*Sometimes people say, Carl, they say, why don’t you ever call bullshit on Democrats? And the truth is that I like what the party does. But seriously, what the hell were the Democrats who voted for the FISA law thinking? Not that the Republicans who voted for it get a free pass. Bullshit all around.
* But don’t think it’s all Democrats this week. Victor Davis Hanson is afraid of Muslims.
* And Rick Perlstein reminds us that the bridge collapse in Minnesota is a direct result of a decades long campaign of Republican Bullshit.
* Locally, people spend too much time reading the tea leaves of the New York Times Op-Ed page. Geez.
* Finally, Eric Earling is trying to concern troll Darcy Burner.
Hopefully next week back to full length, this is an open thread.
Within an hour or so of the bridge collapse, over videos of the fires still burning, Faux Noise commentators were already insinuating that the bridge collapsed because Minnesota has invested in public transit (specifically light rail) in recent years instead of highways.
I don’t think Earling has anything to worry about. I recently revisted a rightwing message board I hadn’t read for a couple years and discovered that despite the unremitting drumbeat of scandals, fiascos, and disasters of the last 6 1/2 years, its denizens are still the same unreconstructed troglodytes they always were. They learn nothing from experience; consequently, blatherers like Earling will always have an audience.
I predict that in January 2009 Congress will be more blue and less dog.
I hate dogs! Dogs are good for nothing! All they do is bark, poop, and chase rabbits!
Carl
Last weekend I attended the Arab Festival. Very nice and the only evidence of paranoia on any side were the Fundie Xtians selling Jesus. There are pix and text at SeattleJew
Rabbit ..
still trying to find out how to make a profit on mail-in ballots. Can I run a votr-in party and require a WIB for admission?
Heck .. doesn’t free speech imply the write to buy votes?
3
Amen to that!!
5
I heard about the Arab Festival too late to go. Too bad, I think it would have been very interesting.
1. NATO is reported to have killed at least two senior Taliban leaders in an airstrike north of Helmand as they were watching a public execution.—[waits politely for cheers and applause to subside]
2. The Democrat-led House yesterday passed a $16 billion tax increase on the oil industry to pay for renewable energy and conservation incentives.—You have to hand it to the Dem Cong: they don’t just kill the golden goose; they kill it, cook it, and then throw the food away. Then they complain that poor people are starving, and the feeding thereof will require yet more taxes. Will somebody remind me again why “there’s no difference between Democrats and Republicans”?
3. U.S. troops killed the al-Qaida mastermind of the bombing that destroyed the golden dome of a famed sacred Shiite shrine last year and set in motion an unrelenting cycle of sectarian bloodletting.—[waits politely for cheers and applause to subside] Hold on, it gets better:
Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman, said al-Badri had been among insurgents spotted by U.S. aircraft moving into “tactical fighting positions.”
“From the surveillance that was going on, it looked like they were setting up an ambush,” he told reporters in the heavily guarded Green Zone. “So they brought in rotary wing and close air support and there was some strafing that occurred from helicopters.”
“Al-Badri’s body was positively identified by close associates and family members,” Fox said.
Raining fire and death from the sky on our enemies—it just doesn’t get any more American than that. I think I’ll have some BBQ for lunch today.
4. This year, many truckloads of small arms and explosives direct from Chinese government-owned factories to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been transshipped to Iraq and Afghanistan, where they are used against American soldiers and Marines and NATO forces. —And yet, the USgov still doesn’t see China as the ultimate enemy.
5. Ethics Reform = fancy word for betrayal.—Here’s the Cliff Notes summary: Once again “reform” passes in Washington with those most reform-minded expressing unhappiness while those least so minded demonstrating paroxysms of ecstatic joy. If you’re suffering from an inexplicable pain in your rear end, this POS legislation would be the probable cause.
“- The bill was changed to make earmark disclosure voluntary rather than mandatory.
