There has been tremendous emotional momentum recently for some action, any action to break the slog of “stay the course” that perpetuates the quagmire in Iraq. Congratulations to Senator Reid for doing something and making the Republicans actually “do” the “F” word.
This is an unpopular war and an unpopular President. Via Phoenix Woman, we find that Bush is even losing Scaife papers:
President Bush warns that U.S. withdrawal would risk “mass killings on a horrific scale.” What do we have today, sir?
And quite frankly, during last Thursday’s news conference, when George Bush started blathering about “sometimes the decisions you make and the consequences don’t enable you to be loved,” we had to question his mental stability.
If the president won’t do the right thing and end this war, the people must. The House has voted to withdraw combat troops from Iraq by April. The Senate must follow suit.
Good on ya, Senator Reid. We hope this is just the beginning.
Related posts:
- Ending Torture: Wrong Agency, Mr. President
- Memo to the White House: You Can’t Win an Unpopular War (And Stop Quoting George W. Bush)
- Rachel Maddow Redux: Dangers of Keeping Lieberman in Caucus (from November 2008)
- Hey, Harry Reid, Stop Protecting Democrats Who Want to Filibuster the Public Option
- Schumer Raises the Stakes: If Final Bill Has No Public Option, Blame Harry Reid
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indeed!
zed
Over and over again, until they say uncle.
dang you punaise that wulda been my second zed today…
Bob Geiger has an excellent take on the net results, legislatively, of the final strike by Senator Reid.
My Sign to Senator Reid over the Santa Monica Freeway…
http://freewayblogger.blogspot…..geles.html
moments later he announced the all-nighter… coincidence?
Reid needs to keep there week after week. Make their lives hell, pure hell. I hope Pelosi is taking notes.
Now if Conyers would get as nasty with the Repubozos… .
PEACE!
althespook @ 4
a crime of opportunity – what can I say
althespook @ 4
a crime of opportunity – what can I say
A wiki article on Mr. Scaife for some perspective.
Precis: one scary reactionary rethug enabler.
To say with fierce conviction “enough I want an end to this madness” day after day.
Impeach
I just read that at C&L, more, please.
Hi, Jane, nice to see your pretty face.
Ted Stevens filed his financial report with the Senate Ethics committee, after receiving a 2 month extension.
As faithful readers know, he is under investigation because VECO performed a remodel on his home in Girdwood, AK. (The raised the building up, and built another floor underneath it. Not as weird as it sounds: this is fairly common in AK). Meanwhile, his son, former speaker of the AK State House, is implicated in the VECO scandal that caused three past and present legislators to be indicted, and two VECO execustives, including the CEO, to plead guilty. Our other senator is under scrutiny for what appears to be a sweatheart land deal on the lovely Kenai penninsula. You remember her, Lisa Murkowski, who was appointed to the seat by her dad, when he vacated it to become governor. We only have one representative, and he is up to his nostrils in a little Abramoff thing relating to the N. Marianas which Dover Bitch is following so
Democrats. Victory is at hand. Reid did well. I support the Speaker.
althespook @ 11
yep. ‘cept even the arch-rethug is questioning shrub’s “mental stability”… Which begs the question why Congressional rethugs are still lock-step behind shrub, if even their spiritual leadership consider him to be some sort of Nero-like lunatic. I just don’t get it.
From Salon today:
My bold. Makes perfect sense, IMO.
I posted this downstairs before I knew you folks had moved:
http://politicalwire.com/archi…..nator.html
right on, Hamsherwoman!
may this be the first of many. show these small-minded, shallow traitors for what they are.
and, take no prisoners.
support the troops:
IMPEACH NOW.
it’s the right thing to do.
ok, this is off topic but what I heard today on tom hartman is the most frightening thing I have heard to date
let me say that again, what I heard on tom hartman today is the most frightening thing I’ve heard to date;
according to a recent proclamation by the bush administration, they can unilaterally declare anyone that speaks against their claims in Iraq an enemy of the state and seize their assets
I am not kidding, that’s what I heard on the radio today, I don’t have a link…sorry
Liberal Heart @ 19
Who is “one Senator especially”?
Let the betting begin!!!
perris @ 21
Saw a brief article in the paper. Probably not as bad as Hartman appearantly makes it sound.
I’ll see if I can find it.
Liberal Heart @ 19
I want to know now! Come on Larry, the longer you wait, the more opportunity they have to plan.
zennurse @ 14
Hey zenny, how are you?
Blub @ 16
fear. A famous quote from a democrat who did “bipartisan” things with Bush as Governor went as follows: “With ordinary political disagreements, you may end up losing a membership in a country club. With the Bushes, you may end up with your children maimed and your relatives killed.” The people play by the rules of Sulla of ancient rome.
