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Andy Stern, President of the SEIU, will be joining us on Sunday, October 22nd to discuss his new book A Country That Works at the Book Salon. Stern has been an acute and vocal critic of the regressive labor policies of the current (and past) administrations, and the blindness with which the challenges of the future are being faced by this country. Please stop by during the first week of the discussion on Sunday, October 15 and save up a few questions for Andy himself when he stops by on the 22nd. As someone who considers it paramount that the netroots forge ties with labor and strongly reinforce the need for a strong Democratic vision with regard to worker's rights, I'm really happy that Andy will be joining us and hope everyone will stop by to welcome him and open yourself up to what he has to say.
We've also got Arianna Huffington with us this Sunday at 2pm PT/5pm ET to discuss her book On Becoming Fearless.... in Love, Work, and Life, and Sidney Bluementhal will be here on October 1 with his new book How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime. The Book Salon has become one of the signature pieces of FDL and one of the most interesting and lively features that we run (the recent John Dean salon visit was spectacular). If you haven't stopped by before, please mark the dates on your calendar and consider this an invitation to de-lurk, we have an awful lot of fun and we'd love to have you join us.
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fitz
Gore!
Andy! Arianna! authors! alliteration!
Jane, any luck getting Olbermann for the book salon?
Fearless = Ann Richards, RIP
OT PSA - CNN reports E. coli outbreak in 8 states. 1 dead, 50 sick. Source believed to be bagged spinach.
twolf1 @
6
Popeye is OK, isn’t he?
twolf1 @
6
I have heard that about bagged salads, too and always wash the stuff. When you have ? hands touching that stuff and then sealing it a plastic bag and ship it in a truck with ? refrigeration and then dump it at a supermarket in the box and have it sitting in the stock room for ? how long and…… I am saddened, but not suprised.
Why does bagged spinach hate America?
I love super early heads up on books since I have to order them by pony express. Thanks
Eureka Springs, AR @
10
Et tu, Eureka?
twolf1 @
9
Tsk.
twolf1 @
6
Wisconsin (where death occurred), Connecticut (is Lieberman behind this?), Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah.
(is Lieberman behind this?)
707!! Thanks for the info. I wasn’t able to bring myself to turn the “goddam noisy box” on tonight.
C’mon, let’s blame the victims. They were asking for trouble when they ate bagged spinach. They need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Let’s give another tax cut to the rich so they can afford real spinach. If they get sick they won’t contribute to our campaigns!
Olbermann all over Tony Snow about torture, I think the segment is over, now he’s on nuclear.
That’s what they get for shopping at Osama’s Spinach Emporium.
Twisted Martini @
15
Is bagged spinach sorta the same thing as hunting stocked quail?
or catching a 7 1/2 pound perch in a pond?
Twisted Martini @ 15
I bet that comment will drive the wingers nuts (them being constitutionally incapable of snark or the comprehension of snark).
LindyH @ 19
I bet that comment will drive the wing nuts crazy (them being constitutionally incapable of snark or the comprehension of snark). Did I say constitutionally incapable? What was I thinking? Oh, wait…
Is the third edit the charm? Geeze.
Spinach drives the wingnuts crazy because a woman made them eat it when they were kids, and they hated taking orders from a woman!
LindyH: quoting yourself is kinda omphaloskeptical, dontcha think?
Olbermann on Fridays Today Show.
Olbermann will be on NBC’s TODAY show, tomorrow at what time, not sure.
Also, Keith will replay his 9/11 commentary on tomorrow nights COUNTDOWN.
Aha! Bagged spinach always tasted not quite right to me. But I couldn’t quite put my finger on it…
Hey Twisted — I’d like to revise my Mountaineer score upward… *g*
Muckraker
Capitol Hill sources close to Ney said the plea agreement was ready to be publicized on Thursday, but an announcement was delayed to avoid influencing a special election in Ney’s congressional district.
John Casper @ 25
woo hoo! the more that see it on teevee, the merrier!