– The requirement of 67 Senate votes to suspend the earmark disclosure rule was changed to 40 votes — less than a majority.
– The language prohibiting a member or staff from promoting earmarks they would personally benefit from was completely eviscerated.
– So was the language prohibiting a member from trading votes for earmarks. – The requirement that earmarks be put on the Internet 48 hours after their inclusion in legislation was changed to “as soon as practical.”
– The non-partisan Senate parliamentarian was replaced by the majority leader as the referee determining whether earmark disclosure requirements are met. ”
6. Finally, we’re allowed to eavesdrop on foreigners outside our borders.—It says a lot about how pussified and PC we’ve become that our government has to be allowed by law to spy on furriners. Good grief. Next thing, we’ll need the approval of the ACLU before we declare war on Iran.
And to prove that this wiretapping is A Good Thing, one has only to look at who’s against it:
“This bill would grant the attorney general the ability to wiretap anybody, any place, any time without court review, without any checks and balances,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
Conspicuously missing from this lying Commie bitch’s statement is the crucial phrase “outside the country”—which is where the activity takes place.
– Blatently stolen from a website most of you would go blind reading: Kim du Toit.
Dildo Dilbert says…
Well no need to repeat what the dildo says. They’re just Publican talking points.
Fact – because Dildo – like most Publicans – is thousands of miles from Iraq, has no fucking idea who we killed or didn’t kill. We have to take the word of proven liars in the Bush regime and I don’t believe them when they say the sky is blue.
Ethics reform is something the Publicans want to spin or ignore because they couldn’t or wouldn’t do it for six and a half years. They’re so fucking corrupt they couldn’t stand the thought of any check on their absolute power.
The oil companies are robbing us blind and are in cahoots with oilmen Baby Bush and WHATADICK Cheney. Any tax we impose on them is not enough but will at least slow their rape of our wallets.
When Dems take control of the White House as well as Congress we should NOT eliminate FISA. We should use it as Karl Rove intended it to be used – to spy on our political adversaries.
If the Democrats run Hillary in 2008, they won’t win. The Republicans are salivating at the prospect of Hillary running for prez in ’08. They will produce some of the most negative advertsing in the history of the world and find some pretty scary skeletons in the closets to insure Hillary is deferated in 2008.
The Deomcrats’ best bet is to go with a moderate Democrat, if they can find one, to run against whomever in 2008.
Delbert said:
Interesting. First, a simple statement about a tax increase on an industry that is reaping record profits and neglecting reinvestment in their own corporate infrastructure. (That used to be called “looting the company” in business classes.)
Then an immediate attack on the Democrats for not letting them take all of the profits and run.
Please tell me of the poor oil industry and how they are groaning under the burden of excessive taxation. How oil company executives are having to accept compensation cuts to avoid having their companies descend into bankruptcy.
Then please show me how the oil industry is functioning as a “golden goose” for the US. How the money they are bringing in is reaping great rewards for the general public.
Once you’ve done that, perhaps you can show how this is, in any realistic manner, linked to feeding the poor and homeless.
Or are you speaking of the poor oil executives, each having to struggle by on a few mere millions of dollars annually?
More Delbert:
Yes, those people controlling the Departments of State and Commerce should be held accountable. Any party that is in charge of large, important government functions like those of State and Commerce that do such an abysmal job as the current incumbents should be thrown out of office and investigated for corruption that borders on treason.
Glad we can agree on that one.
Still more Delbert:
The Bush Administration might have to ask permission to attack a foriegn country? You mean Congress might actually have to approve it? Oh, my. How Unamurikun. It’s not like the Constitution actually requires the President to get permission before going to war, is it?
Oh, wait. It does.
Oh, well. After all, the Constitution of the United States is “just a goddamn scrap of paper” (G. W. Bush)
Presidential Oath of Office
Kim du Toit.
A bankrupt (literally) right-wing gun nut who slobbers over cheesecake photos on his blog.
