s how business works, right? Ya gotta be a hard-headed realist!
@20…Michael…
Go back and read what I wrote very closely…I said by the HRC and BHO ORGANIZATIONS!
There’s bitching in this thread against heach, including BHO’s. See @11.
All this bickering is going to get worse, so get ready for the nasty index to shoot through the roof.
The Piper
#11 is complaining about John Kerry. And your just digging your hole deeper, better to stop now.
Piper Scott @ 22,
You are exhibiting a classic case of Projection.
The fact is, the vast majority of liberals and progressives would be happy with either Clinton, Edwards, or Obama. Sure…there are some preferences, but we would agree that the “worst” Democratic candidate is far, far better than the “best” Republican candidate.
It is the Republicans who are pretty damned unhappy with their choices. Sure…a small block of Republicans likes each of the front-runners, but there is LOTS of angst and unhappiness among Republicans as a whole over their “choices.”
It suck to be a Republican this year. And you won’t find much disagreement with that (even among Republicans). The pathetic GOP fundraising numbers serve as strong corroborating evidence.
This is exactly what is wrong with the Clintons. The ‘third way’ is telling Democrats they are Progressives, and then doing the Republican thing anyway.
They are playing us like the Republicans played the religious right.
I’ll vote for Huckabee before I vote for those fork-tongued Clintons.
On Clinton
Worry I have.
The best arguement for HRC over BHO is that the Prexy will need a massive effort to replce thousands of Bush appointed doofusses.The Billary Cohorts .. the arguement goes .. are ready and able to do this.
Maybe, but HRC’s track record of appointments is rather dismal and .. depending on the area .. WJC’s record is also problematic (though compared to Bush, any comparison will be good).
HRC (since she is the one running) appointed Ira Magaziner to head her original health effort. Magaziner is, by every measure I have read, an awful choice. He is an ideologue /s political/admin skills. Currently Magaziner is the Policy Director and Chairman of the Clinton Foundation Policy Board aHis role in HRC’s campaign is not known BUT …
Bill Clinton appointed Madeline Albright. Appratnly the choice was gender based and she was a very ineffective SOS. She is currently one of HRC’s closest advisers.
Bill and Hillary tried to appoint Lani Guanier. Guanier is brilliant, but her ideas are so far to the left that no one is going to support them.
Marc Penn, HRC’s campaign manager is an arrogant person with many fo the bad traits folks assign to HRC.
And now we have Will’s example.
This seems to em to contrast with team Obama. He seems to be attracting highly competent folks.
@24…Darryl…
Then tell it to @25…Irv…
It’s dangerous to (1) write your own press releases, then, (2) believe them. The election is 10-months away, and anything can happen.
As the NH Demo primary reminded us, polls can be disasterously wrong. Dennis Kucinich’s demand for a recount – don’t you love having a Smurf for a Prexy candidate? – notwithstanding, the results bitch-slapped the pundits, pollsters, and even the principle candidates’ assessment of expected results.
Six-months ago everybody and his mother, including me – sucked to be me then, eh what? – was kicking sand in John McCain’s face. Now the old coot is today’s frontrunner after kicking sand in Mitt’s face in NH. While his trend line is up – SC polls have him in the lead by some three-points – there are no guarantees. To understate it, the situation is fluid.
HRC isn’t getting a NH-generated bounce in SC where BHO holds a 12% lead. John Edwards stinks up the place in third with 15%, less than what he got in NH and what has to be seen as embarrassing given his home state is just up the road a piece.
Polling data from http://www.rasmussenreports.com/
While approximately tied nationally, more good news seems to be coming BHO’s way than HRC’s. The Vegas culinary workers endorsement, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano’s endorsement (so much for women supporting women because they’re women), and, again, the continuing numbers coming out of SC.
And to put an alcohol-laced turd in HRC’s campaign punchbowl, brassknuckle bad boy Sydney Blumenthal went and got himself busted for a DWI in NH on the eve of the primary.
http://www.blog.newsweek.com/b.....-boil.aspx
Given the track record of the HA Happy Hoolihangherhigh hollerings against a certain local politico for her admittedly chowderheaded chapter in this same regard, I look forward to Blum bashing on an equivalent level. After all, Dems are the party of “fairness,” and they NEVER shield their own or rationalize Dem behavior when they criticize GOP’ers for the same stuff.