Jane,
You really need to throw out Article 3, get the thumbscrews out and put some pressure on Olbermann to talk about his book on a Sunday.
Bush will understand, the Judicial may understand but I know it will be worth the fallout.
OLBERMANN…..FDL……DEMOCRACY!
Okay..can I go off topic once again? Just wanted to share that I heard gutteral shouting outside. There is an intermediate school right across the fence (and uphill) and, when I peeked out, I saw the two Maori boys who are stars of the schools haka presentation. The boys are substantial in size and, there against, the back wall of the school, are four small Pakeha (European descendent boys) all small and white, lined up and learning the haka, shouting with the encouragement and tutelage of the Maoris. The shouting goes back and forth and the boys begin to feel an unknown power emanate from themselves as they shout, stomp and gesture.
I wish we could have dualing hakas, rather than actual warfare. And I sit here fantasizing that Bush could be challenged in a haka. A good one will get the blood stirred…and make the cowards shrink.
OT but curious…
Why is it we can carry 4 ounces of contact lens solution on a plane but not an ounce of face cream? This makes no sense.
*ilson, I don’t know what omphaloskeptical means. I wikied, dictionaried, thesaurused. Tried to get it in the context of an article…and I don’t know if I came close. Care to define?
What happened was I hit the wrong action button. :)
*ilson at 28 — awesome news. If Ney is pleading, he’s flipped on someone else, or they wouldn’t offer him a low count deal. Hmmmm…let the speculation begin. Looks like the cocktail weenie parties in the Beltway Bubble will be rife with speculation this weekend, especially with the rumor that has also floated out that DeLay will be cutting some sort of deal.
Olbermann on Plame with Shuster.
Lindy at 33 — Bad day?
Shuster hasn’t read FDL/TNH, because he’s equivocating on the reliability of Novak/Armitage. See Swopa at FDL. Novak can’t stop changing his stories.
You know people, this may really be the day that Bush “jumped the shark” and will have his own party turn on him.
Powell, McCain, Graham…these are no party lightweights.
The saying goes….”give any one species too much rope and they’ll fuck it up”.
Let the carnage begin…
Novak v. Armitage
Powell v. Bush
Cheney (evil) v. Rule of Law (good)
only Delay and Hastert were ‘above’ Ney …
Christy Hardin Smith @ 27
I will withhold my furniture burning cracks, although the Buckeye fans took care of that last week.
More OfT Senate Republicans Defy Bush; Colin Powell Agrees
by DemFromCT
OT, lotus, happy birthday.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 36
*nod*
John Casper @ 37
Yeah, and Shuster’s not listed in Spotlight, so…
Damn, ‘Neers having a little Turtle soup!
*ilson46201 @
39
Ick. No thanks for that particular mental image.
Oh, you said “above”, not “on top of”.
LindyH @ 33
He is talking about your belly button, I think? :)
Dru @ 46
LOL!
NZ Expat @
31
I wish so as well and that I could have been there to see that! There is hope. You captured it beautifully and thank you for sharing. Gandhi would be proud of those lads.
LindyH @ 47
Oh wait a minute; does it mean doubting your gut?
Twisted at 44 — I went up to get The Peanut settled into bed, teeth brushed, big snuggle, the game had just started when we went upstairs. I came back down a few minutes into the 1st quarter, and we’d already scored two touchdowns. Hoo, baby!
LindyH — sorry you are having a tough day. Make yourself a cuppa tea and take a few deep breaths — and know that you are very valued here. :)
Dru says
September 14th, 2006 at 5:28 pm*
LOL…i can see how that would be. Just didn’t know the omphalo part.
Jane — thanks much, it’s like getting a little present every time you announce the next author and book. I haven’t looked forward to reading this much in quite some time.
OT — FirePups, need some help. I saw the info left for me about Google and their ill-advised attempts to try and positively influence Net Neutrality, thanks very much. I believe the intentions are good if execution is poor; we can fix execution if the intentions are correct.
