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I am so pleased this morning to announce that Bill Scher will be joining us for an FDL Book Salon on his book Wait! Don't Move to Canada: A Stay-and-Fight Strategy to Win Back America on December 3, 2006 at 5:00 pm ET/2:00 pm PT. Bill is the Executive Editor at Liberal Oasis, and appears regularly on Air America as well.
We spend a lot of time on FDL discussing the need for accountability -- and the need to remind our elected officials that they work for us, and not the other way around. Bill has put together some fantastic, practical information on how to do just that -- and some great, fact-based support for a whole host of issues on which we all need to do better.
This is a book that we have needed for a long, long time -- not just for the well-informed and involved group of American citizens, but also for the not-so-well-informed-but-disgusted-and-not-sure-what-to-do-about-it crowd. (That group, especially, will find this illuminating.) The prose is fresh, the ideas solid, and the values progressive -- but that's not a surprise, because Bill is a great guy with a very sharp mind for politics and the messages we send with our public discourse. I hope that some Hill staffers will pick this up and read it as well, because the Democratic leadership could use this refresher course from Bill as well.
I was lucky enough to have coffee with Bill yesterday -- he's on his way south on his book tour, and he dropped by our local Starbucks to grab a mocha with The Peanut and me, having spent the night before at Chez Atrios.
The Peanut just loved him, as you can see here:
We had lots of fun, talked some political shop, and then Bill climbed back into his car with its "peace" bumper sticker and headed further down the road toward Asheville, NC. (I clued him in on the local speed traps that he'd be passing through along the way, so hopefully he avoided the tourist tickets.)
If you are in the Asheville area, Bill will be hanging with the local Drinking Liberally group -- tonight at 7 PM at the Asheville Brewing Company, 77 Coxe Avenue -- should be a fun time and it would be a good way to get yourself a personally signed copy of Wait! Don't Move to Canada: A Stay-and-Fight Strategy to Win Back America . I'll be a little busy with a certain wee girlie:
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Fitz!
Feingold!
Toobz!
Ned!
And making her national debut - the Peanut!
Way too cute. She looks like she just belly laughs - how cool.
What a cute kid, Redd! Makes me happy and sad, with both mine so grown up.
Morning gang — she is a cutie, isn’t she? :) (Not that I’m biased or anything…) She was having way too much fun with Bill and her “peek-a-boo” Minnie Mouse glasses — we got those on vacation last spring, and the Minnies flip out and in, too fun for small girlies.
Oh, before I forget, pumpkin loaf is back in season, Kobe, just in case you want to bring Jane on another road trip…
Hi, I’ve been locked out of my “home”. I’ll just be sitting over there, holding up that wall…
I try not to use pix of The Peanut very often (having spent way too much time around creepy criminals, there is a very good reason for that) but because these pix have her face partially obscured with her sunglasses in the top one and her hand over part of her face on the bottom, I couldn’t resist sharing with you guys this morning — she was having SO much fun with Bill. :)
Blak at 5 — uh oh! What a cruddy way to start the day!
Actually, considering we have a Conservative government up here (albeit in a minority government situation) that tends to copycat Bush policy, there may not be an incentive right now to move to Canada.
On the other hand, having a few extra progressive voters to help vote these guys out wouldnt be bad either :)
I suspect I won’t be the only locked-out Atriot to show up this morning.
Scott Tribe @ 8
Moving a few progressives to DC would be a nice choice, too. Ned and the rest of the Blue America crowd, perhaps?
Scott Tribe @ 8
Sea to sky hiway- Vancouver to Whistler. I am so going back there. Best trip ever.
Blogspot is likely having a blip again. They usually get things up and running fairly quickly, but unfortunately you never know. If anyone gets into the site, can you update in the comments for everyone? Thanks!
darn it ET - now I’m a little sad.
But grandpa-ism will probable be good too.
The Peanut is precious, and you are simply gorgeous in that picture Christy!
mama’s loving arms wrapped around her little one.
Mark Warner will not run for prez in ‘08, acc to MSNBC.
