Month: September 2009

Afghanistan, Athenae, Do Something12 Comments

First Draft Care Package(s)

Because knowing you all as I do, and knowing how you work, I don’t think it’ll all fit in one box. In comments tothe Richard Cohen post, leinie wrote: MY CHILD is in Afghanistan right now. Thanks to the previous administration’s amoral and illegal actions, not only do I have to worry about him being killed in battle, I have to worry about how he’d be treated were he to fall into enemy hands. Which, to be honest, I’ve always had to worry about, but in the past, my govt. operated from a higher moral ground and hadn’t given the … Continue reading First Draft Care Package(s)

Athenae, Political Crack9 Comments

Um, YEAH

Durr: … would Obama get his strength and leadership numbers up if he directly took on the insurance industry and the Republicans? YA THINK? People love winners and that’s why Yankee Stadium is filled to the rafters, it’s why people continue to pay for Red Wings tickets and it’s why they continue to vote Republican in the absence of a compelling alternative. Obama would get his strength and leadership numbers up, and he’d get his actual strength and leadership up, and Congress would have approval ratings slightly higher than chlamydia, if they all directly took on people who want you … Continue reading Um, YEAH

Political Crack10 Comments

Top Ten Things I Would Like to See Happen Tomorrow Night But Won’t

10. “Hello, America! There’s a black man in the White House. To those of you who just puckered, get the fuck over it.” 9. “Max Baucus, if you don’t want to wake up one fine morning with a horse head in your bed, stop sabotaging the public option.” 8. “Glenn Beck can kiss my black ass.” 7. “With regard to Van Jones…if you want good government, you need good people running it. The Republicans and their noise machine seem hell bent on driving every last good person out of government. What does that tell you?” 6. “A majority of Americans … Continue reading Top Ten Things I Would Like to See Happen Tomorrow Night But Won’t

Athenae, Do Something9 Comments

It Was Always Gonna Be Up To Us

Jane: When the White House met with bankers after the AIG scandal and they said theydidn’t want to be criticized for getting huge bonuses paid for by taxpayers, the White House complied and “cooled their rhetoric.” The President told the public that Timothy Geithner had been instructed to do everything in his power toclaw back those bonuses, and the House passed a bill doing just that. But it died in the Senate. You remember all those campaigns by the unions, by the online groups, by liberal economics and finance organizations pushing the Senate to take it up? Yeah, me either. … Continue reading It Was Always Gonna Be Up To Us

Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Sarah Barracuda redux edition

Good morning, everyone!Let’s all get suited up for another stroll through the odious poison garden that is Free Republic, shall we? I’m at the end of a five-day mini-vacation, so this post is a little late. We’ll just have to wade right in and reading the teabagger leaves. p>First up – Bang goes HIS FR account!‏ Series of Blasts in Baghdad Kill 50, Injure 300Fox News ^| August 10, 2009 Posted onWednesday, August 19, 2009 5:16:31 AM byZakeet A series of explosions struck the Iraqi capital Wednesday, targeting primarily government and commercial buildings, killing at least 50 people and wounding … Continue reading Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Sarah Barracuda redux edition

Athenae, Congress12 Comments

‘Why Chuck Grassley Turned on Health-Care Reform’

I’ll take “because he’s an attention whore and really, kind of an asshole” for all the marbles: In August, Grassley – who is up for re-election next year – heldtown halls and constituent meetings in 30 counties. While the sessions never got as raucous as they did in some other parts of the country, Grassley’s constituents turned out by the thousands to tell him how little they thought of his efforts back in Washington. One sign in the small town of Adel read “Thank God Patrick Henry Did NotCompromise.” Over the course of the recess, Grassley began sounding less like … Continue reading ‘Why Chuck Grassley Turned on Health-Care Reform’

Doc, LOL, Of Interest6 Comments

Quitting Time Booster Shot

Welcome to the QTBS where we believe dignity is best left to others among us. – Went to the real doc this week for a “check up” which involved handing over various forms of bodily output. The one that was the worst was his desire for a stool sample. Apparently, you no longer crap in a cup. You take this little kit home, spread a “flushable” (keep that word in mind for later) piece of paper over the water on your toilet and start your business. The minute you drop off the first kid at the pool, you are to … Continue reading Quitting Time Booster Shot

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media19 Comments

Putting the ‘Oh No’ in ‘Oh No He Didn’t’

Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joke. Twice in the past month, my private communications have been splashed about the internet. That such a thing would happen is unfortunate, and dishonorable, but sadly inevitable, I suppose. I ignored the first case, in which a rather pathetic woman acolyte of Greenwald’s published a hyperbolic account of a conversation I had with her at a beach picnic on Cape Cod. “A rather pathetic woman acolyte.” Yes, that would be our very own frequent commenteraimai, and not that Joke posts here, but he can consider himself pre-banned. Were she male, I wonder what Joe would … Continue reading Putting the ‘Oh No’ in ‘Oh No He Didn’t’