What I need from you:
1) Identify any Dems who DO NOT support Net Neutrality.
2) Identify any Repugs who DO support Net Neutrality.
I believe there is a correlation in numbers by party.
Where I’m going: the preservation of Net Neutrality should be a core value of the Democratic Party, and should be a platform agenda item. We need to show Google that Net Neutrality is a single-issue item, like pro-choice and environment are for groups like NARAL and Sierra Club; in doing so, we need to show them it is more efficient and effective to simply get Dems elected to office, no matter where they are in the U.S., versus fighting for one or two seats that would be squashed by the rest of the Republican Party (supported by telesatcos in direct competition with Google on the issue of Net Neutrality).
In other words, I’m going to try to get Google to read “Crashing the Gates”.
What I’m going to do next:
1) Letter from a shareholder who’s also a consultant covering their industry asking them to reconsider their position, explaining this situation;
2) Letter to PAC doing the same;
3) Contacting Dem reps closest to major Google sites (Mountain View CA, for starters), explaining this situation and asking them to get involved to assure Google they and their party are working to protect Net Neutrality.
Next time some *sshole geek with a background in networking gives you some hoohaw about Net Neutrality not being possible for technical reasons, you tell them that Google knows from networking and they’re willing to sleep with enemy to ensure Net Neutrality anyhow.
Jeepers. You get one project just barely off your plate and along comes another one. Sheesh.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 51
So kind. Thank you. I value this community.
LindyH @ 52
Lindy, what’s the ‘H’ for. Every time I read it, my mind says “Lindy Hop” which was a dance in the 30’s, I think.
Here it is.
28-0 now, gonna be an ass-whipping. They might hang half a hundred on ‘em.
I watched KO’s commentary again today, it gives me goosebumps. I sent it to a friend who dismissed it as overreaching metaphor for the rip in the national fabric. I say these evil bastards must be beaten with their own metaphors.
Just received an email from Wespac, Wes Clark’s group. He is leading a fundraising drive for the VoteVets ad. They’re ready to go against every Republican running who voted against body armor funds. Hmmm, I guess that would be all of ‘em.
And as Chris Matthews noted tonight, in not so few words, negative ads work. Enough of letting Rethug chickenhawks frame the arguments.
Sorry for the OT, and I don’t have a link, in the land of dinosaur dialup hoping the tall timber doesn’t explode like Montana.
Votevets.org is ready to go to work. We can help.
omphaloskepsis is examining your own navel. When you quote yourself in here, it seems kinda solipstic … a tad self-involved, dontcha think?
Prairie Sunshine @
57
Paul Hackett is also affiliated. Go VoteVets!
Dru @ 46
Oh, this is soooo easy. It’s patting your head with one hand while rubbing your belly with the other … or not ;-)
Wes Clark rocks. He and Al Gore should team up before the primaries, and just take no prisoners.
I’m embarassed to admit it, but I wasn’t sure what SEIU was (too many orgs for me)
http://www.seiu.org/
Should be a very good book. I love Jordan Barab’s posts, although they are usually so thorough they don’t leave much to comment on, you just finish much better informed than you started. So I’m looking forward to this.
********
OT - Scarecrow, that is the scuttle on Haynes and I’m wondering if Graham has decided to finally shake off Bush and support his fellow JAG corps just a little bit (in which case - that could be where the ‘leak’ originate)
Here’s an earlier link that fills in on the tight Cheney/Addington/Haynes ties Globe article by Savage re: military lawyers and conflict with Bush, Cheney, Haynes over standards
And with the amnesty provisions, it might be well to remember - both for the legislation and for the Haynes nomination - some of what went on under the Haynes/Rumsfeld/Cambone watch.
Remembering Camp NAMA (Nasty Ass Military Area)
Almost two years ago, Seymour Hersh reported in the New Yorker that Secretary Rumsfeld and Under-Secretary Cambone had established secret special access programs (SAPs) within DoD that are authorized to use rough treatment, and sexual humiliation, in interrogating not only suspected al Qaeda operatives, but also the numerous persons rounded up as possible insurgents in Iraq. And as Bart Gellman reported in the Washington Post in January 2005, Rumsfeld further concluded that such operations need not be disclosed to Congress, so that there is a wholly secret interrogation regime within the Department of Defense playing by its own interrogation rules.