Sucks to be you, Syd, and couldn’t happen to a nastier guy!
If the Presidential election were to be held to day, the results would be what? Non-binding, irrelevent, and hypothetical, that’s what. The only poll that has finality is the one taken of voters on Election Day 2008.
Think back to 1992 and compare the relative positions of candidates in January to the results of that November’s election.
“In 1991, President Bush had high popularity ratings in the wake of the Gulf War. Many well-known Democrats considered the race unwinnable…”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.....tion,_1992
Yet the result? From the same source as above:
“On November 3, Bill Clinton won election as the 42nd President of the United States by a wide margin in the U.S. Electoral College, despite receiving only 43 percent of the popular vote. It was the first time since 1968 that a candidate won the White House with under 50 percent of the popular vote. The state of Arkansas was the only state in the entire country that gave the majority of its vote to a single candidate; the rest were won by pluralities of the vote. It would not be until the 2004 election that a candidate would receive the majority of the popular vote again.”
How’s that Electoral College working out for you now?
The similarity between 1992 and today even has a third-party possibility, albeit more hype than happening, in NYC Mayor Michael Blumenthal who, if he ran, would siphon as many, if not more, votes from the Dem nominee as the GOP one.
Of course, 1992 had an incumbent, and ’08, obviously, doesn’t. What’s significant is the relative position of the party’s irrespective of nominee at points in time before the elction. At this time in ’92, it was almost a given that GHWB would be re-elected.
Circumstances, events, stuff, life, crap happened and changed and the results turned out different.
What I see the HA Happy Hooligans and their kissin’ cousins the netroot/DailyKus/MoveOn types doing is assuming that a majority of the electorate holds their positions AND their rationale for them, and I’m not sure I’d go that far. Your (used in a collective sense, which should please you since, as a liberal, you think less in individualistic terms than collective ones) manifesto isn’t necessarily that of voters outside what FDR’s Postmaster General, James Farley, called, “The Soviet of Washington.”
Each party has its base, and Presidential Politics 101 more or less says you play to your base in the nominating process, then run to the center to get elected. Cliche, I know, and overly simplistic, but instructive nonetheless.
In fact, I read a piece a few days ago that criticized the whole inevitability thing about HRC saying she was running too centrist a campaign as if she already had the nomination and was running a general election campaign. Interesting, though, how she’s recently tacked left (her NH tear-fest, “I’ve found my voice?”) in order to out flank BHO.
Increasingly, between the two Demo front runners, there’s less campaigning against Dubya and more against each other, and it is getting nastier. When Frat Boy Bill goes on the Al Sharpton radio program – that’s the TAWANA BRAWLEY Al Sharpton, mind you – to explain himself, that says something.
But the damage may already be done as black voters in SC are increasingly unhappy with the snide and sly racially colored digs that HRC continues to hurl BHO’s way. Even black supporters of HRC find them “painful.”
http://www.thestate.com/presid.....82561.html\
And the same story describes how a generational divide is opening with BHO characterizing HRC almost as yesterday’s candidate suitable only for geezers:
“Obama has gotten under the skin of the Clintons by painting Hillary Clinton as a calculating politician whose election would take the country back to the bitterly partisan years of the 1990s.”
To paraphrase the old 1969 Creedance Cleerwater Revival song:
“I see bad Demo blood brewing.
I see trouble on the way.
I see cat fights, name calling.
I see bad Demo times today.”
Your coalitions, unity, and espirit are fragile and subject to breakage at the slightest of provocations. And old nastiness and genuine gutter politics are just as much a part of the campaigns of your candidates as anyone. Dems have a long and storied history in that regard; remember Chicago and 1968? What Mayor Dailey called Senator Abraham Ribicoff?
So don’t go thinking that you’res is without copious amounts of stink of its own. Nor should you take for granted that Americans share your notion of the ideal worker’s paradise such that they’ll flock to the polls singing a marginally sanitized version of L’Internationale.
While it bucks Vegas odds, a Republican victory in November isn’t out of the question.
That’s all…
The Piper
@11 “Kerry chose not to do so, and the rest – as they say ‘Is History’.”
Why he didn’t is a mystery. But even a jellyfish like him would have been better than another 4 years of Bush and his cohort of thieves, liars, and killers.