Doc, Economy, Immoral Values8 Comments

The three R’s of our current education system: Reading, ‘Riting and Restaurants

“Welcome to Flingers! May I interest you in some long division?” Last weekend, I spent some time with the folks, including a nice dinner at a local eatery that Mom said she heard was fantastic. She got the recommendation from one of her colleagues at the middle school, so we figured we should give it a go. Turns out, the reason why the teacher knows so much about the restaurant is that she works there on top of her day job as a full-time art teacher. When we got there, we found that the teacher was not only working that … Continue reading The three R’s of our current education system: Reading, ‘Riting and Restaurants

Athenae, Faith25 Comments

Oh Noes

They found me: Calling all “lapsed” Chicago-area Catholics: There are plenty of empty pews waiting for you. That’s the message that Roman Catholic leaders in Chicago, Rockford and Joliet plan to send via a $1.3 million TV ad blitz aimed at bringing the fallen away back to the flock. The commercials are to air on the Chicago affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Telemundo and Polvision for six weeks, starting Dec. 16.They will highlight the Catholic Church’s social contributions, include testimony from prodigal parishioners who found their way back to the church and ask folks to “take another look” at … Continue reading Oh Noes

Michael F13 Comments

Another Few Whacks from the Stupid Stick

From2Millionth Web Log Good grief–when an innocuous message to stay in school and keep up with your studies is twisted into the mother of all pretzels, maybe it’s time to ask what the hell the likes of theJim Greers of the world are thinking. And this is just the latest in a long march of dumb — the birthers, the deathers, the American Taliban-ers, the show us your gun-ers..not even counting true nuts like Michele Bachmann orPat “My Second Childhood is as a member of the Hitler Youth” Buchanan. Neither did I mentionWhat’s the Matter With Kansas redux…but what I … Continue reading Another Few Whacks from the Stupid Stick

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media10 Comments

Quit Giving Us More Work

You know, I was at a meeting on Saturday in which yet again the vague sense of pressure to replace the American newspaper began to be discussed (and was mercifully stopped by the moderator) but it’s really becoming a thing.A very annoying thing: You don’t see newspapers fighting to open court proceedings the way they used to, and people are starting to notice. “The days of powerful newspapers with ample legal budgets appear to be numbered,” a public defender in Georgia, Gerard Kleinrock, wrote in a recent Supreme Courtbrief. “Will underfunded bloggers be able to carry the financial burdens of … Continue reading Quit Giving Us More Work

Geek Cred, VirgoTex16 Comments

Without form, and void

So, Gmail was (relatively)briefly off-line yesterday, causing a cascading digital freak out. The #gmailfail in turn begot the #failwhale as within minutes, hundreds — yes, hundreds — began to process their experience of the disconnect via Twitter. Personally, I was more curious and amused than upset. I get a few personal emails a day but the bulk of my Gmail is from other software programs, like my calendar, task updates, reminders, and Twitter. Ironically, when Gmail came back up, the only mails I had at the moment were copies of tweets about the Gmail outage. Earth-shattering or not, events like … Continue reading Without form, and void

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media

The Broder Dodge

Impeaching them while in office would be unbearably “political” and wrong, but once they’re out of office? Too late, suckers! Funny how that works out. Via theCrack Den. (And you know, I don’t really give a damn except: Pick one. You can either be sacred guardians of our democracy or you can be the same as everybody else, doing whatever the fuck you want. But you can’t be both. Stop wanking.) A. Continue reading The Broder Dodge

Current Affairs9 Comments

Fun with teh First

I was listening to the radio as I was waking up this morning, and I have this hazy recollection that there was a story about a lawsuit over cigarette advertising. Sure enough, turns out that the second and third biggesttobacco companies are suing over the new restrictions on advertising imposed by the new law giving the FDA regulatory powers over tobacco. I’d been thinking about doing a post on the free speech clause of the First Amendment anyway, and this seems an appropriate topic to start that off. As you are all well aware, there are limits to freedom of … Continue reading Fun with teh First

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media, Terrorism20 Comments

What if it Saves Us?

Richard Cohen: This business of what constitutes torture is a complicated matter. It is further complicated by questions about its efficacy: Does it sometimes work? Does it never work? Is it always immoral? What about torture that saves lives? What if it saves many lives? What if one of those lives is your child’s? It’s not, actually. It’s not complicated by questions of its efficacy because torture isn’t effective.Read your own newspaper. Jesus tits. Next? Seriously, what if it saves the life of YOUR CHILD? What a dickhead. I regret not having children because without them I can’t tell RIchard … Continue reading What if it Saves Us?