…
And their techniques are so brutal that even the CIA — no stranger to waterboarding and hypothermia — felt the need to bar its personnel from Camp NAMA! If the CIA thinks it’s beyond the pale . . . .
The Hersh story linked above reported that it was Cambone — a close aid to Rumsfeld — who instructed the Special Ops to take the gloves off, and to play without rules when it came to obtaining intelligence about Iraqi insurgents.
Rayne @53, I will call my congresscritters tomorrow and ask staff how they stand on the issue. I’ll post tomorrow with your name attached to it.
Heyfirepups!
Beeninthewoodsbackpackingfor10days.AndIcomehometofindmyspacebarbusted(4yearoldspilledhotchocolateonit!)DidImissanything?
LetmeguessShrubhasbeenjumping
upanddown
shouting
9/11!9/11!9/11!
GoodtoseeFDL.
:)
TRex @ 55
Actually, it’s still pretty popular. You should see the links that come up tied to Lindy Hop. It’s the first initial of my surname.
shooogarp — it’s e.e. cummings blogging. *g*
*ilson46201 @ 58
it was a MISTAKE.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 66
mostexactlyreddhedd.
and it’s solipsistic. *grin*
greateecummingspoem:
if i love You
if i love You
(thickness means
worlds inhabited by roamingly
stern bright faeries
if you love
me) distance is mind carefully
luminous with innumerable gnomes
Of complete dream
if we love each (shyly)
other, what clouds do or Silently
Flowers resembles beauty
less than our breathing
OT, here’s what not to do to score tickets to the big game. This means you Casper!
Send up a scream for Ol’ Notre Dame
LindyH @ 67
don’t pay him no mind; just pour yourself a bubble bath and then come back after much relaxation. heh.
gottarun!greattoseemyfavoritepeople!
willbebacktomorrowwithmyspaces.
shooogarp @ 73
bye shoogarp.
LindyH @ 67
no shame in that game. I recall quoting myself in here before to add some more wisdom to my previously-posted trivialities and whimsies
shooogarp @ 73
don’t mistake spaces for spacers– they hurt real bad.
(if you never wore braces, this is completely stoopid, but harmless- ignore at will!)
shoogarp—-try.using.periods.between.words.to.simulate.spaces
*ilson46201 @
77
Lots of us women have tried just that in order to bear… children.
TRex — Hey, I missed your call for data last night in re: Lieberman’s profiteering base, very sorry. Too much going on here with door-to-door effort as well as curriculum night at the younger kid’s school.
Anyhow…I noted that Vets For Freedom got a cash infusion from the guy that launched SBVT, to the tune of 5 big bills. VFF, as you’ll recall, launched a website in late July, said it was going to support Joe-nertia; the same company that set up the VFF website also set up a website and donation link for Joe-nertia. Will have to dig through my data from mid-August, but ePluribus Media folks posted info about this last month, will be able to find a diary posted either by ePluribus Media or by Greyhawk (ePM investigator).
I suspect that this is how the profiteers will “launder” the money legally; they’ll kick in towards VFF, who in turn will kick in to Joe.
I also suspect, based on FEC filings pre-primary, that the money is diluted either through PAC’s (Republicans are VERY good at diluting money), or that the real challenge isn’t profiteers but Single Issue donors (i.e., “Pro-Israel” PACs). More money given by PAC’s identified as Pro-Israel than by Defense PAC’s, up to primary; nearly as much money given by Communications/Electronics PACs as by Defense, up to same point.
This will not be easy to investigate for these reasons; what I’d like to know is if sitting out on Iraq votes served the interests of the so-called Pro-Israel PAC’s?
