Thursday
Sep252014
The Commentariat -- Sept. 26, 2014
Defunct video removed.
It's time for a new compact among the civilized peoples of this world to eradicate war at its most fundamental source, and that is the corruption of young minds by violent ideology. -- Barack Obama, address to the U.N. General Assembly, Wednesday ...
... Tim Egan: "... look ahead, with optimism, and you can see a design for long-term peace behind the president's plan to simultaneously kill fanatics and force a religion to confront the sources of that fanaticism. With his blunt speech at the United Nations on Wednesday, Obama put on notice the Sunni Muslim nations that have allowed Sunni barbarians to spread.... Until this week, most Western leaders have been afraid to say what Obama said at the United Nations."
Diaa Haddid of the AP: "U.S.-led airstrikes targeted Syrian oil installations held by the extremist Islamic State group overnight and early Thursday, killing at least 19 people as more families of militants left their key stronghold, fearing further raids, activists said. The strikes aimed to knock out one of the militants' main revenue streams -- black market oil sales that the U.S. says earn up to $2 million a day for the group. That funding, along with a further estimated $1 million a day from other smuggling, theft and extortion, has been crucial in enabling the extremists to overrun much of Syria and neighboring Iraq."
Greg Miller of the Washington Post: "FBI Director James B. Comey said the United States has determined the identity of the Islamist militant who beheaded two American journalists in Syria, but declined to provide any additional information on the masked operative who spoke in a British accent."
Arshad Mohammed of Reuters: "Iraq has 'credible' intelligence that Islamic State militants plan to attack subway systems in Paris and the United States, the prime minister said on Thursday, but U.S. and French officials said they had no evidence to back up his claims."
When Congress Loves a "Lawless" President. Steve Benen: House Speaker John Boehner tells Carl Hulse of the New York Times that the House won't take up authorization of the military campaign against ISIS before the new Congress convenes in January. "Americans can take every Republican anti-Obama argument of late -- about separation of powers, about co-equal branches of government, about the importance of institutional checks and balances -- and throw them right out the window, confident in the knowledge that the GOP didn't mean a word of it. For all the chatter about the president being an out-of-control, lawless tyrant, here's an instance in which Obama really is acting without any congressional authority, only to find congressional leaders saying, 'No big deal. We'll think about doing something in a few months, maybe.'" ...
... Mike McAuliff of the Huffington Post, via Paul Waldman:
Mark Landler & Somini Sengupta of the New York Times: "Seeking to speed the response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, President Obama delivered a blunt warning on Thursday at a high-level United Nations meeting devoted to the health crisis: the world was doing too little and moving too slowly":
President Obama makes a statement about Attorney General Eric Holder:
Allowing Democratic senators, many of whom will likely have just been defeated at the polls, to confirm Holder's successor would be an abuse of power that should not be countenanced. -- Sen. Ted Cruz (RTP-Texas) ...
... Paul Kane & Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "President Obama has yet to reveal his choice to succeed Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., but already the Senate confirmation process has begun its march toward contentiousness. With Nov. 4 midterm elections potentially tipping the balance in the Senate, some Republicans immediately called for a delay in the hearings and votes on the new attorney general until January, when the possibility of a GOP majority in the Senate might give Republicans almost total control of the outcome." ...
... Steve M. "Why does Ted Cruz hate the Constitution? ... A senator who's lost a reelection bid is still a senator. The Constitution -- which you claim to hold sacred -- says so." ..
... CW: Gee, Steve, haven't you noticed by now that anything Democrats do constitutes "an abuse of power"? ...
... If Glenn Thrush's reporting is correct, Tailgunner Ted will have to figure out how to "countenance ... an abuse of power." Thrush: "It was now or never, several current and former administration officials say, and Holder -- under pressure to retire from a physician wife worried about a recent health scare, checked the 'now' box. 'It was a quit-now or never-quit moment,' one former administration official said. 'You didn't want confirmation hearings in 2015 if the Republicans control the Senate. So if he didn't do it now, there was no way he could ever do it.'" ...