@16 “Confined animal feeding operators”? WTF? What kind of sick euphemism is that? Sounds like calling Dachau a “hygienic processing station” because the cyanide kills lice! Do they imprison rabbits in these places?
Rabbits must arm!
@19 Not to worry, we only shoot wounded Republicans.
Just kidding!! Gotta love that Ann Coulter humor, haha.
If I had no other reason to vote for Hillary, I would vote for her simply because the wingnuts hate her.
@32…RR…
If I told you we all secretly loved her, would that dissuade you from voting? If so, consider it done.
The Piper
@26 “The best arguement for HRC over BHO is that the Prexy will need a massive effort to replce thousands of Bush appointed doofusses.”
Actually, that’s not true. The best rest to choose HRC instead of BHO is that the nation faces very complex and difficult issues, especially in the economic sphere, and being a fresh new face and gifted orator will not be nearly enough to right our listing ship. In a word, American has a massive cash flow problem that threatens the future well-being of everyone from young workers to social security pensioners. Barack’s happy talk isn’t going to fix these problems, and his conciliatory gestures toward Republicans won’t get anything through Congress. And if Edwards can’t do better with the voters than he has so far, it will be hard to avoid concluding he lacks the leadership skills required to galvanize the nation and Congress to action. The country needs a president with her feet on the ground and a realistic attitude toward what needs to be done, and how to get it done. Firing all the Bush appointees is the least, and easiest, of the tasks ahead of her.
best reason
@29…RR…
Imprison rabbits? Nah! Plink at them with a .22, shoot a few, gut and skin ’em out, then:
1 rabbit, cut up
2 T. salt
3 eggs, beaten
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4. tsp pepper
Cut up rabbit.
In a lg. pot, fill about half way with water. Add 2 T. salt, and bring to a boil. Add rabbit, and parboil for 1/2 hr. Drain and let cool.
Beat eggs in a bowl.
Put flour on a plate, and mix with salt and pepper.
Dip rabbit pieces, one at a time, into egg, and then flour mixture.
Meanwhile, on high, heat 1/2″ of oil in a lg. cast iron frying pan.
When oil is hot, add rabbit pieces, one at a time into the oil.
When one side is golden, flip over to the other side. Cook until golden brown and crispy.
Drain each piece on a paper towel, to soak up grease.
Serve hot, with your favorite side dish.
Serves 1-2 depending on appetite.
While rabbit ordinarily tastes like chicken, I’m told yours would be more on the order of senile, dried-up old rooster.
The Piper
@32 No. I will do what’s best for the country. That probably means voting for McCain in the primary, and may mean backing HRC in the caucus, even though I don’t like her. I’m not sold on Obama, and while I personally like Edwards’ populist message, he’s not making the sale with voters so far and may not be in the race much longer.
However, as a personal concession to you, piper, I’m now going to read the latest edition of “The Crackpiper Chronicles” while soaking in the bathtub.
@38…RR…
Typical Rabbit genius thinking…taking his ‘puter into the tub. Though…it is a good way to get this:
INGREDIENTS – Rabbit; water.
Mode – For boiling, choose rabbits with smooth and sharp claws, as that denotes they are young*: should these be blunt and rugged, the ears dry and tough, the animal is old. After emptying and skinning it, wash it well in cold water, and let it soak for about 1/4 hour in warm water, to draw out the blood. Bring the head round to the side, and fasten it there by means of a skewer run through that and the body. Put the rabbit into sufficient hot water to cover it, let it boil very gently until tender, which will be in from 1/2 to 3/4 hour, according to its size and age. Dish it, and smother it either with onion, mushroom, or liver sauce, or parsley-and-butter; the former is, however, generally preferred to any of the last-named sauces. When liver-sauce is preferred, the liver should be boiled for a few minutes, and minced very finely, or rubbed through a sieve before it is added to the sauce.
Time – A very young rabbit, 1/2 hour; a large one, 3/4 hour; an old one, 1 hour or longer.
Average cost, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each.
Sufficient for 4 persons.
*I’m willing to make an exception in your case.
As a general rule, the best thing to do with your screeds is print them, then take them to the John not to read, but because I’m out of Charmin.
The Piper
Roger
Roger Rabbit says:
The best rest to choose HRC instead of BHO is that the nation faces very complex and difficult issues, especially in the economic sphere, and being a fresh new face and gifted orator will not be nearly enough to right our listing ship…… Firing all the Bush appointees is the least, and easiest, of the tasks ahead of her.