CHS at 12 - You got it.
Blogger’s been bad before, but this is rare form even considering that.
angie at 14 — aw, thanks! You can see a little in the background how lovely the foliage is here at the moment. Yesterday was, I fear, our last warm day before fall and winter really kick in — this morning is cold and dreary — so I’m awfully glad that bill got to see my state at its best yesterday. Will try to get out and about a little and gets some Fall pix for you guys — it really is gorgeous here this year.
Blak at 15 — that’s one of the main reasons we switched from blogger earlier this year. It was SUCH a pain to have to deal with regular outages over which we had no control or ability to fix for the long term. Here’s hoping that it gets up and running soon — because I need my Eschaton fix as well. *g*
Of course as soon as I say it, the site comes back. Feh.
Oh, and what angie at 14 said. :)
BlakNo1 — hello, brother!
As for a little OT comment — IF MARY is in the house, please direct your eyes to this post by Josh at TPM:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c.....010324.php
The tie spells Hastert’s Doom as clearly as if it were Sharpied on his forhead.
Scott Tribe @ 8
I don’t follow Canadian politics as much as I should but I find it difficult to believe that any Canadian government even a conservative one would last long if it proposed true cheney admin policies.
On the theory that you can never have too much publicity — anybody in the Triangle area should note that Scher will be at Quail Ridge Books and Music tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm (3522 Wade Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27607, the Ridge Road Shopping Center).
Looks like blogger is back up (for the moment, anyway).
:-)
Hey immanentize!!
nihil at 21 — Thanks, much! I’m sure Bill would appreciate the publicity as well. :)
imm at 6:51
LMAO
Oh, yay — the sun is finally pepping through this morning. May turn out to be a lovely day after all. If so, I’ll try to get out and nab some foliage shots for you guys for Saturday’s Pull Up a Chair post…
BlakNo1 @ 23
Blak — The Lake is an excellent place to hang — I am so happy to see you commenting here. I have been up to my jeans labels in alligators for weeks and have been popping in when possible — I really hope you stay and continue to contribute.
As I was saying — meeting time — catcha all later!
jayt @
13
Our daughter is a junior in college and plans on grad school in enviro science. Her bf has graduated already and is WAY serious about her, but she’s just bucking down on studies and rowing (crew). I suppose by the time Redd’s peanut is in high school, I’ll be a doddering gramp, though…
“Retreating to Small Talk When the News Isn’t So Good
By Dana Milbank
Thursday, October 12, 2006; Page A02
Wowsers. With an endorsement like that, I’ll have to come back more often.
I hear you on the worries of kids pix on the ‘net, Christy. I’ve got an absolutely gorgeous pic of my grandson riding the carousel at our zoo… but I’m happy to use it as my background.
Winter blasted into Fargo this morning with dicey, icy roads and wind.
Bush was obviously not pleased throughout the presser, too. Impatient that he wasn’t getting the questions he wanted and prepped for, so he asked them himself…right down to the followoup. Probably not liking that daddy’s buddy Jim is going to have to bail him out of his screwups one more time.
When tyrants become unglued….
John Casper at 29 — oh man, that’s hilarious. Wouldn’t you like to know a bit more about the aftermath on that displeased glance to aides? *g*
John Casper @
29
I’ll feel better about the WH Press Corpse when they have the courage to show up for a presser in orange Gitmo jumpsuits.
Shays on Foley handling: “At least no one died”
HARTFORD, Connecticut (AP) — Republican Rep. Christopher Shays defended the House speaker’s handling of a congressional page scandal, saying no one died like during the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident involving Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy.
“Dennis Hastert didn’t kill anybody,” he added.
Rove at work again.
Christy,
Sounds like a good powwow with Scher. I look forward to reading the book.
One of the reasons my spouse (Thersites) pulled down his old blog was that he had posted a pic of our daughter which elicited obscene commentary from a troll. It was horrifying, and Blogger was not at all helpful. I still post pics, like the top one at my homepage, but my blog doesn’t generally anger people, so I get very little of that kind of attention. Your caution is well-considered, however.