Scaife is far richer, far more connected, and far more steeped in wickeness than any bush who ever lived. He doesn’t need to fear them, they need to fear him. But drunk on their power right now, I doubt they do.
BigMitch @ 23
I hope it’s not a Democrat.
perris @ 21
OK, thats just a leeeeetle too Nazi for me.
I will wait for a confirmation before I go any further with this.
Liberal Heart @ 20
allow me to save a little bandwidth, this is excellant news from that link;
boxer @ 26
Additionally, this needs to come out prior to the August recess. Let them face their voters with this and the war.
JF @ 23
Brief item from dead-tree Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
I’d be interested to see details. Could be bad, or not so much.
scarlet p. @ 6
Miz Scarlette – you are simply the cats meow! Tireless, creative and inspiring. Thank you for your verve and ongoing contributions here, there and everywhere.
Liberal Heart @ 28
Flynt has stated he’s only after the hypocritical moralist, holier than thou. Only one even pseudo Dem fits that description doncha think?
One Senator especially —
– couldn’t be a fundamentalist republican, because, let’s face it: not that surprising.
__ is he especially suprising because (a) of the hypocracy involved? (b) who would have thunk s/he has a sexual side, (c) who would have thunk he wasn’t getting all he could handle? or (d) this Senator had already been busted and who could imagine that he or she is a recidivist perv.
Whoever puts his money on Joe Lieberman and gets long odds may get to celebrate big.
the amusing thing is that, in my long-standing liberal persecution fantasies, Scaife and a gaggle of lesser demons hang out in the shadows and pull the puppet strings of public-facing rethugs, shaping the fate of the nation etc etc. Now we find out the truth.. even these omnipotently wicked “old men” are reduced to calling our ruling strangelovean cabal names in their newspapers. Who could’ve known…. not sure if this is a good or very very scary thing
I want Lieberman.
dakine01 @ 34
I am hoping it is rove or cheney and I am hoping it will be a male “escort”
that would be grand for the grand old party, don’tcha think?
BigMitch @ 34
the DC Madam had stables, too?
HI {{{{{{Jane}}}}}}
BigMitch @ 34
But he only had a massage
boxer @ 30
Okay, I know I’m being repetative, but I think it would be worthwhile to push Flynnt to release now.
dakine01 @ 33
Very subtle. I guess that’s why you are Da Kine.
Glad to see this is out now but you bet that the Independent VP Executive office isn’t:
Papers Detail Industry’s Role in Cheney’s Energy Report
By Michael Abramowitz and Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, July 18, 2007; Page A01
LINK
BigMitch @ 35
The thought that it could be Joe just gave me an orgasm.
But, nah. Can’t be. CAN’T be.
nomolos @ 39
Too ugly to think about, please. ICK
Oklahoma kiddo @ 36
He is all yours! Enjoy!!
punaise @ 38
Okay. We have gone full circle now. See yesterday’s postings about “Look at the schmuck on that horse.”
Is anybody watching C-span? Interesting House action on the Education, Labor & HHS Bill. Dave Obey doing very well-kicking ass, in fact.
on think prpgress…surprised?…not so much;
Lieberman is a chicken hawk. Among many other unsavory things. I want this man dealt with.
perris @ 49
He. I seem to recall seeing this announcement before.. several times. Maybe they have an army of “highest ranking” members.
scarlet p. @ 6
EvilDrPuma @ 90
Shorter EDP for freeway blogging:
GOP sez: Miserable failure–it’s not just a job, it’s a lifestyle choice!
perris @ 50
Is this the same leader they keep arresting every time they need to have a headline?
AZ Matt @ 46
Well thank you. But what I want him for is unseemly. ;0)
perris @ 21
Now he’s writing legislation?
Help!….. I have lost track of just who and what and when is coming/not coming to which committee and who has been “asked” to appear and who has had a subpoena…its all too much for a person of my advanced years.
can’t we just have impeachment so it is all in one easy to understand bundle?
Blub @ 51
To me, this really shows a problem in the admin’s “strategy.” We keep capturing or killing the highest ranking guy in AQ in Iraq, and they have a steady stream of replacements, while not loosing effectiveness. That seems very bad for us.
BigMitch @ 42
maybe it is a repub woman senator.
Libruhl talk radio today is all about Michael Vick and dog-fighting. Disgusting, for sure. But trivial at the level of Paris Hilton.
oddmommy @ 58
Bob Dole ran out of V*ag*a?
~~~ModNote: Edited for content to clear filters.~~~
oddmommy @ 58
Or a Dem female pres candidate. He did say it surprised him.