But thanks for naming your reference anyway. Most wingnuts would claim crap like that for themselves.
Oh, and Delbert. Just so you don’t think that I’ve forgotten about the wiretapping thing.
Apparently only a telephone conversation that goes beyond the boundaries of the United States is subject to wiretapping.
Consider, however how many ordinary conversations, by American citizens go beyond those boundaries.
First, just because I’m making a call to a foriegn country does not mean that I’m giving up my right to privacy. Many citizens have family and friends in other countries.
Many business transactions are routinely handled in other countries. You call the 800 number for tech support and you find yourself speaking to “Patrick”, who’s name is actually “Prashant” and who works in Bangalore.
Next, just because my call is routed through another country does not mean it is actually going to another country. I live here in Washington. Our telephone routing systems extend into Canada. Calling Bellingham? You may be routed through Vancouver, BC. Calling Anchorage, AK? You will likely be routed through Canada.
Be sure to say “hello” to the Fed listening in, will you?
Eric Earling, Bullshit. I don’t know why you insist on being redundant, Carl.
And John Barelli………
Welcome to Club Paranoia! Here sit by me. It is getting to the point where I might go back to writing letters. They don’t open the mail and tread on my rights of privacy, right? Right?
It is not paranoia when they are taking away our rights one at time, smiling the slimy scumballs that they are.
I am surprised they don’t listen to me take (leave) a crap.
Roger Rabbit says:
I predict that in January 2009 Congress will be more blue and less dog
And I predict that you will spend 18 hours a day every day posting thousands of meaningless irrelevant bullshit messages.
@18
If the Democrats run Hillary in 2008, they won’t win. The Republicans are salivating at the prospect of Hillary running for prez in ‘08. They will produce some of the most negative advertsing in the history of the world and find some pretty scary skeletons in the closets to insure Hillary is deferated in 2008.
They’ll be doing that no matter who the candidate is. The Republicans will be lucky to win double-digit numbers of states in 2008 regardless of who the nominees are. Ask yourself this, will Bush be speaking at the convention in 2008? If he does, the Republicans are doomed. If he doesn’t, the Bush base will feel slighted. Of course, they will probably say that there’s a “scheduling conflicted” since it’s already been shown that Bush’s base is dumb enough to believe anything.
The Deomcrats’ best bet is to go with a moderate Democrat, if they can find one, to run against whomever in 2008.
All of the Democratic frontrunners are moderates, although Hillary is somewhat less so than the others IMO. Among the Republicans, moderates are nowhere to be found.
Roger,
I was pretty annoyed by the dog comment, but the fact that you are obviously annoying Loon Wing Nutt (posting as mark) redeems you altogether.
What the hell is a “delbert” ? Is it a local term for “Porta Potty”?
Sorry, the comment above was in response to comment #10
What the hell is a “delbert” ? Is it a local term for “Porta Potty”?
It appears to be an individual that has no idea what the fuck he’s talking about.
Carl (and Lee)
the Hanson post:
” Instead, right now we should hold the Muslim world to the same standards of tolerance that we demand of ourselves — no more apologies for things like our insensitive cartoons or excuses for their insane anger against novelists. In turn, the Middle East must grow up and accept, like the rest of the world, that there are social and cultural costs and consequences for any who wish to embrace the benefits of modernism.”
This is hardly evidence that Mr. Hanson fears Muslims. Rather he is doing EXACTLY what most liberals do in re the conservative christian right, Hanson is saying it is wrong to tolerate bigotry in the name of a deity.
Lee and I have argued about this many times, but there is a huge gap between the sort of bigotry of the right and naive acceptance of the “rights” of others to do whatever their dogmas dictate.
Anyhow, I hope people here will read Hanson’s words.
3, 6 That’s assuming that there is a Congress in 2009.
@23
Where Hanson has been wrong is that he believes that we need to “modernize” Muslims through force. He believes that Muslims will not assimilate into free societies (read what he’s written about Holland) so that we have to proactively force them to change. This implies an underlying fear that the small minority of radicals represents the whole. This fear is unbased, as your good friend Reza Aslan has written about quite extensively.