... German Lopez of Vox retraces some of Holder's laudable efforts & successes, mostly in areas that relate, at least tangentially, to civil rights. ...
... Danny Vinik of the New Republic recalls Holder's multiple failures to hold banks & bank executives accountable for the frauds & other illegal schemes they conducted, many of which led to the 2008 world financial meltdown. "Holder simply never tried to use [his office] to hold Wall Street executives accountable. That is a major blemish on Holder's record. Bankers sleep easier at night thanks to his decisions. And when the next financial crisis hits -- and when we discover that financial fraud was a major cause of it -- Holder will deserve blame as well." ...
... New York Times Editors: "... Mr. Holder has continued to stake out strong and laudable legal positions on many of the most contested issues of our time. But his record is marred by the role the Justice Department played in matters of secrecy and national security under his leadership." Read the whole editorial. ...
... Oh yeah? If the Times editors find fault, then wingers must LOVE Eric Holder:
Holder is a huge racist and let's not forget that golden oldie where he called us a nation of cowards. Civil liberties hero, my ass.... He has shamed the office of Attorney General and besmirched the office he rules with an iron, hate-filled fist. Trust me when I say this evil Marxist will never go away if he has his way. --- Terresa Monroe-Hamilton of Right Wing News
He ran the DOJ much like the Black Panthers would. That is a fact. -- Andrea Tantaros of Fox "News"
Well, okay. But at least they see a bright future for him:
The damage he has already done to the country leaves a turbulent wake that is ill-matched to the financial reward awaiting him at a shameless and large Washington, D.C., law firm. -- Christian Adams, the PJ Tattler
Wait, wait, Holder may get another gummit job:
There may be a Supreme Court vacancy -- and I can see Barack Obama nominating Eric Holder to fill it. -- Rush Limbaugh
AND, they're looking forward to President Obama's nominating a new AG:
Help wanted: Obama admin seeks Chief Corruption Smidgenizer; Must be able to start before November. -- Doug Powers of Michelle Malkin's blog
He's just gonna be replaced with Al Sharpton or somebody like him. -- Rushbo
... No, No, Rush. Sharpton is not going to be the attorney general; he's just going to pick the attorney general. Colin Campbell of Business Insider: "Al Sharpton Says He's Helping The White House Pick The Next Attorney General." ...
... Well, that's the headline. It's bullshit. Here's an update Sharpton forced upon Campbell's scooplet: "Sharpton sent a statement to Business Insider clarifying that he is not involved in the 'decision making.'" ...
... Joshua DuBois of the Daily Beast interviews Eric Holder. ...
... AND you will enjoy reading Akhilleus' rundown in today's Comments on attorneys general past.
The "Decadent Elites." Paul Krugman: "... the lives of an earlier generation's elite were, indeed, far more restrained, more seemly if you like, than those of today's Masters of the Universe," thanks to a much more progressive tax system. "Running through much recent conservative writing is the theme that America's elite has also fallen down on the job, that it has lost the seriousness and restraint of an earlier era.... High inequality brings a perceived need to spend money in ways that signal status.... While chiding the rich for their vulgarity may not be as offensive as lecturing the poor on their moral failings, it's just as futile. Human nature being what it is, it's silly to expect humility from a highly privileged elite. So if you think our society needs more humility, you should support policies that would reduce the elite's privileges." ...
... CW: What inspired Krugman's column? Why, it was this brilliant piece of philosophical analysis pap by church lady & evangelical pontificator David Brooks.