Loo Hoo. @ 56
Royal Decree
oddmommy @ 58
I’ll put my money on Liddy Dole :-#
oddmommy @ 58
oooh – thinking outside the box…
For the pidgeon-English challenged: DaKine means “The best”
Oklahoma kiddo @ 54
Get him out on the Rez, sweathouse him for a couple of days, feed him about 20 frybreads, a couple of PowWows, a couple of weeks mending fencelines, and then send him to Pine Ridge. That should cure him.
perris @ 29
Let the betting begin!!!
I’d love to have it be Snarlin’ Arlin.
Jane Hamsher @ 25
I’m just fine, feeling sad that I won’t get to reunion with everyone at YKos this year, but I’m trying to figure out how to be there virtually on Second Life. I’m pretty intimidated, never done virtual stuff before. I sure would love to see you and be able to give you some zennurse blessings in person, but they’re coming your way all the same.
All the time.
BigMitch @ 59
have to disagree with that. Animal abuse is very, very far from trivial, and it never gets enough attention.
Also, Vick being a football star, was a hero to many people, including my little boy.
oddmommy @ 58
With a side job for pin money ;)
Liberal Heart @ 19
That is excellent news. Flynt’s got 30 sanctimonious hypocrites with their holier than thou necks in a Jesus vise.
Loo Hoo. @ 55
’tis that unitary executive thang… three branches of government rolled up into one unelected guy with a crown on his head, exactly as Jefferson and the other framers intended :P
Blub @ 35
it bears skeptical scrutiny. Chick Daney might have had a hand in it. would any of us believe that…..?
ORRIN! ORRIN! ORRIN!
Please, G-d, I will never sin again, if you do me this one favor.
scarlet p. @ 6
Oh scarlet – that’s a great sign. I must’ve inadvertently clicked on your comment. My comment is about Bob Geiger’s summary.
Good…I need something succinct. My father’s dementia is really starting to kick in. He forgets who we are, but he knows we’re sneaky….and oh, by the way – did you milk the cows this morning? I guess I’m not sneaky enough to get out of milking the cows even if I am a ’stranger.’
oddmommy @ 70
Upon further review —
You are correct, and I am wrong. Animal abuse is horrific, and disgusting was too mild a word for me to use.
Do you recall the stories about the Bahgdad zoo?
I was thinking about Tom Coburn’s speech last night. He said straight out that Iraq was a mess, that “we” (meaning the R’s) had gotten themselves into it, but that now it’s too late and we have to stay, for the children or something…
It’s the same thing Domenici, Warner, Luger have been saying.
And then today, Andrew Sullivan posts a discussion on how the Rs can win the presidency in 2008, which is by repudiating Bush on the war. This is of course a sensible suggestion, and one that would give the candidate some real traction in the general. But a couple other posters pointed out that such a candidate would never make it out of the primaries alive. According to this discussion, the base has bought the lies of the Bush administration so thoroughly that they simply demand unwavering loyalty. Compromise, questioning, or even polite discussion is simply not tolerated.
So these senators and candidates have no choice but to follow their base down the rabbit hole, with predictable results. The lies have worked so well that they’ve utterly trapped the party.
hackworth @ 72
I like that image.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 16
Oh Pshawww!
you sound like i did when i was in the dawghouse t’other day for some fool thing’r other.
how long u supposed ta keep this up?
c’mon, just a lil’ smile. then c’mon back. ‘kay?
otherwise – ain’t ‘nuf spices in this stew.
an’ it’s gonna burn fer sure less it’s stirred up from the bottom once in awhile. eh?
;->
Loo Hoo. @ 56
It’s called an Executive Order. Released by the WH press office today. linky
AZ Matt @ 66
The people near Tahlequah would open their arms to Mr. Lieberman. And after that, this man would have a new ’slant’ on things. ;0)
Oklahoma kiddo @ 36
whu?! on toast points, with trimmed crusts?
ENOUGH! Now stand up straight, and come back to the table this instant!
Froomkin
Wordsmith @ 76
What is it about milking the cows? When my grandmother’s dementia really took hold (at 102, mind you) at lunch one day she was carrying on a conversation, and in the middle of it she picked up her glass of milk and asked who milked the cows this morning? She had moved off the farm in 1932.
Adie @ 80
;0) I hear you. ;0)
Perris et al – this is the Executive Order signed by Bush that Hartman was talking about – it is not reassuring:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news…..717-3.html
Harry should bring the Senate to a stand still until the Obstructionist Party capitulates.
time running out on the clock at the internet shop in Frankfurt. y’all keep on truckin’….
catch ya on the flip side.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 82
Tuba City!
BigMitch @ 77
God no. I honestly can’t endure those kinds of things. I speak out when I can, and give my money to PETA, local humane societies, and other animal advocacy groups, but I can’t focus on images of animals suffering. It hurts too much.
Funnydiva2002 @ 82
That can be twisted to mean he’d round up all the Senators who voted for Levin-Reed.
Liberal Heart @ 92
And this administration is nothing if not twisted! Among other things…
Who milked the cows?