Sorry for the comment yesterday(*g*), He(BigDog) is okay, I think. My S.O. respectfully requests to know of any good talking points that Jane and Reddhedd were able to work up in the three hour meeting. Thankyou.
Rayne at 79 — Taylor just did a piece for the Patriot Project that says that the same guy launched the Economic Freedom Fund (EFF — what’s with this guy and “f”s?) that is fronting smear campaigns against Dems in House races. I’ve gotten probably 5 calls from them on the Mollohan race here in WV. (DeLay must want to get even with Mollohan badly if SBVT guy is sinking money into an election here with a GOP candidate that is absolutely abysmal.)
Sean Penn is going to be on CNN Larry King … could be interesting … he’s pretty progressive
*ilson, Christy — in regards to Ney’s single plea…should we take bets?
I vote one count conspiracy.
What’s yours?
Rayne at 83 — it was “at least one” — so I’m going to say three counts — conspiracy, obstruction, false statements (or whatever its equivalent is for lying to Congress under oath). And I think he’s the chink in DeLay’s armor that has started the DeLay rumors. Guess we’ll see. *g*
Mary @ 62
Winston Churchill has a take on this
Christy — nuts, now I’ve got to go back and check the info I was sent, too coincidental not to be a boo-boo. Bet they meant EFF and not VFF…
But I am wondering how Perry can drop 5 million just like that on SBVT-like smear campaigns?
Will also check EFF website — dollars to donuts it was designed/hosted by the same folks who brought us VFF.
Back in a jiffy.
*ilbo at 80 — if I can figure out how to download the damn pictures that I want to use for the post, I’ll have something about the meeting for tomorrow. I’ve been wrestling with a tech glitch all day today trying to get this together for everyone to read. Annoying.
Speaking of which — has anyone ever used “Photoshelter” as a photo tool? I can’t get past the processing screen to get the actual pictures, and I have the log-in information and everything. Any hints on why it would take more than an hour to process a single photograph (even a high resolution one) to download would be much appreciated. I really want to be able to share this stuff with you guys…so irritating.
New thread: “No Ground Game for Joe”
Dammitall, I think they know we’re watching them.
The EFF domain is “cloaked”, can’t see more info through WhoIs — although it’s obvious the domain is squeaky new, DOB: 22-AUG-06.
Wonder if that coincides with timing of report by ePluribus Media folks about the Joe-friendly site VFF launched?
More later, in the next thread.
Rayne at 90 — you might e-mail Taylor. I’m telling you, I’ve gotten at minimum five phone calls from these people — and not just robo-calls, but real live people doing push poll surveys. (Why they are calling us, I have no idea — somehow we got on some sort of anti-abortion call list, and I freak them out every time they get me on the phone. “Yes, I do believe a rape victim should be able to have an abortion. I was raped once. No, I do not believe that a fourteen year old who has been raped by her father should have to have a parental consent formed signed by her rapist who happens to be her dad. Do you?”) They must be paying them by the call made, though, because they keep on calling me. *g*
Up to this point in this thread featuring Andy Stern’s book, in the comments section there has been one (1) reference to “Andy!” and fifteen (15) references to “spinach.”
Jus’ sayin.’
john in sacramento @ 85
Thank you John - I’ve seen the quote by itself once or twice, but I love it on the pic. I’m keeping that.
orangejumpsuit at 92 — give everyone some time to read Andy’s book. I think they’ll be saying a lot more Andy. *g*
Christy — jeepers, push polling on abortion?
Ick…what’s the political terrain in your state? I guess I don’t know enough about the key races there to see the obvious fit with the push poll.
I was told by a Senator’s office that robocalls are dirt-cheap, at 6 cents a call. Amway-heir DeVos is using them here in MI against Gov. Granholm, but he’s already dropped what I would guess is 15 million on ad buys to date (ouch).
Anybody got a figure on real live people calls, cost per call? at (5) calls to date with same push poll and answers, have to believe they are either going to burn through cash like crazy (crazy being the operative word).
