The moebius strip logic of the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee is astonishing.
We haven’t found any evidence of wrongdoing therefore we should not investigate. Of course we can’t investigate because witnesses are refusing to cooperate, but because Carol Lam doesn’t have evidence to prove she was the victim of a crime we need to stop right now.
Also, we despise Bill Clinton and revile everything he has ever done but he is nonetheless the bar we establish for acceptable behavior from the administration.
You have to be sucking hard for oxygen in a vapor lock for an awfully long time in order for this to make any sense.
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Jane!!!
Jane!
Happy Birthday!
Republican Logic?!?!?! BWAHHAAAAHAAAAAA!!!!
Jane’s first post of her most ass kicking year yet.
no zed, but I’ll take dos… Time stamp tie.
Happy Birthday Jane !!!!!!
Oh Jane Thank YOU!
That is exactly the YouTube video I wanted.
Of course, you ought not to be giving us presents on YOUR birthday.
HAPPY, HAPPY Birthday!
Beautiful.
And happy birthday (again!) Jane!!
Single digits?
Thankfully I was spared for most of that clusterfuck.
Too busy working.
Did I hear right that they are going to wait until after August for the full vote?
Thanks for saying it, Jane.
Republican talking points; Sense or non-Sense?
Happy Birthday again, Jane!
And Happy Birthday, Jane!
Happy birthday, Jane!
(did I make the zedecile?)
[no. merde.]
Happy Birthday Jane! The late night crowd sent this over for you
Go Jane! And Happy Birthday!
Woohoo! Hey, Jane. Best wishes for a fucking fantastic birthday.
Think Progress just answered my question.
I sent an e-mail and called the execrable Lamar Smith to call BS on his partisan hackery. I reminded him that he swore an oath to the CONSTITUTION and not to the Republican Party.
I’m not holding my breath on a reasonable response in anything other than the most inept Republican talking points.
hey, give them a break – it’s all they got.
moebious strip:
What gets me about the Repubs is why on earth would they want to live in the kind of country they are shaping which is based on manipulations and lies. What is wrong with these people??? It is not normal….oh, yeah…
Biodun @ 21
Worse, yet: It never ends.
Will Rogers had a line about how when Congress went into recess, the entire country breathed a sigh of relief.
That was before recess appointments. And before the important work of restoring democracy remained to be done.
LS @ 22
Because they get all the spoils of the richest country.
Bush disapproval is at 66%–Nixon resignation levels.
Iraq is a mess.
Government corruption and disfunction is rampant.
His AG is an open liar.
Bush’s ONLY success is holding GOP discipline.
Without it, he cannot frame a Congress v. White House dispute as a “partisan” fight, when it is truly an institutional fight.
GOP–for shame. You put party before country, in service of this train wreck of a president.
JF @ 3
I prefer to call it a lesson plan for teaching logical fallacies.
And I really like this one about the Moebius strip:
Biodun @ 5
Sorry, Biodun. :~)
janda @ 27
I guess they really are good for something.
albert fall @ 26
Many of his core constituents have become fabulously rich. Unbelievably rich. Wealthy beyond anything guys like me can imagine. Filthy fucking stinking rich. So, what’s a little blood on their hands to them?
TexB @ 15
Thanks, TexB. My favorite flavor. Purple.
Just sent this to Nancy Pelosi. Hope she gets it (in more ways than one).
Dear Madame Speaker,
I was very pleased to see coverage of the House Judiciary Committee meeting today on the subject of issuing contempt citations to Harriet Meirs and Josh Bolten. Please don’t wait until after the August recess to take up this issue in the House. We simply cannot afford to wait. You know there will be stonewalling by DOJ and the U.S. Attorney in DC. The effect of all this important effort will have been wasted if this drags on into the election season. Time is of the essence and our republic is at stake.
Thanks in advance.
A fellow public servant.
Onnea Syntymapaivananne, Jane & many, many more.
1,588 dayz and the killin’ goez on and on and..
Citizen Hamsher:
Happy Birthday Jane…glad you didn’t stop bloggin’ jest ta swill champagne…anywayz ya ken type AND drink at the same time, no?
KEEP THE FAITH AND HIT ‘EM AGAIN, THEY’RE STILL BREATHIN’!!!
Bill Clinton showed up when he was subpoenaed — and he didn’t hide behind executive privilege when staff and former staff were subpoenaed either.
Shows more respect for the rule of law than His Nibs. You want to compare? Bring it awwn, Cowboy.
I guess the Republicans aren’t ashamed to support a dictator — since ‘democracy’ and ‘democrat’ share the same root and all.