It’s a question we should all be asking. U.S. farm policy is dysfunctional, too. Corporations are milking the cows, big frigging multi-national corporations. The family farm is in the same box as the buggy-whip industry. Meanwhile, we are subsidizing corn, so that Americans become obese on high fructose corn syrup, and Mexican farmers can’t compete, producing poverty and illegal immigration.
Common thread: good for multi-nationals, bad for you and me.
Gnome de Plume @ 85
Totally normal with dementia. think of it as just rolling backward through their lives, folks can tell you all the details of their bedrooms when they were 12, but don’t know how many children they had. I’m sorry, it’s so hard to watch.
oddmommy @ 70
I’m in with you on that. And I hope Mitt’s dog story ends up biting him on his Ken doll arse, no pun intended.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 50
Mebbe he’s next on Flynt’s list. One can hope.
BigMitch @ 94
I heard a reporter on the radio earlier this week talking about the Farm Bill, saying we paid 1.8 billion dollars last year in subsidies to farmers who don’t farm. I know very little about the farm bill, but from what I heard in that hour, it sounds like something we should be thinking about since it affects international law, trade relations (think corn in Mexico) and ethanol production. I need to do homework.
When the bombing of Bahgdad began there was a lot of attention paid to the abandoned zoo, and particularly to the Lion that lived there. It was a sympathetic story, to be sure.
10% of Iraqis are D.P.s or refugees. Hundreds of thousands have been killed.
zennurse @ 98
Corn from Ethanol doesn’t work and it never will, according to Scientific American. The reason Ethanol works in Brazil is because they use switch grass. The whole Ethanol thing is bullshit for the benefit of Big Agribusiness.
AZ Matt @ 84
Bush never had any intention of capturing Osama bin Laden. The bin Laden family are long time benefactors of the Bush family. Even GWB is smart enough to not risk harming to that cash cow.
zennurse @ 98
Bread for the World has put together a bunch of information. They ran a letter-writing drive a few months ago. Not an only source for info, but a good start!
“Who’s your president? Who’s your president?”
Chick Daney
The Vick story is just another piece in the puzzle that shows America coming apart at the seems.
Talk about decadence.
-GSD
Gnome de Plume @ 85
Ritual – started milking at a young age, integral part of family life -long term memory often stays intact. Cows are sensory stimulators – by their sight, their touch, their aroma, their behavior – lots to keep memories alive.
sandflea @ 97
;0)
The Republicans have been laid bare for all to see. They are what they are. Democrats. You’re at bat.
some say that intimations of Lieberman barnyard antics are udderly preposterous. :~)
I-rak is like a “sunk cost”
In the economic sense, you do not use these
costs since they are forgone and not part of the current analysis.
Same with I-rak…
Using sunk costs, we WILL stay forever.
Forget about it… we lost the fuckin war
and now is the time to pull the plug… otherwise you live in a constant conundrum.
Siun @ 87
BigMitch @ 100
Exactly, you have to use hydrocarbons to fix the nitrogen needed in the fertilizer that is necessary to produce enough corn to make ethanol viable, not to mention the land space and what happens when you switch productive farmland from other crops to corn. Corn for ethanol is a pyramid scheme.
I think the executive order thing is an effort to block Iraqi officials from stealing money, transferring money, etc., that was designated for reconstruction purposes. Remember the 1/4 billion dollars stolen last week and the fact that they Iraqis are leaving for the month of August (perhaps to flee with money???)
http://www.treas.gov/offices/e…../13315.pdf
BigMitch @ 100
Brazil use Sugar Cane to make Ethanol, Corn Ethanol is more expensive to produce and more polluting than Petroleum. Another great choice by the decider …
Jane, glad to hear you’re doing well … meditation is your best friend … *g*
Juslin is in Toronto and we’re meeting up to toast FDL on Wednesday evening, if anyone else can join us, contact me on Facebook.
BigMitch, please out that Lox joke on your wall, at Facebook.com … *g*
BigMitch @ 100
The problem with ethanol from corn is that corn needs so much fertilizer (which is made from fossil fuels) that you don’t gain any real benefit.
Just for the record, Brazil derives ethanol from sugar cane. Some Canadians have been working on switch grass. Neither of those crops require the same fertilization as corn, which makes them a far better source of ethanol.
punaise @ 108
or pig-headed?
Bay State Librul @ 115
Are Orthodox Jews allowed to be pig-headed?
GSD @ 104
More like Self- motivation Vs selfish motives …
Are you still in the Carolinas ?
GSD @ 104
Was Ann Coulter in attendance? Are they sure this wasn’t some type of republican fundraiser?
Mitch- I agree, this guy was talking about how the bill needs to address exactly that, move toward other sources if we are going to pursue ethanol- that other things can be rotated, preserving the farmland’s integrity.