** Tom Dickinson of Rolling Stone: "The volume of Koch Industries' toxic output is staggering... Thanks in part to its 2005 purchase of paper-mill giant Georgia-Pacific, Koch Industries dumps more pollutants into the nation's waterways than General Electric and International Paper combined. The company ranks 13th in the nation for toxic air pollution. Koch's climate pollution, meanwhile, outpaces oil giants including Valero, Chevron and Shell. Across its businesses, Koch generates 24 million metric tons of greenhouse gases a year. For Koch, this license to pollute amounts to a perverse, hidden subsidy.... The toxic history of Koch Industries ... also extends to the company's business practices, which have been the target of numerous federal investigations, resulting in several indictments and convictions, as well as a whole host of fines and penalties."
Rob Maaddi of the AP: "The video of Ray Rice punching his fiancee inside a casino elevator was sent to NFL headquarters to the attention of league security chief Jeffrey Miller in April, a law enforcement official says. The NFL has repeatedly said no one with the league saw the violent images until TMZ Sports released the video earlier this month. Miller said Thursday through an NFL spokesman that he never received the video. The official ... said he doesn't know if Miller ever saw the DVD or opened the package. His only communication with the NFL was a 12-second voicemail on April 9 from league offices confirming receipt of the package, in which a woman says, 'You're right. It's terrible.'"
Amanda Marcotte, in Slate: "Kimberly Guilfoyle of The Five on Fox News rolled out a story on Wednesday about Major Mariam Al Mansouri, the first female fighter pilot for the United Arab Emirates. Mansouri led the UAE strikes against ISIS on Monday and will reportedly be leading future strikes.... Naturally, Guilfoyle's story about a woman doing a thing required her male co-hosts to take one of their patented principled stands against modern feminism. 'The problem is, after she bombed it, she couldn't park it,' quipped Greg Gutfeld, showing off that edgy humor style from 1955 he has finally mastered. Added Eric Bolling: 'Would that be considered boobs on the ground, or no?'"
Adam Gabbatt of the Guardian: "One year after the racism scandal that saw [Paula] Deen's television show dropped by the Food Network and her corporate sponsors flee..., [she is] attempt[ing] at a comeback: a subscriber-only channel posting new video recipes each week."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Alec MacGillis of the New Republic learns that the Washington Post can't handle "colorful language": a humorous Barney Frank quote, which fleetingly made it past a first edit, gave way to a meaningless reference to "colorful language." Thanks to P. D. Pepe for the link. ...
... CW: General-interest papers like the WashPo probably should not use "colorful language" in their original reporting & analysis. But any publication that targets adult readers should freely cite what a public figure or other newsworthy person says. If the editors are worried about offensive language appearing in "the same section as the comics and the 'Kids Post' page," as MacGillis puts it, I have some news for the news experts: any kid who is old enough to read the funny papers is also old enough to use the Internets. It's stupid, unprofessional, and to me "offensive," for a news outlet to cater to hypothetical 8-year-olds & church ladies at the expense of accurate reporting.
Beyond the Beltway
David Zahniser & Emily Reyes of the Los Angeles Times: "Big hotels in Los Angeles will soon be required to pay at least $15.37 an hour to their workers -- one of the highest minimum-wage requirements in the country.The City Council voted 12 to 3 on Wednesday to impose the higher wage on large hotels, delivering a huge victory to a coalition that included organized labor, more than a dozen neighborhood councils and the ACLU of Southern California."
Andy Cush of Gawker: "'I Am Darren Wilson' bracelets are Missouri cops' new fashion statement." And, yeah, they're wearing them in Ferguson. ...
... Ed Kilgore suggests, "To the extent that the duty of the police officers patrolling Ferguson is maintenance of peace and calm, visibly wearing a token of identification with an alleged murderer when dealing with people protesting the alleged murder is not a real smart tactic."...
... Andy Cush: "In a video released [Thursday], Ferguson, Mo., Police Chief Thomas Jackson says that he is 'truly sorry' to the Brown family for the death of Michael Brown and the way that his body was handled. He also apologizes to peaceful protesters 'who did not feel that I did enough to protect their constitutional right to protest,' and accepts full responsibility 'for any mistakes I have made.'" ...
