“I want to address something else, because you and I had a conversation last week that got a whole lot of play in a lot of places where I used the term “partisan” in describing one of your questions. And I’ve thought a lot about that, and I was wrong. So I want to apologize and tell you I’m sorry for it.“
Upon being asked for the umpteenth time why the Democrats don’t have a plan for Iraq, a Democratic leader — Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York — finally gave the right answer:
“I never understand that question, you have a President that’s in deep shit. He got us into the war, and all the reasons he gave have been proven invalid, and the whole electorate was so pissed off that they got rid of anyone they could have, and then they ask, ‘What is the Democrats’ solution?’”
Post-modern: A post about blogging:
[The Gartner analysts firm predicts] that during the middle of next year the number of blogs will level out at about 100 million.
The firm has said that 200 million people have already stopped writing their blogs…
Gartner analyst Daryl Plummer said the reason for the levelling off in blogging was due to the fact that most people who would ever start a web blog had already done so.
He said those who loved blogging were committed to keeping it up, while others had become bored and moved on.
“A lot of people have been in and out of this thing,” Mr Plummer said.
“Everyone thinks they have something to say, until they’re put on stage and asked to say it.”
Last month blog tracking firm Technorati reported that 100,000 new blogs were being created every day, and 1.3 million blog posts were written.
Technorati is tracking more than 57 million blogs, of which it believes around 55 percent are “active” and updated at least every three months.
Really bad idea: Nevada state Sen. Bob Beers believes that the best deterrent to gun violence in schools is an armed force of teachers. Beers is proposaing legislation that would make it legal for teachers to bear arms in the classroom after passing a firearm safety course.
“I would expect enough teachers would be interested (in taking guns to school) so it would serve as a deterrent,” said Beers, a failed gubernatorial candidate.
“We have banned guns in schools in Nevada and most of the rest of the nation for the last 20 years,” Beers said. “Part of the problem is a small percentage of the population is brought up without a knowledge of and respect for guns.
“We need to have discussions on school violence,” Beers added. “It appears to me there is an escalating frequency of these tragedies. In the wrong hands, a gun is a dangerous tool.”
Of course, most people in Nevada think it’s a bad idea to arm teachers. But apparently not in neighboring Utah:
Whether teachers and other school officials should be allowed to carry weapons on campus has been hotly debated in neighboring Utah.
Unlike Nevada, Utah concealed-weapons permit holders can legally bring guns onto campuses. But Utah school districts have differing policies on where the weapons can be legally stashed, with some school systems barring their storage in desks or coat closets on campus.
Some Utahans have called for more teachers to receive weapons training. A Salt Lake City-area firearms instructor began offering free classes in October to teachers seeking concealed-weapons permits, according to media reports.
Hotline has an update on Sen. Tim Johnson’s condition. Turns out it was not a stroke — and apparently he has not been poisoned:
CNN reports that Sen. Tim Johnson has been dignosed with a congenital arteriovenous malformation. (AVM).
CNN’s Sanjay Gupta: “We’re talking about a long road, here.” Recovery time may take weeks or months or longer.
The Johnson family is said to be “encouraged and optimistic.”
The location of the malformation — near Broca’s area, which helps to control speech, suggests that he will need significant therapy to recover his full speech functions.
If the capillary bed is thought of as a sponge, then an AVM is the rough equivalent of jamming a tangle of flexible soda straws from artery to vein through that sponge. On arteriorgram films AVM formation often resemble a tangle of spaghetti noodles. This tangle of blood vessels forms a relatively direct connection between high pressure arteries and low pressure veins.
Loose cannon: Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo was ungraciously uninvited to speak before the Miami Rotary Club today after the organization received complaints from the restaurant that hosts the club’s meetings and club members. Tancredo, if you remember, called Miami a “Third World country” a few weeks ago while making an insightful argument about illegal immigration.
With the typical class we in the Third World have come to expect from the representative from Colorado, Tancredo responded to the cancellation with this pithy reposte:
”I knew speaking your mind could be dangerous in Havana — I guess it’s equally dangerous to do so in Miami,” Tancredo said in a statement. “Apparently, there isn’t much of a difference between the two anymore.
“I hope to someday return to Miami when it has been able to extricate itself from the clutches of the radical multiculturalists.”
The multiculturally challenged congressman was slated to speak on the topic of immigration in an address titled Renewing America: The Need for Assimilation. Kind of like asking Mel Gibson to speak on the future of Israel. Or asking Michael Richards to address the NAACP. Or asking Britney Speares to model underwear.
Still, it was a lame-O reason the Rusty Pelican Restaurant gave for the cancellation:
”We have a small parking space and limited entrance area, and we were very concerned about the safety of our guests and employees,” said Randy Palmer, the Rusty Pelican’s regional manager. “We’re not trying to make a political statement, but there was an implication of boycotts — and shock, being that we’re part of the community, that we would consider hosting this event.”
In November, Tancredo pointed to Miami as an example of what will happen to the United States if immigration policies are not tightened:
”You would never know you’re in the United States of America,” he said in an interview with a conservative online news site. “You would certainly say you’re in a Third World country.”
A Third World country where you can get a good cup of java, Tancredo failed to add. Plus, some of those Third World chicks on Miami Beach are hot.
[…]
Foregone conclusions: Without the assistance of Our Liberal Media, Pres. Bush and his political handlers could not get away with an extravagant charade like the one we’re witnessing now:
[It’s] hard to decide which is more pathetic: Bush’s “listening tour,” or the national media, which have cravenly agreed to call it by that name and cover it within that frame.
This “tour” has required no tourism. It has taken Bush from the Oval Office, over to Foggy Bottom, back to the West Wing, then over to the Pentagon, and back again to the White House. But the media have treated it like Lenin’s trip to the Finland Station, or the Beatles coming to America. Wow! Lookit him go! He’s even taken his fingers out of his ears! That bubble boy sure can listen!
You can imagine the staff meetings in the days leading up to the Iraq Study Group report. “We gotta give the appearance of paying attention to the report, Mr. President. We gotta let some time pass after Baker’s big show, until some serial killer or anorexic distracts the country again. In the meantime, we gotta give those newsie jerkoffs something to cover. Snow can only snow ’em for a day or two. We need action. Photo ops. Soundbites. A storyline…. Wait a minute, I’ve got it: we’ll put you on a listening tour. Yeah, that’s the ticket. They’ll eat it up. A listening tour… and A New Way Forward!”
I’m not surprised that Bush has tried such a brazen stunt; I’m just stunned that the media has fallen for it so frictionlessly. Maybe it’s just the time of the year; perhaps the press corps’s just preoccupied with playing Secret Santa.
It is amazaing that, with the exception of Keith Olbermann, no one in the Gang of 500, not a single talking head or pundit, has voiced any doubts about the president’s campaign to convince Americans that he’s in the throes of decision-making about Iraq.
As we suggested here and here, the decision about what to do will be based on what best suits the interests of George W. Bush — and among the choices available, there is only one that suits his personal and political aims: sending in more troops.
Pundits say that Trump’s $5,000 midterm bribe was an overreach,
And they agree that if lies were a crime, he’d be impeached.
Despite all the dividend promises he’s made,
The fact is, not one has ever been paid,
So even before the midterms, he already owes us $8,000* each.
*$5000 stimulus checks via “DOGE dividend”; $2000 stimulus checks via a “tariff dividend”; $1000-plus checks via “savings” from expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