FunnyDiva, thanks for that suggestion, I’ll check it out now.
heiferious
sandflea @ 96
oh YES. A good round set of teeth marks embedded on that plastic arse would be LOVELY.
Adie @ 119
wrong state for a “Jersey Joe” moniker
EvilDrPuma @ 115
This is opening a mare’s nest.
shorthorn
phred @ 113
Thank you for that correction. You have refreshed my memory. Sugar cane, yes.
Adie @ 123
uh, red shorthorn
Adie @ 123
polled.
From this Demo to the GOP I have two messages for you guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..w&NR=1
And when we get to DC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..mp;search=
Jewish leader Rabbi Brian Walt, of the Rabbis for Human Rights, North American (supported by 50 CT Rabbis) pleads with Lieberman in the Hartford Courant to support habeas corpus.
Did you guys here at FDL know that Joe had the Code Pink protester who was on a hunger strike arrested in his office? Not to sound jaded, Rabbi, but we’ve learned not to hold our breath with Joe. He’s on some kind of wierd agenda nobody can figure out.
gotta quit or i’m compost for sure…
Laura Doty @ 126
yeeouch!
Funnydiva2002 @ 81
Reads more like a proclamation made by a king.
boxer @ 110
Additionally, this is why Bush supports it. It still forces us to rely on fossil fuels.
Morning, Ya’ll! I oversleep due to the late nite, last nite!!! What was the final vote on the filibuster??? It seems the Goopers fended it off yet again!!! Cram it down their throats again, and again!!! 8-)
Liberal Heart @ 92
It can mean whatever the decider’s puppeteers decide they want it to mean. It appears even more open-ended than some of the earlier stuff like this.
I’ve been open game for awhile, having participated a year and a half ago in a concert in London, which was a benefit for three causes, one of which helps Israeli and Palestinian kids who suffer PTSD from violence. Some of the volunteers for the PTSD clinics in Gaza City and Rafah are affiliated with Hamas, so, technically, they could haul me away at any time…
Adie @ 125
red Heiffer? Oh. My. God.
One more reason.
phred @ 113
And I’ve heard that sugarcane has a higher energy yield and only needs to be planted once every few years, unlike corn…Feel free to correct me, my memory isn’t perfect.
I’d hate for the drive towards US energy independence to fail because of a reliance on ethanol -possibly a wet kiss to Big Agriculture – as a solution.
SAVED by the bell!
Big Mitch @ 135
SAVED by the bell!
Big Mitch @ 135
“Speak unto the Children of Israel that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke”. Numbers 19:2
Big Mitch @ 124
You’re welcome :) Easy enough to get these things turned around. From what I understand sugar cane would probably not grow well in most of the US, but it seems to me our former prairies (where the corn belt now resides) would be well suited to switch grass.
bull?
Dewey, Cheatham and Howe are proud to sponsor Cow Talk.
grape_crush @ 137
I don’t know how often sugar can is planted, but you are correct it has a higher energy yield than corn.
From the end of Froomkin’s column today;
post haste compost!
phred @ 141
But what about Hawaii? When I was there a few years ago, I heard that the whole sugar cane industry collapsed because it could not compete with High Fructose Corn Syrup.
grape_crush @ 137
Sugar cane is even more fertilizer intensive and requires far more irrigation than corn, and as you note it takes two full years from planting till harvest! Not a viable alternative! One reason Hawaii no longer produces much sugar these days!!!
CTuttle @ 148
But sugar beets? How are they?
methane m-m-m-m
it’s what’s for dinner
Mods… all is hyperlinked between 131 and 135 even on refresh
CTuttle, Sugar cane is no longer a viable alternative to corn in the sweetener department. But is it a viable alternative to oil, which, takes millions of years between planting and harvesting.
oddmommy @ 120
Suddenly got this image of an Irish Setter contentedly gnawing on a discarded, scratched-up Ken doll in somebody’s backyard!
And one other thing on the ethanol topic, the farm bill has long been a big wet sloppy kiss to Cargill and ADM. They want to make sure that our energy “alternatives” come back to corn. There has been some discussion about the trade-offs between corn for food (read high-fructose corn syrup) and fuel (ethanol). Frankly, Cargill and ADM wouldn’t give a d*mn — either way they’re laughing all the way to the bank.
Adie @ 150
I much prefer plastic, just the way it’s imported from China.
Petro, back in NH.
I am planning on finding Duncan Hunter at a coffee shop to ask him about his proclamation that Ann Coulter is a “great American”.
“Perhaps, Mr. Hunter, that logic may explain why you are at 1% in the polls.”