... AND, No, He Won't Resign. Eliott McLaughlin & Ana Cabrera of CNN: "Even after apologizing for his department's actions following Michael Brown's shooting, the police chief of Ferguson, Missouri, insisted Thursday that he's not going anywhere -- telling CNN, this is mine, and I'm taking ownership of it.'" ...
... Charles Pierce on a spate of police shootings of innocent people doin' nothin'. CW: Weirdly, Pierce treats these incidents as if police shooting innocent people was something new. It isn't. They've been doing it since before any of us was born. These shootings are in the news now not because they are remarkable but because the public reaction to particular shootings in Sanford, Florida (yes, thank you, Al Sharpton )& Ferguson, Missouri, has been loud & uncompromising. That young man who automatically raised his hands in surrender after a cop shot him for no reason didn't just learn to do that after Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown. That pose of surrender is what black mothers have been teaching their children for a long time. It's a necessary form of self-protection against a police force that is perceived as the enemy because it is the enemy.
Congressional Races
Brian Beutler on Gabby Giffords' "mean" ads calling out Congressional candidates who oppose even modest gun control legislation.
Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed: "Conservative activists are launching 'an unprecedented campaign' against three Republican candidates -- two of whom are out gay men -- because of their support for marriage equality and abortion. The National Organization for Marriage, Family Research Council Action, and CitizenLink 'will mount a concerted effort to urge voters to refuse to cast ballots' for Republican House candidates Carl DeMaio in California and Richard Tisei in Massachusetts and Republican Senate candidate Monica Wehby in Oregon, according to a letter sent to Republican congressional and campaign leaders on Thursday."
Gubernatorial Race
** How Sam Brownback Blew up His Laboratory of Democracy. Patrick Caldwell of Mother Jones details Gov. Brownback's (RTP-Kansas) disastrous policies, dirty politics, & their effects. ...
... Ed Kilgore: "Brownback has very publicly made his state a conservative 'experiment station' and sought to stamp out any dissent in his party, all in the pursuit of a sort of intellectual rogue's gallery of bad ideas, from supply-side economics to the harshest attacks in the country on reproductive rights. He not only deserve to lose, but his regime needs to be remembered with fear and trembling by Republicans everywhere." ...
... CW: It would be great if Republicans did learn from Brownback that their economic policy prescriptions were calamitous. It would be swell if voters never forgot what a mess these policies created. It would be super if Kansas became a case study in bad policy that high-school students learned in their history books. But there's no chance any of that will happen. Republicans are bought & paid for; voters are disengaged & clueless; & textbook writers are subservient to school boards populated by dimwits & evangelical ideologues. Sam Brownback, Ted Cruz, Louie Gohmert -- they are all evidence of the best our particular democracy can do.
Presidential Election
Run, Mitt, Run! Kevin Drum: "We still live in a 50-50 nation, after all, and for the foreseeable future I suspect that pretty much every presidential election is going to be fairly close. And Romney certainly has a decent chance of winning the Republican nomination, since he'd be competing against pretty much the same clown show as last time.So sure: Run, Mitt! I hear that Eric Cantor is available to be your vice president."
Charles Pierce on the possible presidential candidacy of former U.S. Senator Jim Webb, a nominal Democrat.
News Ledes
Washington Post: "A man who had just been fired by an Oklahoma City-area food processing plant allegedly severed the head of one of his former co-workers and attacked another before being shot by the company's chief operating officer, according to police.... [Alton] Nolen was attacking a second woman at the plant ... when, Lewis said, he was shot by Mark Vaughan, a top executive at Vaughan Foods who is also a reserve deputy with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department.... Nolen was hospitalized and police are waiting until he is conscious to arrest him.... Two federal law enforcement officials told The Post that Nolen is a recent convert to Islam." ...
... CW: I scarcely need to relay that Right Wing World is going batshit over "Bloody jihad comes to Oklahoma" (an actual headline).