Hey Shays, how about your war in Iraq? That has killed 600,000 according to a recent study by The Lancet. How about that Mr. Shays….600,00 deaths and your buddy Bush said that it was a “comma”.
-GSD
((((NYMary))))
Good one GSD.
Hmmmm…39 American soldiers killed already in Iraq in the first 12 days of October — including one yesterday. And the Iraqis are going to vote on whether they will create autonomous states in the next 18 months. Does anyone else get that spiralling even more out of control feeling?
GSD, No problem there; they just ignore the number. I heard Casey say this morning that he “had not heard a number higher than 50,000.”
That’s because no one will say it to your face, General.
(((Blak!)))
Pic’s up top remind me of my daughter, the Princess, when she was a mini-kiddo. She’s all grown up now. At least that’s what she advises me. But she’ll always be my baby. What I wouldn’t give to spend just a day with her, like way back in the day, when she was a little one, so many years ago.
O/t but a local note of cheer & hopefully a bellwether for the Nov elections:
Nearby city held a special election this week for a open seat on city council. A Dem lady won with 61 percent of vote & 27 of 31 precincts (unofficial results). Turnout higher than expected. Grassroots campaign w/”door-to-door tactics, focus on neighborhoods & slow-growth momentum”. Sounds kinda like a Ned campaign. Met her at a local nursery where she works several weeks ago & was so impressed I forked over a check on the spot. Talk about almost immediate bang for your buck!
Christy Hardin Smith @ 39
Yes, and Preznit Chucklenuts wants to maintain the current troop level through 2010.
ET @ 33 - Amen.
Nice, too, when the likes of Fareed Zakaria sees fit to mention when they are called in as embeds in White House warplanning working groups signing off on the invasion of Iraq in advance; rather than wearing a pretense of journalistic integrity.
Imman - *g* He can still fall further though. The real “here’ my narrative and I’m sticking too it” yellow tie is a bit more pale yellow and less goldy - and has those little thingies speckled here an there - a paisley or fleur de lis or a dot thingie.
If Coz sees this, there were imo two absolute “selling the narrative” tie on the Frontline show - Miller and Mud(d?).
Mystery Pollster Mark Blumenthal has a post up breaking down the four latest polls in CT by party affiliation. The details are worth looking at, but the bottom line is this (emphasis added):
[Check out the original post for links to each poll, as well as items in the last paragraph on Joe’s caucus plans and his Republican money.]
Not mentioned in the quote above is the breakdown of independent voters. The four-poll average shows independents splitting 49/37/4 for Lieberman, Lamont, and Schlesinger.
But the bottom line, according to Mark, is to get Democrats in CT to vote for the Democratic nominee. That’s a hard sentence for me to type, having spent way too long looking at Chicago politics (”Who else IS there to vote for?”), but there it is.
“Democrats vote Democratic” might make a nice slogan in CT. Other thoughts or suggestions, anyone?
OK at 41 — we are trying to soak up every bit of the smooches and hugs at this age, because all too soon we’ll hit the teenage years. I’m trying to steel myself for the “mom is embarassing” portion of development that I’ve seen with so many of our friends who have kids in that age range. Because we were so much later than most of our friends having our miracle girlie, we’ve gotten a birds’ eye view of the later stages…and it is sometimes not so pretty. So we’re trying to enjoy this cuddly stage as much as we possibly can. :)
Peterr at 45 — well, I don’t know about you, but I’d appreciate it if Bill Clinton got off his ass and penned a fundraising or GOTV letter on Lamont’s behalf…
double amen to that.
Here in NH it looks like there are challengers in almost all of the state rep seats…no small feat considering NH has the third or 4th largest legislative body in the world….There was a time in the 80’s when NH was THE most Republican state in the nation.
NH’s Dem Governor is coasting to relection, I even saw a Union Leader headline that the GOP senate president hadn’t endorsed his own parties’ candidate against Dem. Governor John Lynch.