-GSD
I’ll be interested to see how the Presidential candidates react to the vote today. This is what the Democrats ought to be doing, state a position, stand together as a party, and force the Republicans to get on the record with a vote. Has anyone seen a statement from the candidates supporting Reid and Pelosi?
nomolos @ 151
Try hard refresh please…
Laura Doty @ 149
Living here in Hawaii, I really only know Sugar Cane, I’m not familiar with beets!
As to Sugar cane needing irrigation? Is this a problem in Hawaii? Don’t they have plenty of water, either for irrigation or natural watering?
Twain @ 155
but have you tried their lye-soaked cardboard noodles?
CNN has a story up including this remarkable idea:
There is a feedback link at the bottom. I sent in a “suggestion” which apparently means that someone will read it. I suggested someone might want to add an explanation of why this was a defeat for the Democrats, as it looked like a defeat for rational policy. Perhaps others would like to weigh in on this, politely, of course.
Blub @ 35
the fact that they are incompetent may be the only reason we still have any freedoms left.
The Lurking Mod @ 158
Absolutely fabulous!
Petrocelli/Juslin!
Max Blumenthal at HuffPo:
Generation Chickenhawk: the Unauthorized College Republican Convention Tour
Cluck-cluck!
BigMitch @ 22
McCain?
punaise @ 64
…outside the box – Spew Alert!
Adie @ 164
Ed*ard Teller @ 134
Another bully move to cow people (no barnyard puns intended. Really). This administration works six ways from Sunday to prevent people from forming empathic connections with Iraqis. And to spread fear.
Big Mitch @ 152
Actually, I wouldn’t attribute it to Corn sweeteners, it is more due to foreign sugar cane production, Phillipines, etc…, and the sheer land requirements has made it economically unsound!
Twain @ 171
it also was imported from china and has that full bodied chianti taste and aroma that only antifreeze can give you.
Big Mitch @ 147
Sugar cane would certainly grow there and I believe in the southeastern U.S., but in a fairly limited area from what I’ve read. This is why switch grass (if it works out, and I think more work needs to be done there) would be better suited.
I was unaware of the problems with Hawaii’s sugar cane industry, but if it did collapse because of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), that would be the direct result of the farm subsidies that go into the nation’s corn crop. Yet another reason to reorient the farm bill to other crops, and genuine family farms.
One last comment, about HFCS, I saw an article awhile back in Science News about a study that indicated HFCS suppresses a person’s sense of feeling full. So people that drink beverages with that particular sweetener are more likely to eat more, potentially contributing to the nation’s obesity problems. I don’t know whether that study has been confirmed or refuted, but it does give one pause.
More Hatch Act evidence:
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1414
A little ethelyne glycol with your fava beans?
Big Mitch @ 160
Not as much as is required, certain parts of the isles receive negligible rainfall, and currently, this is the driest year on record!!!
althespook @ 174
It’s been rather chilly here so it will work just fine.
Sorry mods
I’m getting multiple posts again. I promise to quit now, if you’d please remove two from the repeats #164 #165 or #168
pet wrecker @ 169
Oh I hope not. He is impotent as a Senator, and I would like to see someone taken DOWN. McCain can hardly fall further.
By the way, he’s a son-of-a-bitch on a lot of things. But he is sticking to his guns, in an apparent adherence to his belief that he would rather be right than President. (He is/will be neither.) Plus, he is a genuine war hero. He may have a mean streak, but that may also be a necessary tool to survive in politics.
Shorter me: He’s wrong, but not to be vilified like the other Repugs who are hypocrites, chicken-hawks, and assholes.
Laura Doty @ 172
An outstanding observation.
my bold
Growing food for a hydrocarbon fuel consumes more energy than it produces. This is also immoral, to use food as fuel. It also raises the price of food to the consumer.
Solar/Hydrogen energy is the only real solution to the energy crisis.
Ed*ard Teller @ 135
We live in strange times. Where I live, the FBI is calling on Muslim doctors.
CTuttle @ 159
Since you live in Hawaii I’ll defer to your expertise in this area. I didn’t know about the irrigation issue, I had thought it required less fertilizer than corn, but I could be mistaken. In any case, I don’t think anyone is proposing growing sugar cane in the lower 48 because it is not well suited here.
As for sugar beets — any use that doesn’t require me to eat them seems like a good use to me (snark ;)
There are four people’s ‘minds’ you will never change. George, Dick, Karl and Joe. Give it up.
For someone named Jane: we will fight on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlk9Sj4Ns2k
Liberal Heart @ 184
This is disgusting. Are they assuming that all Muslim doctors are ready to blow something up?
boxer @ 111
CTuttle @ 148
Er, no. Planted once, harvested, and the ’stubble crops’ produce for a couple of more years. The downside is that it requires a near-tropical climate, so it would only grow well in southern areas of the US.
Sugar beets have nearly the same sugar content as sugar cane, and I know that we grow them up here in Michigan.