Immoral Values11 Comments

A Commodity for Childless Couples

Alongbitchphd’s Twitter comesthis to repulse and horrify me: Bethany guided Jordan through the Medicaid application process and in April moved her in with home-schooling parents outside Myrtle Beach. There, according to Jordan, the family referred to her as one of the agency’s “birth mothers”–a term adoption agencies use for relinquishing mothers that many adoption reform advocates reject–although she hadn’t yet agreed to adoption. “I felt like a walking uterus for the agency,” says Jordan. Jordan was isolated in the shepherding family’s house; her only social contact was with the agency, which called her a “saint” for continuing her pregnancy but … Continue reading A Commodity for Childless Couples

Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood34 Comments

Open Thread…Just curious

This is not a big deal and don’t want to make it such. I’m just curious as to people’s reactions to this photo. ABC News reports on a study of the effects of Katrina on the treatment of people with chronic disease such as diabetes and runs this photo with theonline article… My first reaction was wow they actually found a picture of someone checking their blood sugar in a rescue helicopter over flooded NOLA? That’s incredible. Then I thought it must be a photoshop and it is–see photo here. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that–we bloggers … Continue reading Open Thread…Just curious

Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Television, Terrorism, VirgoTex, War in Iraq6 Comments

Must-see TV

I may have, on occasion, professed that I rather like Rachel Maddow, and I’ve more than once posted here about her. This one, though, isn’t just fangirl squee, trust me. Maddow knocked it out of the park last night with this Tom Ridge interview. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth your attention. The clip below is one of three, the other two are on her showsite. She devoted over half the program to the conversation with Ridge, starting with the topic of whether politics influenced DHS terror alerts, whether Ridge has backtracked on statements to that effect made … Continue reading Must-see TV

Stupid Republican Tricks9 Comments

Name Them, Please

Joke: There are more than a few Democrats who believe, in practice, that government should be run for the benefit of government employees’ unions. There are Democrats who are so solicitous of civil liberties that they would undermine legitimate covert intelligence collection. There are others who mistrust the use of military power under almost any circumstances. Now, Joke is using these statements to set up a “but some of them are all right, and most of them are better than these other scumbags, so” kind of thing, but it’s cheap nonetheless and I’m not willing to give him a pass … Continue reading Name Them, Please

Athenae, Marriage Equality

Vermont!

Woot: Dressed in suits, saying their vows under a large wall-mounted moose head, the two Whitehall, N.Y., men promised their love, exchanged rings and held hands during a modest 17-minute ceremony. Moose Meadow Lodge co-owner Greg Trulson, who’s also aJustice of the Peace, presided. “It feels wonderful,” said Slimback, 38, an out-of-work Teamster who is taking Sullivan’s last name as his own. “It’s a day I’ve been long waiting for, and a day I truly honestly thought would never come.” A. Continue reading Vermont!

Jude, Stupid Republican Tricks9 Comments

The Circle of Lies

Republican spokesperson. File photo. You know, I get that politicians (and everyfuckingbody else) lie. I understand that. But will there come a point when the Republican edifice of lies comes crashing down, unable to support its own contradictions? For forty years now, they’ve vilified Ted Kennedy as an America-hatin’ far-left liberal wackaloon. I’m sure he took those slings and arrows with great pride. But now they’re trying to paint him as this DLC-esque moderate, who compromised on everything? Doesn’t that cause a PC Load Letter jam in somebody’s brain? It’s not that they suddenly discoveredde mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum … Continue reading The Circle of Lies

Congress3 Comments

Unbelievable

Allison Hantschel

FromScout Crooks and Liars has video of what occurred when Pelosi introduced a resolution for an ethics investigation into the Foley matter.Go watch AndAmericaBlog has thelinkto the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Statement on Foley’s resignation… “Congressman Mark Foley’s resignation is a loss to Florida and the nation. He has been a hard-working, dedicated and effective Congressman.” You can let the Center know what you thinkhere Continue reading Unbelievable

Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T5 Comments

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession With The Freeperati – “Class Act” Edition

Good morning, all – you knew this was coming, but let’s not shirk our responsibility to flip over the Freepers’ rock and let the sunshine disinfect the ooze that came bubbling up from the hive mind after the death of Teddy Kennedy. ABC News Special Report: Senator Ted Kennedy has died.ABC News special report. ^| 08/26/2009 Posted onWednesday, August 26, 2009 12:14:50 AM byGigantor To: Gigantor I have strong Irish heritage.I am Catholic. Ted Kennedy is and was a coward and a disgrace. He deserves as many tears as were shed for Saddam Hussein or an other coward and murderer. … Continue reading Today on Tommy T’s Obsession With The Freeperati – “Class Act” Edition