AP: "A contract employee who recently was told he was being transferred to Hawaii set a fire at a suburban Chicago air traffic control center where he worked, bringing two of the nation's busiest airports to a halt Friday, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday."
Washington Post: "Bill Gross, founder of Pacific Investment Management Co. and the manager of the largest bond mutual fund in the world, is stepping down. Starting next week, Gross, who managed the $222 billion Pimco Total Return Bond fund, will run a new unconstrained bond fund at Janus Capital Group.... Gross ... has seen his reputation bruised in the past several months...."
New York Times: "European officials said they had brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine aimed at ensuring gas flows to keep factories running and homes warm over the coming six months, despite a dispute between Moscow and Kiev over the size of Ukraine's outstanding bills."
AP: "The U.S. economy's bounce-back last quarter from a dismal winter was even faster than previously thought, a sign that growth will likely remain solid for rest of the year. The economy as measured by gross domestic product grew at a 4.6 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was the fastest pace in more than two years and higher than the government's previous estimate of 4.2 percent. The upward revision reflected stronger-than-expected business investment and exports last quarter."
New York Times: "With one out in the bottom of the ninth, [Derek] Jeter stroked the winning hit and ended his Yankee Stadium career the way he had ended so many games -- with both arms raised in celebration. The 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles was his 1,627th regular-season victory as a Yankee."
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Reader Comments (15)
Jessica Schulberg lists four possible replacements for Holder.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119594/one-these-four-people-will-replace-eric-holder-attorney-general
And this ––which is delicious: WaPo yanked a Barney Frank quote about an "anus" congressman. As Frank says, he's used to be in the minority cuz he's a left handed gay Jew.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119592/barney-franks-gay-sex-quote-yanked-washington-post-editors
And speaking of Jews: to answer Haley's question from yesterday, yes, indeed, Levi Strauss would be one of those tailors, but most changed their names like Ralph Lipschitz became Ralph Lauren and the "J" in J Press stands for Jacobi.
@pdPepe Barney Frank quotes have usually been wicked good for embroidering or needle-pointing on a pillow—or as the New Republic writer intends—to print and frame. To bad the WaPo wimped out on one of Barney's best.
You gotta love these winger comments about Eric Holder.
You'd think they were talking about a combination of Al Capone and Pol Pot. But it's pretty well known that none of these people have ever heard of the forgotten land of Knowing What the Fuck You're Talking About, as Charlie Pierce refers to it.
First, this idiot Teresa Monroe-Hamilton (is that really her name or did she make that up? Why not Teresa Monroe-Jay-Jefferson-Madison-Hamilton? Then you got 'em all) complaining, like so many other bug-eyed loonies, that Holder is a RACIST! Which, translated from the original Wingnut, means "a black person who does not know his or her place and who refuses to shut up about civil rights violations that we should be able to inflict on those uppity nee-groes whenever and however the fucking hell we want".
Next, Fox goon Andrea Tantaros whines that Holder ran the DOJ like it was the Black Panthers.
First, I will bet everything I own now and for the rest of my life that she knows absolutely nothing about the Black Panthers. If you showed her a picture of Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, she'd probably think she was looking at Sam and Dave.
What she really means, translated, again, from the original Wingnut, is "any black man who stands up for himself and other nee-groes is not just uppity, but a threat to society. Also, to address the many others who describe Holder (and Obama) as a racist and a hater, none other than Jedgar Hoover his cross-dressing self, declared the Panthers a "hate group" for daring to stand up for their rights against police departments that went out of their way to harass, humiliate, incarcerate and in many cases, murder, black Americans. Those things are "hateful" to bigots.
I won't address the Limpbaugh bullshit because, stupid, but the comment about Holder disgracing the office of Attorney General then riding off to a life of ease in a big law firm is a hoot.
Now class, let's review some of the more stellar Republican Attorneys General and the honor they did that office:
First, John Mitchell. Let's see how did John do after his government service? .Oops..sentenced to prison for conspiracy, obstruction of justice, perjury, then barred for life from the practice of law because of the long list of criminal activities while in office. Never mind.