And what’s with all the exclaimation points? Calm down, fer chrissakes.
phred @ 175
I was unaware of the problems with Hawaii’s sugar cane industry, but if it did collapse because of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), that would be the direct result of the farm subsidies that go into the nation’s corn crop. Yet another reason to reorient the farm bill to other crops, and genuine family farms.
My point, exactly.
Funny thing about that. I had dinner with a fellow who had a M.D. and a Ph.D. in Science relating to diet. He mentioned that most flavor in food comes from fat soluable chemicals. When fat is removed from food, manufacturers add it back in by means of salt and HFCS. Thus, lack of satiation, and, ultimately, obesity.
Fat is your friend.
My son had dinner with the science editor of the NYT. She stated that you can graph the rise of obesity and it is perfectly parallel to the rise in HFCS use.
We live in fascist times. I think the only way we’ll get out of them is to stand up and face down these truly evil people.
Petrocelli/Juslin!LS @ 176
Re: Flynt’s list, I’m hoping the next is either Inhofe, Ted Stevens or Saxby Chambliss. Of course, that’s just the A-hole category. For the Whining Baby category, we have Sessions and Graham (N/A).
LS @ 174
Oh the sunshine!
Thanks for the link. A great heads up. EW will probably post on this soon.
Gnome de Plume @ 85
I haven’t milked a cow since 1973 (where I had to get up at 4:30 am). However, my dad did until his mid-70s. He’s 86 now. We’re just amused that he doesn’t quite know who we are sometimes, but wants us to do the milking. We had a dairy farm & had strigent protocols. The logic is gaping.
Nah, Arlen Spector has the Whining Baby category all wrapped up.
Frank33 @ 183
I’m sympathetic to your first point, but it opens a whole can of worms in the morality department. For example, vegetarians have pointed out for years that growing animals for food is highly inefficient in terms of calorie production, and cruel in the industrial farm setting. So this is an argument I would not personally make, unless you’re prepared to tell everyone to give up eating meat.
It seems to me that we should not be looking for a single/dual solution to our energy needs. Someone pointed out to me Al Gore’s term the other day of “silver buckshot” rather than a “silver bullet”. I think that is how we need to approach the problem, multiple solutions within their appropriate contexts. Freeman Dyson discussed this whole issue 20 years ago in one of his books about how a distributed energy system would be more efficient and more secure. I think he was on the right track. I am _not_ in favor of corn-based ethanol, because it makes several problems worse rather than better. However, I don’t want to narrow our alternatives to only 2 choices so soon…
Loo Hoo at 190 – you are correct my friend. The maximum penalty for Hatch Act violations is getting fired and Sara no longer works there. They are gunning for Rover.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 184
In the final months of his life, General (Bombs Away) Curtis LeMay lamented, “If we had just stayed longer we would have won.”
Footnote at the bottom of page 49, of the Cunningham FBI document:
“The Members of Congress listed by Wade are: Congressmen Randy Cunningham, Tom
DeLay, Denny Hastert, Duncan Hunter, Lewis, Allan Mollohan, John Murtha, David Weldon and Bill
Young, and Senators Robert Byrd, Larry Craig, Robert Dole; Orin Hatch, Daniel Inouye, Trent Lott, Jay Rockefeller and Richard Shelby.”
Big Mitch @ 160
Depends on which side of the island you’re on. Most of the Hawai’ian chain have a “rainy” side and a dry side. Stuff on the dry side can require irrigation.
BTW “rainy” usually means it rains between 8am and 10am and then the rest of the day is beautiful. At least, that’s what it did when we were there.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/…..idavit.pdf
Big Mitch @ 188
Funny thing about that. I had dinner with a fellow who had a M.D. and a Ph.D. in Science relating to diet. He mentioned that most flavor in food comes from fat soluable chemicals. When fat is removed from food, manufacturers add it back in by means of salt and HFCS. Thus, lack of satiation, and, ultimately, obesity.
Fat is your friend.
My son had dinner with the science editor of the NYT. She stated that you can graph the rise of obesity and it is perfectly parallel to the rise in HFCS use.
High fructose corn syrup is most definitely evil. We should go back to using cane sugar in it’s place, as in the old days.
We have a sugar beet factory here BTW. It’s Amalgamated Sugar – makes White Satin sugar.
Big Mitch @ 188
Funny thing about that. I had dinner with a fellow who had a M.D. and a Ph.D. in Science relating to diet. He mentioned that most flavor in food comes from fat soluable chemicals. When fat is removed from food, manufacturers add it back in by means of salt and HFCS. Thus, lack of satiation, and, ultimately, obesity.
Fat is your friend.
My son had dinner with the science editor of the NYT. She stated that you can graph the rise of obesity and it is perfectly parallel to the rise in HFCS use.