There are several imminent crises the next admin must face and must quickly. The reason I focus on the staff issues is that this ALONE is an overwhelming task and .. though I am an Obama supporter ..I do suspect Hillary may bhge more efficient in this direction than ANY other candidate of either party.
To use your own example, the dollar crisis, the current Secty of the Treasury is a huge improvement of Bush’s last choice, but his successor (actually he might be a good choice with a better Prexy) is going to need support from the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the State Department, and of course his own staff. Imaguine restaffing the fiscal positions at Bank of America and doing that in six months!
As for crises, the dollar issue is huge, but there are more:
1. Immigration. The Repricans have screwed this already difficult issue to the wall. No matter what plan we undertake, it will require a decade or more to reverse thre damage Bush has done. BTW the effect on the cash issue is real, the cost of extraditin of a sinlge furriner is liley several k. Multiply that times 12 million and this could cost us tens of billions of dollars. AND all this is irrespecti9ve of which policy one uses to fix the issue and how we can do this while maintaining the helathy influx we need.
2. Healthcare. The issue is far worse than anyone has been willing t tell the public. There is a very real chance of a catastrophic even in the near future and we no longer have the reserves to handle that. AND this issue is irrespective of providing helath care insurance, though that is agood first step.
3. Foreign Alliances. The similarity of current uS foregn policy to that of Graet Britain in 07 is scary. We are in real danger of slipping into at least a regional war in an era where such a war will have global implications.
As one example, economic analysidtd have predicted the fall of the house of Saud based on metrics very similar to those used by Carter to predict the fall of the USSR. Thanks to the c owboy, we have NO alliances in place that might step in even temporarily WHEN that happens.
4. US Education. The needs here are astronomical and go far beyond Clintonesque tidbits of money. In an era where national education is central to competitiveness, the US survives only because we have been able to maintian a long term brain drain. Our best universities today often train a majority of foreigners and immigrants in critical fields. To make this worse, the traditional progressive establishment opposes most real reforms while the radical reprocans believe that Darwin is the problem.
I can go on and on, BUT my concern with Hillary vs. BHO, comes down to two things:
Who can move fastest to get a new government going? I suspect this must be HRC.
Who will make the best decisions and be able to lead the country through the hard decsions?
39 ctd.
Who will make the best decisions and be able to lead the country through the hard decisions?
On the right the only persons qualified seem to me to be Romney and McCain. WADR tom both of these guys, and ignoring their pandering, only McCain has a history of thinking and writing abut issues at this level. I can imagine Romney working for McCain, but I have no idea who Romney would go to to hlp him make decisions. On the R, I root for McC.
On the left, and overall, I root for BHO. I root for a dem because I think any Reprican will have a horrible job of reforming his party BEFORE he can get anything lese done. I do not know if that is possible.
I root for BHO at this level mainly oth of respect for talks he gave before thecurent sound bite season intervened.
For all her competence,. HRC seems to me to be a rather by-the-book liberal.
Foreign Policy: We need a much bolder foreign policy than we had in the Clinton Years. This means rebuilding alliances but it also means creating new kinds of Kissinger-esque alliances that WJC never seemed to be good at. I worry a lot that she would choose another Albright as SOS rather than Wes Clark or Holbrook (my choices). For someone who aspires ot such a high post, she has said amazinglt little about foreign policy. BHO, in contrast, has said some pretty bold things and these have been supported by the leftish intellegentia.
Education BHO talks about a Europe4an style socialized education. HRC talks about band aids that decrease some of the bleeding of the current corpse. We need FREE eduction for the QUALIFIED through grad school. We need master teachers. While BHO may not be able to deliver all this, at least he talks about it.
immigrstion. We are going to end up, one way or the other, with the Bush-McCain Kennedy plan. Getting this to happen is going t require re-educating the American polity. I am not sure HRC can do that,
Healthcare We need some very smart people to lead this reform. Ira Magaziner is frightening. As part of this we are going t loose some of our freedoms as genomic sequences become cheap.
Finally, do not downplay charisma. Reagan had it and achieved what he did despite a lack of an IQ and a set of advisers. Barack has the potential to be seen as a world wide hero. Having the chinese peole singing the Barck girl song wuld be very usefrul!