In neighboring Mass. Kerry Muffy Healey has opened up the sewers and is attacking Deval Patrick by dredging up the past on people he represented as an attorney…Someone should remind Muffy Healy that Arlen Specter represented lots of creeps and Tom Delay is being represented by an attorney who got a vivisectionist off scott free…..
I am just so tired of the right wing slime machine.
-GSD
Oh yeah, George Bush is a twitchy loser.
Looks like it’s mutual! She is a beauty, takes after her mom.
Christy @ 46,
If it helps, I have a teenage daughter who is still warm and affectionate. People keep warning me that I’m going to “lose” her, but honestly, she’s sixteen and a half and it hasn’t happened yet. I think it helps that I’m really honest with her about a lot of things that are difficult.
GSD @ 49, Healey is gonna get so wiped out come Election Day. Even The Herald can’t put enough perfume on that pig.
Is China beginning to play the China card?
AP - China appeared to shy away Thursday from backing U.S. efforts to impose a travel ban and financial sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test, saying any U.N. action should focus on bringing its communist neighbor back to talks.
NYMary @ 51
Please, you’re way too cool for that to happen.
NYMary at 51 — thanks, that does help. I know someone who is having a particularly difficult time with a teen — and it is something that was unexpected from my perspective on the outside. I hope we follow your trajectory instead. :)
In referring to Shays’ hit on Senator Kennedy, someone mentioned “Laura.” Stones, glass houses.
I suspect the Decider was furious with the bad press he’s (finally!) getting and decided on his own at the last minute to hold a p-s conference and pop off at the MSM. When it went badly, he blamed his goons for his decision, thus his “not pleased look” at the Rover boys.
Ol Joe continues to hold about a nine point lead and appears to be on his way to holding his seat. It’s not over for Lamont- but he would need to move the needle three points per week from here on out. So far no visible movement.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 53
We finally see the feckless, wreckless Bush foreign policy in action…..Is this the offical shift to the east?
China says, what are you gonna do about this Bush? Invade North Korea? Maybe we should call in our monetary chits and start investing elsewhere Georgie….
-GSD
I get the fungibles aka active duty generals confused. Is this one Casey?
Never-ever brag about yer parenting- God has a way of humbling those who do.
One of the reasons Canada is so wonderful is that hundreds of draft dodgers moved up in the late 60`s. (The CBC’s star Toronto radio guy, Andy Barrie, is one of them, as is Svend Robinson, whose Unitarian parents moved to BC before their sons got drafted)and Eric Nagler, folk singer. They had a profound influence on Canadian culture directly and indirectly.
Lots of LGBT people and brown people and war resisters are going to Canada now. Lots of academics are taking Canadian jobs because of their need for freedom. People need to breathe and work and hope.
And Canada can have a profound influence on the US. The wingnuts are crazed because same sex marriage is not scaring Canadians. See Dan Savage (October 5) on this. Canada didn’t go to Iraq. Canadian legislatures and police forces aren’t too worried about pot smoking.The sky has not fallen. And it might help the US.
Mary @ 44
Mary,
I didn’t catch the tie thing! lol I saw Frontline though. I followed the Lodi thing in the media and that was pathetic, bad FBI.
I saw the 60 Minutes piece on the “No Fly” list too. I strongly suspect a friend of mine worked for the woman in charge of it briefly as a rookie intel analyst several years ago ; )
Christy Hardin Smith @ 47
Gosh, if we only knew someone who has had lunch with the Big Dawg, and might be able to follow up with him on that suggestion. Maybe even a couple of folks.
;)
Seriously, though, are Democratic leaders so scared of Joe caucusing with Republicans that they don’t want to be accused of pushing him into their arms? “Ah, it was YOU who lost us the Senate, when Joe bolted across the aisle.”
Sigh.
Time to hit some fax machines, people. IL firepups, let Obama and Durbin feel the love, and encourage them to get their tails to CT. WI folks, how about Feingold? NYers, let Hilary and Schumer know how you feel about having a DEMOCRAT win in Connecticut, and suggest they step out and offer Ned a little love. I’ve got Boxer and Feinstein, and we’ll see if another nudge will help get either of them moving.