Yep. Another article in Science News (my all time favorite magazine) talked about food industry work that has gone into trying to produce low calorie food, either you keep the fat and lose the sugar or vice versa. Drop both and the “food” becomes unpalatable.
Wordsmith @ 76
My dad got to where he thought I was my mom. Then he forgot even that, he just knew I was someone kinda related somehow to him.
Margot @ 204
We aren’t real concerned at this point. It’s an every once in awhile thing. It was a big deal because there were legal things to go over and I think it stresses him out. We think he’s afraid we’ll shuttle him off to a nursing home. We don’t know why; we’ve never EVEN broached that subject because we have an extended family so it’s not an issue.
from back up thread:
milking [shorthorn].
I read that in Illiinois they used a patch of replanted prairie to make ethanol. Got a better yield from the mixed plants than from corn. I’m under the impression that they didn’t have to uproot the plants to do it, but I could easily be wrong; something that could be mowed and regrow (without being replanted) sounds really good.
Loo Hoo. @ 190
the ONDCP has been running faux public service adverts. propagandizing, primarily on Air America stations, using fear & lies aimed at teens about cannabis. Seems ONDCP has mucho cash to throw around?
I’d love to see Waxman wrap Rove.
Blub @ 35
The German string pullers also thought they could control Mr. H. I think Bush’s assertion of the Yoo doctrine has really put the fear of God into Scaife and his like. They know that if Bush can do anything to his enemies, he can do the same thing to them. What goes around, comes around.
P J Evans @ 206
That’s the beauty of prairie grasses, they grow best following either burning or mowing — ya gotta love perennials. Unless you’re Cargill and ADM ’cause then you can’t make a profit on selling the patented seeds.
I thought Senator Clinton’s speech on the floor of the senate this morning was very good. She spoke like a president. She did’nt paddle around putting the blame for Iraq squarely on Bush where it belongs and stressed the need for the withdraw to be planned by competent people this time. This woman’s eye is focused on the ball.
Might it be Lindsey “the vapors” Graham?
Bet he is a bottom.
And the Vick story. Yes, decadence and how sad these are the people who often wind up being our kids heroes. Over& over. Of course, we can’t often point to politicians any more, either.
NOW has also come out with a strong statement about the vote: It should have gone the other way acc. to the will of the people.
“This woman’s eye is on the ball”
Marshhen: Here’s where her eye was, one month ago, in a speech to the “Take Back America” conference, for which she was roundly booed:
“…So, (she added) the American military has succeeded. It is the Iraqi government which has failed to make the tough decisions that are important for their own people.”
Since you may not know it, that is one of the latest bushCo talking points; something like:
“Our invasion and occupation has given them the opportunity for a new start, and the Iraqi government just won’t come out from under that nice desk in the green zone, that american taxpayers paid Halliburton 6 figures for.”
I would suggest that Ms. Clinton’s eye is on the same “ball” that it’s been on, ever since she voted to authorize the loon crusade in 2002, which is, to get herself elected, no matter how many times she has to get into bed with george bush and the people who have created the misery.
With Iraq going into it’s death spiral, I would suggest to Clinton, and to you, that if our military has “succeeded”, then it would be better for them to have failed.
Tanbark @ 213
Someone has to get tough with the Iraqis sometime and it better be the next president of the United States.
EvilDrPuma @ 115
Orthodox Jews suffer from the same disease as other orthodox religions: Fundamentia
“Someone has to get tough with the Iraqis sometime and it better be the next president of the U.S.”
Christ, I feel like I’m talking to Joe Lieberman. :o)
Marshhen:
With at least a half million of them dead, and another million who’ve left, and with their country a hellhole of violence and mayhem, AND WITH NO FUCKING END IN SIGHT…
I was under the impression that george bush and Company had pretty well fulfilled the “someone has to get tough with them” requirement.
But perhaps, your, and Ms. Clinton’s mileage varies?
Siun @ 87
b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section include, but are not limited to, (i) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.
The way I read this part is that if anyone supports someone who is declared to be a terrorist, or supporting terrorists by Bush, they can be stripped of everything they own.
That effectively strips those held in Gitmo…or even American citizens like that college professor in Washington who had his fingerprints mistakenly identified on some documents in a Spanish bombers apartment, of any pro bono legal support.
And get this…it’s not LIMITED TO those types of assistance…if you write an op-ed or a blog piece calling into question the charges against those groups or individuals…that could be construed as “supporting those who are involved in violence”.
How many times have Democrats and progressives been charged with “supporting terrorists” for opposing Bush’s policies and actions?
This is one hell of a nasty Presidential Order…and I could be charged with “supporting the violence” just by saying so!
Marshhen; in the spirit of not having it all be snark, what “get tough” steps would you suggest that Clinton, or whomever, take?
Presumably, there are SOME left, in your mind.