Okay, how about Ed Meese, AG to Saint Ronnie of Reagan? Hmmm...involved in the illegal and unconstitutional Iran Contra scheme and cover up of same. Forced to resign because of his involvement with trying to protect Wedtech, a criminal enterprise masked as a business, bilking money from taxpayers whose "investors" included mafia figures. Nice, Ed. Has since toured the country talking about morals and ethics. Kinda like Willy Sutton talking about bank security.
Poppy Bush's AG, William Barr left the AG's office and slid nicely into lucrative jobs in small mom and pop businesses like GTE and Verizon.
After eviscerating the bill of rights by helping to ram through the Bush era Patriot Act, and providing legal cover for an illegal war, John Ashcroft started piling up millions as a DC lobbyist and consultant. The Hill recognized Ashcroft, according to Wikipedia, as "one of the top 50 hired guns on K Street." Guess he isn't standing on street corners begging for change after his years disgracing the AG's office.
Alberto Gonzales doubled down on Ashcroft's hatred of the bill of rights and continued shilling for an illegal war, torture, and the illegal ousting of political enemies among state attorneys general around the country. How very honorable, Alberto. He is now dean of a law school and works for a big law firm. No worries there.
Mike Mukasey, Bush's next AG, after Gonzales was forced to retire before he was taken out in handcuffs, left government to serve as a senior counsel in one of the biggest law firms in the world. He's best known for his statement that not all violations of law are crimes, meaning, as long as you're a connected Republican.
But should Eric Holder leave the AG's office and get a job in a law firm, it would be a crime against nature. I get the logic there. I really do. Another uppity black guy has to be put in his place.
And it's not bad enough that they have had to suffer the indignity of a black man in the White House, but to have another brother as the top law enforcement figure in the country is just too much to bear. These guys should be shining shoes or wearing red caps and carrying luggage for rich white people. Not giving orders and running down civil rights violations.
The idea!
Any questions?
Marie made a comment yesterday about being asked for $$ in response to an offer to volunteer for GOtV. Maybe this is less anecdotal: After making a small donation to dccc we are inundated by spam begging for more, often with über-maudlin adolescent condescending almost offensive language. Not once amongst these hundreds of spams have we seen a suggestion that we go down to our local hdq and hit the phones or sidewalks, which we have done in past elections. Have thought of trying to get this message up the line, but can't imagine anyone paying attention. Maybe this is just the consequence of PR by mindless servers. Our own worst enemy.
Love the kerfuffle over the Barney Frank quote. Don't you miss that guy?
I do have to agree with Marie's point about accurately quoting important public figures. I don't know how the Post handled Dick Cheney's suggestion to Pat Leahy that he perform an anatomically impossible act, but I'm betting the kiddies won out on that one. But to hide the rank, insulting viciousness of that asshole was a disservice to readers.
Looking back at other famous bowdlerized quotes, I think of the John Garner Nance description of the usefulness of the office of vice president. I was somewhat relieved, after many years of reading the edited version, to hear that what he really said was "bucket of warm piss" because I had always thought that "bucket of warm spit" was particularly disgusting. A whole bucket? Of spit? Gross.
We won't mention any of Nixon's expletive deleteds, most of those weren't for publication anyway, even though they made for interesting parlor games of fill-in-the-blanks once they did make the printed page.
I'm pretty sure none of LBJ's more colorful expressions made it into the Post or any other paper of that period. But things are a bit different today. And we haven't bowdlerized Shakespeare for a long time. Except maybe in Texas schools. That is, if they read any Shakespeare.
He's probably on the "dangerously salacious" list.
Along with Barney Frank.
@Akhilleus: Here's how the Post handled Dick Cheney's pleasantry:
"'Fuck yourself,' said the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency."
So is "fuck" a more acceptable word this is "anus" or "penis"? Seems to me these are regular words for anatomical parts that one's doctor would use in discussing a medical condition.