SeattleJew says:
Carl (and Lee)
the Hanson post:
” Instead, right now we should hold the Muslim world to the same standards of tolerance that we demand of ourselves — no more apologies for things like our insensitive cartoons or excuses for their insane anger against novelists. In turn, the Middle East must grow up and accept, like the rest of the world, that there are social and cultural costs and consequences for any who wish to embrace the benefits of modernism.”
This is hardly evidence that Mr. Hanson fears Muslims. Rather he is doing EXACTLY what most liberals do in re the conservative christian right, Hanson is saying it is wrong to tolerate bigotry in the name of a deity.
Lee and I have argued about this many times, but there is a huge gap between the sort of bigotry of the right and naive acceptance of the “rights” of others to do whatever their dogmas dictate.
Anyhow, I hope people here will read Hanson’s words.
I’ve got an even better idea. How about we deport the barbarians en masse back to whatever shit hole of a country they came from. There they can practice their worthless Sharia and cut off clitorises all they want.
A Delbert could be Delbert McClinton, Grammy award winning roadhouse blues/rock/country singer. Been around since the ’70s. One big hit “Given It Up For Your Love” around 1980. I know this because my wife is a groupie and would leave me in a New York second for him.
Hope this helps. You can find him at delbert.com
Perhaps our Delbert is misspelling D I L B E R T.
Perhaps our Delbert is misspelling D I L B E R T.
No, Dilbert was smart but hapless. Delbert is just hapless.
Marks says:
“I’ve got an even better idea. How about we deport the barbarians en masse back to whatever shit hole of a country they came from. There they can practice their worthless Sharia and cut off clitorises all they want.”
I’ve better idea:
We could deport Mark back to the Institution for Retarded Social Misfits in Paris and tell them to keep him there this time.
Sorry. Marks=Marx
Lee,
I still believe Hillary won’t win in 2008. We’ll know for sure in November of 2008.
chadt says:
Marks says:
“I’ve got an even better idea. How about we deport the barbarians en masse back to whatever shit hole of a country they came from. There they can practice their worthless Sharia and cut off clitorises all they want.”
I’ve better idea:
We could deport
If you are going in try and insult me, do you think you could come up with something a little more thoughtful and humorous? I would expect more from a left wing smear site.
Re. the new spying law: Maybe some congresspersons ‘forgot’ that they cannot amend the constitution by legislative fiat. That takes a vote involving every voting citizen in the country.
As of now, the Executive and the Congress of the U.S. are no longer the constitutional representatives of the people of this country.
The U.S. is a rogue state and it’s only a matter of time, if we keep going in this direction, that the rest of the world will unite against us.
#32 Libertarian says:
What’s the other choice? The democrats would never vote for a black man, no matter how articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy he is.
Mark says:
“If you are going in try and insult me, do you think you could come up with something a little more thoughtful and humorous? I would expect more from a left wing smear site.”
Why bother?
A) You wouldn’t understand it.
B) You’re not worth ANY effort.
C) Nobody’s paying any attention, which:
D) Kind of defeats YOUR purpose in being here.
I, on the other hand, am sitting home bored, waiting for the carpet cleaner, so while responding to you IS a waste of time, I’m wasting time anyway.
Happy now??
@34, Lucy
I am afraid that if we don’t clean the bastards out, we will be a third world country well before I croak.
I’m old, and I remember when we had values rather than greed, and when the GOP, while embracing values a little too highbrow for me, were nonetheless honest and fair.
Herbert Hoover, the last president who rose to the level of earning public loathing, was at least charitable and concerned for the welfare of the lower classes, although ill-advised, inept, and blindly reactionary.
The little rich boy who now treats this country as his personal plaything, will be far more loathed in the long run, and will utterly fail to understand why.If you stop to think, even his parents are retreating further into silence about him, and patrician George I must really be appalled to distance himself from this specimen of the dynasty.
