Open Thread

10 Comments

1. 

   chimneyswift on June 13, 2009 at 5:31 pm

   What Digby said:
   http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/iran-by-digby-not-good-its-saturday.html

   Also, it’s a beautiful day in MN. Happy summer.

2. 

   robertdsc on June 13, 2009 at 5:50 pm

   I’ve had it with the President’s fetish for bipartisanship. I’ve had it with lack of accountability for war crimes. I’ve had it with the goddamed wars. You want to protect the troops? Pull them out of the fucking war zones.

   I’m glad your eye is better.

   • 

     Hurria on June 14, 2009 at 12:05 am

     “You want to protect the troops? Pull them out of the fucking war zones.“

     Bravo!

     And don’t you just love the way they are all shocked – SHOCKED! – that the violence has been increasing in Afghanistan ever since they escalated the bombings and the ground actions? Wow! We bomb more, and put more troops on the ground to harass more, shoot more, kill more, destroy more, make more house invasions, and the violence increases?! Now THAT was unexpected!

     WTF?!

3. 

   rba on June 13, 2009 at 6:01 pm

   The undercovered ‘spike’ in oil prices, covered by McClatchy’s Kevin Hall:  Why a Main GOP senator is taking on oil speculators.  Last time we were gamed the spike hit $147/barrel.  This week gas was over $3 a gallon out here in the Central Valley, and climbing.  Getting very tired of the inaction on the ‘reformist’ front @ the CFTC.

4. 

   dada on June 13, 2009 at 6:35 pm

   obama upped the ante in the health care debate with his weekly radio address :

   …Real reform will mean reductions in our long term budget. And I have made a firm commitment that health care reform will not add to the federal deficit over the next decade. To keep that commitment, my Administration has already identified how to pay for the historic $635 billion down payment on reform detailed in our budget. This includes over $300 billion that we will save through changes like reducing Medicare overpayments to private insurers, and rooting out waste in Medicare and Medicaid.

   However, any honest accounting must prepare for the fact that health care reform will require additional costs in the short term in order to reduce spending in the long-term. So today, I am announcing an additional $313 billion in savings that will rein in unnecessary spending, and increase efficiency and the quality of care – savings that will ensure that we have nearly $950 billion set aside to offset the cost of health care reform over the next ten years…

   text and video

   details at Paying for Health Care Reform
   $313 Billion in Additional Savings to Create a Deficit Neutral Plan

   this could well be the defining issue of his presidency, imo, and it’s time for the d‘s in congress to get their act together and make this happen.

   l suspect this will be a subject on the sunday talk shows, but one never knows, iran’s election will probably lead.

5. 

   boran2 on June 13, 2009 at 7:53 pm

   I’m glad to hear that you’re eye is better.

6. 

   Hurria on June 13, 2009 at 11:54 pm

   I had something to say in the Palin thread, but it is off the page now, so I will say it here:

   I just can’t get all worked up about people picking on Sarah Palin for her shameless use of her sexuality to get ahead in her career despite her obvious incompetence. If anyone insults women it is she, and not those who criticize or ridicule her for that behaviour.

   I am also a woman in a male-dominated field, and people seem to find me reasonably feminine, stylish, and attractive. If I had ever had to behave the way she does to succeed in anything I would find that a sign that I just might be lacking competence and should probably try something else. I have no respect for women OR men who use their attractiveness or sexuality as a substitute for ability and hard work.

   Regarding people using men’s appearance against them, or criticizing them for being hypersexualized or desexualized, are you kidding me? You don’t remember ever hearing people go on and on for years about Bill Clinton being oversexed and his various sexual escapades, and denigrating him for his violation of his marriage vows to Hillary? Or his jogging to MacDonald’s to gorge on big Macs, and the resulting weight? John F. Kennedy’s affairs? John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe? Blago’s hair? Reagan’s shoe-shine black hair? Various prominent mens’ bad rugs, or their lack of hair revealed when the rugs were accidentally removed? Joe Lieberman’s skinny-basset-hound look and manner, not to mention his whiny voice? Obama’s skinny frame and big ears? Obama’s hottitude? Arnold Schwarzenegger’s accent and steroid-induced over-muscled body? His alleged sexualized behaviour with respect to female subordinates? Dennis Kucinich’s irritating voice? Barnie Franks’ speech impediment? Barnie Franks’ sexuality? John Edwards’ affair and the resulting love child? Henry Waxman’s nose? Various male figures’ hottitude or lack thereof, or overweight, or underweight, or great bum, or lack thereof, speculation about the size of their “package”, the boxers or briefs question (asked of Bill Clinton, among others), a desire to see them naked or in their underwear (I heard a story just the other morning that Obama made the “fathers I want to see in their underwear” list)?  I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point.

7. 

   Hurria on June 14, 2009 at 1:47 am

   Glad your eye is feeling better. I scratch my cornea in my sleep at least once or twice a month, and wake up with my eye painful and red, and it sometimes affects my vision too due to swelling of the cornea. Keep the eye well lubricated, and it generally gets better in a few hours, and by tomorrow morning should be back to normal. It’s really annnoying because as soon as I wake up, and sometimes even before, I know I am in for a difficult day.

8. 

   anna in philly on June 14, 2009 at 5:11 am

   im wondering how long white straight male liberal bloggers will hold onto the obama myth and finally say enough is enough.

   not a peep today or yesterday except on americablog and our new liberal blogger andrew sullivan about DOMA and anyone trying to express their disgust at king obama was shot down completely on DK.

9. 

   anna in philly on June 14, 2009 at 5:24 am

   i saw the troops coming home today in nj are getting parades. pardon me if i dont attend any. i want to know which of these soldiers are war criminals and torturers. i want their names and faces plastered on an internet site just like child molesters so i can know who my enemy is in my neighborhood and choose not to have anything to do with them.

   i want a public gun registry that i can look up and see who has registered guns in my area and whether they are registered democrats or republicans.

   i want the donation lists to hate groups made public.

   i want to know exactly how much money every congressman and woman is getting from a private insurance company. i want to know which of their relatives have cushy consulting jobs with the murder by spreadsheet corporations. i want some serious sunshine here.

   and i want fumo to go to jail now and start serving his sentence.

   i want to know where all the law abiding nrs member with guns are …why arent they patrolling the streets protecting us from these “criminals ” with guns.

   i want to know how it is that 18 yr olds are on the street with 5 weapons related convistions behind them.

   i want to know what and why why von brun and hitler were painting.

   i want to know why craigslist just changed the name erotic services to adult services. its the same ads.

   i want to know how come when iranians have an election stolen from them they riot in the streets and burn things down but when americans have elections stolen from them they go home and watch desperate housewives.

   i want to know why obama was better than hillary again?