Something about that scenario doesn’t make sense, but then maybe it’s not supposed to. The very definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, yes? But what if they have data that suggests pounding a push poll changes behavior?
Anybody got any experience in polling?
Christy Hardin Smith @
94
Christy: Don’t get me wrong, I found some of the comments quite amusing.
orangejumpsuit @ 92
What can I say except “I’ll buy the book”?
Rayne — I’ve gotten two robo-calls and 3 or 4 live person calls. WV has trended evangelical/strict Catholic/anti-abortion in some ways over abortion issues the last couple of election cycles, mainly because there is no real pushback here from women’s groups. A couple of newer groups are trying to do push-back now, but it’s early for them. DFA is also catching on a bit — our local Dem organization is very elderly and not very operational in most areas, and needs much infrastructure reform. We’re working on it, but it’s going to take time. The national party folks took our state for granted far too long and didn’t do what was needed to shore things up when it became clear that the GOP was moving in here in force. We’re having to play a bit of catch-up now. But Howard Dean has been great at pushing things here a bit, so I’m a bit more hopeful than I was in 2004.
LindyH @ 97
There you go!
As for me, I will try to turn over a new leaf.
(No idea how that expression got started and what it means, except people say that when they promise to start being good. Anybody know?)
I hope Unions can make a comeback in this country. After hearing what Ford is doing today….buying out all of those UAW folks. And you know damn well they’ll hire replacements at $12/hour with crap benefits.
We need national health care. And we need stockholders and bean counters to stop running American businesses….I just read a great book, “End of the Line: The rise and fall of global corporations.” It answered many questions for me….but in the end is damn scarey.
Christy Hardin Smith @
87
That’ll be great. I haven’t been able to send photos with my email provider and am letting it expire before switching. Spent many frustrating hours just attempting. Hey, I didn’t get on a computer or play a CD until after y2k. The provider just happens to be housed in ur local ABC affilate. UGH!
Christy — will check for more info with poli-sci prof that I know, but I think those multiple push polls on same topic have a specific intent.
See this — bet the margin on a key vote in your state is close to MOE, and they’re trying to reinforce or enhance the margin on swing voters on whom purchasing data suggests they are likely anti-abortion (in your case, you buy a lot of goods for a young child, probably in line with other parents who trend anti-abortion) in their direction by using multiple push polls.
If your phone isn’t unlisted and you haven’t done the No Call Registry, you might want to do so — unless you enjoy messing with their heads. I don’t get push polled even with an independent-right-leaning voter in the house because we are both unlisted and registered no call. And because my spouse likes to mess with pollsters…
Rayne at 102 — we’re on the no call registry already. I have a feeling it may have something to do with our exchange student from last year attending a private Catholic high school — I’m betting we are on some diocese list somewhere that got farmed out. (But we’re not Catholic…nice research on someone’s part.)
I have a possible suggestion for the Book Salon: My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account by the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused by Wen Ho Lee.
I say possible suggestion because I haven’t read it, but have read enough about it to know that I want to read it. I have read a declaration in his case from a noted scientist that was very moving.
Christy — ah, that makes some sense, but could the exchange student vote?
More likely household marketing/purchasing data, really; they use it a LOT, can tell just by the magazines or food you buy how most households will trend. But there are going to be outliers - you being one, for example. Maybe you let someone borrow your store discount card a couple times; I know it’s happened to me, person ahead/behind me forgot theirs, I loaned mine, and then weird promotional stuff showed up for products we would never buy…if it works in marketing, it’ll work in voting.
And then the influencing thing, as indicated in that paper I linked. Maybe your marketing data suggests your household’s on the fence — in spite of whatever you tell them. Obviously it’s got nothing to do with what you tell them.
Gah. This is some of the scrubby, nasty bits of politics that get my dander up; Republicans see voters as a collection of buying habits and not as people.
Christy — and here it is; I missed this bit in the Muckracker. You must be a Mollohan constituent in the 1st district, and the key persuadable topic in that race must be abortion.