And where’s Al Gore? Other than a new California spot pushing an alternative fuels ballot measure out here, he’s been below the radar as far as I can tell. Is he trying to stay above it all and focused on Global Warming?
The folks who aren’t in the Senate right now might be our best chance - especially if they are hoping for something else in 08. Getting behind Ned now and pushing him to victory will look a lot nicer on an 08 candidate’s resume than standing on the sidelines and watching CT through this election cycle.
China’s right. This is like a hostage negotiation. Get them talking, keep them talking, slowly increase your leverage by identifying what the hostage takers want, then give them an opportunity to walk back from the brink of destruction. Negative (threat based) leverage is useless and counterproductive in this case.
Pachacutec @ 63
Them=Bush, or them=North Korea?
Morning all! Great picture Christy, looks like you guys are having fun. Almost as much fun as when *ilson and Fini and I got to hang out with Jane.
Lieberman makes me sick, Gilliard has a good post up on the race.
http://stevegilliard.blogspot......-saga.html
“If I might say, that is a beautiful suit,” he told NBC News correspondent Kevin Corke at yesterday’s news conference in the Rose Garden.
“My tailor appreciates that,” replied Corke, wearing a $1,500 custom pinstripe number by Tom James with bright-red tie and pocket square.
How many of you can pony up $1500 for a suit? Anyone remember when the news biz used to be populated by working class peeps?
rwcole @ 59
Fair enough. We did have a horrific exerience with a teen we inherited, so we know the patterns all too well. It may have as much to do with the personality of the kid involved as anything else.
One of the things the polls don’t take into account, is that Joe’s name will not have a “D” next to it. Voters will be choosing between D Lamont and R Schlessigner. They have to search for Joe.
Also, Schlessinger is going to be in the three debates. Let’s hope that eats into Joe’s R support.
Christie,
What’s going on in WV? I saw this on Kos. Don Blankenship is trying to take over the WV legislature?
It would be interesting to understand this better.
OK second meeting of the day over. Mary at 58 — excellent!! My rant today is about Kerry Healey in Mass who is running swiftboot ads about Deval Patrick representing “A CONVICTED RAPIST!!!!!”"
[booga!!]
Here’s the thing, Massachusetts, the birthplace of our government, is well acquainted with tyranny. Take, for example the Boston Massacre. Did people run from the soldiers who perpetrated such a horrendous crime? Well, no
John Adams — yes, founding father, Second President of the United States — represented the soldiers accused of the offense and said:
So, Deval Patrick, in representing the most vilified, stands with John Adams — Kerry Healey stands with the Tyrants.
Hi John– Think we’re getting into wishful thinking terrirory now with Ned. Sure this that or the other thing could make a difference- but turning the tide this late in the race is not probable.
Alison at 69 — Don Blankenship has been doing a LOT of odd things this year. I’ve gotten a number of push poll calls that he paid for, pushing on abortion among other things. And he’s got a billboard up on behalf of a candidate in my area that has very little chance of winning, from everything that I know. But I haven’t been able to get a straight answer out of anyone on what, exactly, he’s trying to do — other than buy himself some leverage with people who could get elected. The rumor is that he’s thinking about a run for governor in 2008 — but his negatives are really high, and Massey Energy has gotten some very bad press over environmental issues at a couple of sites recently, so I’m not certain how he thinks he can buy his way out of what he has been doing.
klyde (66), that $1,500 suit was a jaw-dropper for me. I never heard of Corke before yesterday so am wondering what the famous Brokaw, Williams, Gibson, and other pretty boys pay for their suits. This explains why the anchors agree with the Administration that the economy is going great. Indeed it is, for them.
Seeing the dems win back both the house and the senate is now a very viable scenario. If it happens, it rings the death knell to the Clusterfuck presidency. He would have a NEGATIVE mandate. He would have to kiss dem ass in order to get ANYTHING done. It would lead to a gooper party who will be stuck in agonizing reappraisal for two years- and who will be searching for the anti-clusterfuck for 08.