This would be survivable if not for the horrendous alliance of the Pathologically Greedy and the Wingnut Xtian Fascists in the congress. We’d better get some sanity back before 2008, or we’ll hit the tipping point…
Looks like several right wing groups are behind the threats against Obama. It’s been reported that he has extra Secret Service because Publican-controlled KKK gangs are after him.
By the way, KKK leader David Duke runs as a PUBLICAN not a Democrat.
@35
What’s the other choice? The democrats would never vote for a black man, no matter how articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy he is.
Wow, this is definitely in the running for the stupidest thing written on HorsesAss today (never an easy thing to do). Who was it that voted Obama into the Senate in Illinois, the Greens? Who voted in Deval Patrick in Massachusetts? Hardly any Democrats there! Who voted for Willie Brown in San Francisco, David Dinkins in New York, John Street in Philadelphia? Must’ve been the independent vote!
And for the life on me I can’t figure out who keeps re-electing Ron Sims if it’s not the Democrats…
Dumbass.
Stamned if you do, Stamned if you don’t.
Who has room for rational thought with so many nutcases around.
@42
That can’t be his real name, is it? People who write things that stupid generally hide behind pseudonyms.
The comment above was to #41…
No, I’m sure we’re seeing a explosive plague of sock puppetry, it’s just a technique to make it seem that more than a pitiful few loonies are generating all the idiocy in here lately.
#39 PuffyButtPretendingToBeBlackSays says:
I believe he ran in both parties, possibly won as a publican in Louisiana. He cited Robert Byrd as a mentor and someone he admired growing up, go figure.
#42 Lee says:
Ah… that explains why I couldn’t find Roger Rabbit in the Washington phone book.
“Herbert Hoover, the last president who rose to the level of earning public loathing, was at least charitable and concerned for the welfare of the lower classes, although ill-advised, inept, and blindly reactionary.”
Oh man. I too was going to comment about postman chadt going postal, but somebody beat me to it. Fashionable left-wing fascist progressives want to stifle dissent, and want to call the stifling of dissent ‘fairness.’ Chadt progressives want dissent to die.
I’m still standing, not dead yet, despite chadt, and I dissent from his nonsense about Hoover. HH was a progessive, not a reactionary. His bold persistent experimentation from late 1929 – March 1933 antagonized reactionaries. FDR in 1933 ran to Hoover’s right, and demanded a return to the old-time religion of balanced budgets and fiscal austerity.
Then, according to FDR’s braintruster Raymond Moley, FDR grafted Hoover’s program — now called the New Deal — onto FDR’s new administration. And then the Depression continued for about 7. More. Years.
Even liberal economists now admit that the Depression was finally slain by jump-starting defense spending, pre-Pearl Harbor.
Hoover was dour. FDR smiled, and his smile was worth much, but was worth less than his manipulation of gold in 1933 or his misguided guidance that threw more millions out of work in 1937.
The KKK was a Democrat phenomenon. A recent book has an interesting line about unreconstructed Democrats, post-1865, believing it was their duty and destiny to terrorize white Republicans and to kill BVRs, Blacks Voting Republican. Grand Cyclops or Kleagle Robert Byrd, master of ancient lore, could use this as a topic during his next filibuster of the next dark-hued conservative nominated to a court appointment. (Google or Wiki on ‘Miguel Estrada’.)
J. Edgar Hoover got slimed and maligned for infiltrating and decimating the klaverns of anarchists, anarcho-syndicalists, bolsheviks, and communists. It was derisively said in the mid 1950s that commie cells had more FBI agents than communists.
But about his infiltration and decimation of the Democrat KKK, Hoover gets no respect. Why not? And why isn’t he praised for trying to withstand the pogrom of progressive FDR and progressive Earl Warren against Japanese-American citizens on the Left Coast in 1942?