Or does Cheney's greater importance (he was veep then; Frank is a retired congressman) mean his words merit accurate reporting?
Dan Kois of Slate has the answer: "According to the Post's ombudsman, Michael Getler, his conversation with Executive Editor Leonard Downie yesterday clarified the paper's long-standing policy on the use of profanity on its pages. 'The paper doesn't do it unless it's exceptionally newsworthy and necessary for readers to understand and make a judgment' on the story, Getler says. Downie approved the A4 profanity himself, according to Getler, because Cheney's remarks were made in public and 'not in a casual way.' Getler notes, though, that had the story been on the front page, the specific language likely would have been alluded to or pushed past the jump."
Sorry, Barney, you're not "exceptionally newsworthy."
Marie
In 1845 an expedition set sail from England in search of a new way. A new way through the arctic ice, that is. They were poorly equipped for such an expedition, with only a handful of men on two ships with any experience in arctic conditions.
On top of that, much of their food, contracted from the lowest bidder to save money, was contaminated by lead solder used to seal the tins. Lord Franklin's expedition was an unmitigated disaster.
After getting stuck in the ice, disease and lead poisoning began to take their toll. Confusion reigned. Men set off across the ice trying to escape to land, often heading in the exact wrong direction only to die in the ice. Madness, even cannibalism, further debilitated the crew's morale.
By the time a party was formed to try for a realistic escape, the decisions they made were tragically wrongheaded, brought on, no doubt by clouded minds and an inability to think or strategize clearly. Instead of traveling lightly, they took with them boxes filled with books, writing desks, slippers, soaps, and assorted items that only slowed them down.
No one made it out alive.
Bad decisions, poor planning, delusional strategies, inexperience, and diseased minds brought an end to Lord Franklin's expedition.
In Kansas, people are hoping for an escape from the madness of Lord Brownback's expedition.
Good luck with that.
@Whyte Owen. I've had similar thoughts. I was asked by several campaigns in 2012 to make phone calls, join door-to-doors, and other GOTV events. This year, nada. What's really annoying is the race for the bucks. I must get 50-60 e-mails a day begging contrabutions. I guess they've come to believe that the office is automatically turned over to the best fundraiser.
Wow...that's a lot of posts. Anyway...
Marie,
Thanks for the info.
Barney may not be as "exceptionally newsworthy" as Darth Cheney (he never started a war that killed, maimed, or displaced millions, after all), but at least he's not a dick. Neither the Cheney kind nor any other.
If I said "He's not a penis", would the Post euphemize (or euthanize) my quote?
@ AK & James, sounds a bit like there's some peniae envy or phallic competition goin' on.
[CW Note: This post made perfect sense before I removed a bunch of duplicate posts that my system is generating, along with a couple of comments on the duplicates.]
Ha! Just realized that I referred to John Nance Garner as John Garner Nance, Vice President for Franklin Roosevelt Delano. Three names are too many anyway. Good thing I don't have to write very often about European royalty who all have six or seven names. I'd just have to refer to all of them as Fred or Wilma. Or maybe Joe Bob. His Royal Highness, King Joe Bob.
Works for me.
Thanks for cleaning it up, Marie.
PD,
Yesterday's question was rhetorical. I worked for Levi Strauss. Fine company who is not faring well these days. One proud moment was when they defunded the Boy Scouts because of the Scout's discrimination against gays. Another was when they offered family benefits to same sex partners. Both policies happened LONG before they were on the national radar.
@Haley. When I was in highschool, Levis were the uniform of cool. One of the great games we played was ripping off the red tag on the back pocket of a mortal enemy's Levis. "You kids are so childish," my mother said.
Later, when I'd outgrown my urge to rip tags, I discovered a department store in Stockton, CA, that advertised "A Wall of Levis." Floor to ceiling, they had every waist-inseam-leg style combo the company made. It was a great place to shop.