In ONE day- politics in this country could switch in a way that will make americans dizzy.
Some of those who get elected will not be “progressives”, but it won’t matter. It will be a silver stake in the heart of GW Clusterfuck and everything he stands for. I stay at wake nights hoping for this outcome.
rwcole @ 71
As you no doubt remember, I previously accused you of pessimism. This time, I share your concerns. Things must change dramatically and soon. Joe’s low place on the ballot will not save Ned, nor will, obviously, a hoped for huge last minute swing to Schlessinger.
More Ned on the offensive — if he can close to two or three — maybe, just maybe, the labor ground game will put him over.
Otherwise, Senator Lieberman for 6 more years.
Dammit, Lieberman will be more of an insufferable twit than ever if he wins, especially if he ends up being some sort of tie-breaker vote.
Custom made suits from Hong Kong were running about $1,200 when I bought my last ones ten years ago.
They’re actually a bargain when you consider the quality of the wool and the fact that the damned things actually FIT. A good business suit should last five or ten years- so the price is reasonable in my opinion.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 46
Go the other way. Embrace being the embarassing mom. That’s what I do and then littleprop laughs and we are so connected again.
Remember, WHen she gets to 12 or 13 IT IS YOUR SOLEMN OBLIGATION TO BE EMBARASSING. Elsewise she will not have anything to use in the “my mother is so aweful” one upsmanship that they engage in. You owe it to her, so she won’t lose face. TeeHee.
Also, that’s how you get to be the safety net w/o having her look uncool. This way she doesn’t have to say “we shouldn’t do that, it’s a bad idea” and resist peer pressure directly. Instead she gets to say, “if we do that my mom will kill me. My mother is such a witch”. Secretly she will be relieved to have you to hide behind.
Alison @ 69
What’s not to understand? A wealthy coal baron and all around environmental bad actor is not happy with elected Dems in WV regulating coal companies in their state so he’s pumping tons of money into supporting hand picked rethug candidates.
Anyone who has been to coal country in WV and eastern KY can see there is almost no control on what the companies can do. This guy must want liscense to kill people on the job.
here’s a ?, doggies. just found out that Alaska state legislator Vic Kohring’s chief of staff quit because Vic was always stoned on pot. He’s the most regressive right libertarian GOP house member and is in his tightest election ever against a solid progressive woman, Kaite Hurley, who has come out of retirement (she’s 84) to challenge the guy and his authoritarian ideas.
should I let the press know about the pot habits of a guy who is the darling of the wacko wing of the religious right here?
OfT, from a high level, here’s how I think Hastert’s office is going to get squuezed in FoleyGate.
Fordham, Trandahl, Boehner, Shimkus, Alexander, and Reynolds are all down saying they told Hastert (or his office). Shimkus, the Congressional head of the page board is then going to going to testify that Hastert never relayed back to him how many complaints there were.
Eventually, I think Hastert, or more likely, someone on his staff, Palmer, Stokke…. will call bullshit and say that Boehner, Shimkus and Reynolds all knew how serious this was. No one took any action because they all wanted all that money Foley was raising in Palm Beach.
Ed*ard Teller @ 80
Verifiable? Then, yes — it goes to the hypocrisy/character issue. It would be the same if he were drunk all the time. I suspect your reticence in based only on the substance, not the resulting affect on his judgment.
Ed*ard Teller @ 80
yes.
Ed*ard Teller @ 80
I volunteer to go undercover and investigate this personally. :)
immanentize @
75
Gillard’s a believer in the Dem ground game making a big difference (link upstairs at 65).
But John makes a good point at 68 - there are three debates coming up in the next three weeks, and whatever happens there has the potential to really mix things up in terms of momentum and GOTV energy. Three debates is a huge amount of uncontrolled airtime, and whoever makes the most of it can change the dynamic greatly in a wild race like this.
Sounds like another poster-child of personal responsibility, but I digress… Are his constituents not aware of his habits? Do they care? From a libertarian perspective, you could argue that it’s not their business as long as it’s not hurting anyone else. You could make a clear distinction, though, for things like DUI, etc. Frankly, I’m surprised the press doesn’t know already — if he’s that habitual of a smoker, it’s going to be hard to hide.
This Foley thing is kind of fun and is giving the press stuff to write about that the tabliod set will actually read- but I don’t think it’s movin the vote much. The only tangible impact is likely to be with the seats of those gooper congresscritters directly involved- but what the Hey- that’s several seats! I don’t see it makin any difference in- say- the Missouri Senate Race which may come down to five hundred votes.
Ed*ard Teller @ 80
ET
Do you have hard proof? Did the staffer say that on the reocrd? Will the staffer say that on the record? It’s unfair to slander someone with unsubstantiated gossip (we don’t want to sink to Rove’s level), it is correct and ethical to allow voters to make informed choices based on all the facts.
“well, I don’t know about you, but I’d appreciate it if Bill Clinton got off his ass and penned a fundraising or GOTV letter on Lamont’s behalf…”
For sure. And Bill is not the only Clinton that is at least mildly worrisome. For me anyway.
My understanding is that pot is very verifiable. It stays in the fatty tissues for a long time. I realize this gets pretty invasive, asking a politician to take a drug test. But if he denies using pot, he should have no problem taking the test.
FishGuyDave @ 86
If he is stoned on the job, or so hung over that he is impared on the job; that is relevant as to his qualifications to do his job.
Also, if he has evry caved in due to threat of blackmail? It’s a stretch, but> Also, are any of his committee assignments related to illegal drug use or law enforcement? then you have Foley quality hypocrisy
Are small amounts of marijuana still legal in Alaska? They used to be, no?
John—That’s my undderstanding too. It takes a lot longer for people who are addicted to pot to withdraw than it does for those addicted to opiates for that reason- the stuff stays in the body for months.
(Yeah- people DO get addicted to pot).
John Casper @ 90
Good grief! You are much more agresive than I. I merely meant was someone, a witness, willing to go on the roecord.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 89,
Hillary has been distributing her war chest, since she faces no meaningful opposition here, so that’s something.
Coz - Frontline has the show on its site for streaming, so check the ties out there. ;)
Lodi wasn’t a shining moment. IMO, the prosecutor looked like someone trying very hard to hold his head up when deep down he knew he had done something pretty shameful. But $250,000 in informant fees and a charged atmosphere - people are going to want something.
I also notice that they informant reliant charges in the Salah case have been dropped. I think Salah is probably a bad guy, but that case makes me shake my head too. Israel has had a pretty extensive review of the abusive interrogations it engaged in - all done to not leave marks - during that time frame and the record is pretty clear on the things taking place. It’s not a good day when our system allows that kind of information to be introduced all because the identity concealed possible interrogators show up for some secret testimony to say, “oh gosh, we never did anything bad” and Judy Miller shows up to say, “he looked fine to me.”
Court endorsment of the Rumsfeld crew’s claim of “no blood, no foul” with the lovely buy a vowel Judy. *sigh* I believe in the case against the contractor for the beatings that preceded (but they were careful not to charge that they ‘resulted in’) the death of the Afghan who turned himself in, the two Afghanis who had encouraged him to turn himself in, and who viewed the body after being told he died of a heart attack, didn’t see visible evidence of torture either.
Then there was the earlier ruling in the Padilla case that the tortured statements of the known crazy-guy Zubaydah are plenty ok as grounds for a warrant without mentioning to the Judge that the claims were tortured out of a crazy guy.
I understand why the intelligence community wants to be very careful to address threats, but good GOD what are people thinking? It’s like parsing over whether anal rape with a flourescent light is an interrogation technique. At some point you need to back up and realize —- I’ve just become one sick puppy to even be in this conversation.
/rant - off to do other stuff.
Just a guess, but I would imagine that pot use in Alska is pretty high and that most people don’t give a shit.