This is simply a manifestation of Ben Franklin’s
“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately”
If the Republicans loose their discipline the entire house of cards will come crashing down. Screw the country, this is all about survival.
JF @ 30
Everyone has some sort of use *g*
Time for Lindsay Lohan to do another line off her dashboard.
Happy, happy birthday, Jane.
I hope we can all make your birthday wishes come true: ending the Iraq War, holding Bush/Cheney/Gonzalez accountable, restoring the Constitution, repairing America’s relations with the rest of the world, calling the MSM out when they parrot wingnut talking points.
It’ll be a gift for you–and for all of us and our children.
Work for peace, every day.
BigMitch @ 31
Well that pretty well sums it up. Succinct, horrifying and damning.
My brother’s birthday today as well, he is in good company.
The only way to predict Republicans is to look at them thru a criminal’s eyes. Then it all makes sense.
I knew Bush would be this way from the get. What has amazed me is the entire Republican contingent went along with it. They all should be held accountable.
“Have you no decency, sir…”
Apparently not, and it would be foolish of us to expect it.
Ben Sargent on Bush’s Health Care Plan!! Funny but true!
tommy yum @ 39
Who is Lindsay Lohan? (Don’t answer. I’m really happy in my ignorance.)
Happy, happy Birthday to you Jane!
JR @ 37
Very True!
Once you accept this fact, everything else that seems ridiculous on it’s face suddenly makes sense.
eCAHN, you don’t watch much TV, do you?
Hi Jane!
“You say it’s your birthday
It’s my birthday too–yeah
They say it’s your birthday
We’re gonna have a good time
I’m glad it’s your birthday
Happy birthday to you.
Yes we’re going to a party party
Yes we’re going to a party party
Yes we’re going to a party party.
I would like you to dance–Birthday
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday
I would like you to dance–Birthday
Dance
You say it’s your birthday
Well it’s my birthday too–yeah
You say it’s your birthday
We’re gonna have a good time
I’m glad it’s your birthday
Happy birthday to you.”
(Not really my birthday-I just think the Beatles are, well, you know, cool)
diogenes @ 42
How did you know? He fooled me before the 00 election. Starting catching on before 9/11, but that nailed it.
Less succinct (longer) Mitch:
The meme that Bush is stupid is probably untrue. Hang out with some stupid people and the difference between them and Bush is profound. Lots of people are not good with words, but have complete mastery of concepts. Bush is given credit for having great inter-personal skills, though I could never figure out why. He does manage to garner incredible personal loyalty, and that goes back to before he was the leader of the free world. He’s got the most difficult job in the world and he goes to sleep at 8:30 every night.
Assume that he cares not a whit for public opinion. In what way is he not getting everything out of life that any man could wish for?
eCAHNomics @ 44
God bless you. There’s hope for us all.
RonD @ 47
24/7 all C-SPAN.
Actually my guilty pleasure is L&Os and CSIs.
What I cannot fathom is WHY he continues to hold tha discipline.
They are going down with a sinking ship
eCAHNomics @ 49
I knew it too, just like I knew the “intelligence” on WMDs in Iraq was a pack of lies. How did I know? I am not sure there is a single answer, but I did know something about his background–that he was a rich ne’er do well son of a crooked and powerful man, and that his most notable acheivement while Gov of Texas was to execute as many people as possible. Plus, I always read Molly Ivins.
eCAHNomics @ 52
Mine as well. Also Bones & Monk & Psych.
eCAHNomics @ 49
His appeal to right wing fundamentalists was a sure tip-off. Especially in light of the hypocracy involved.
tommy yum @ 51
Sorry for multiple quote nestings, but I just want to say: This is why I love FDL. You people inform me but you also make me laugh!
RonD @ 47
Heck, even if all you do is read the Huffington Post, you would know who she is, or at least that she got arrested again.
Ellen Taushcer OWNDz National CounterIntelligence Fuckers for their bullshit reports and the glaring inconsistencies!
STTP in Ohio @ 46
As long as the Rebublican senators hold together there will be no legislation passed and no possibility of impeachment, investigations will be stymied and the full scope of Republican malfeasance will remain hidden. The question for everyone is how to shame some of the senators into taking a principled stand
The moebius strip logic of the Republicans….
What is ‘moebius’ – are ya talking math?
looseheadprop @ 53
I’ve wondered the same thing myself, LHP. Here’s what I think it is, boiled down:
Frantic covering-up of crimes perpetrated after being guaranteed permanent majority status.
They almost got away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling dirty fucking hippies.
BigMitch @ 50
Bush has great manipulation skills. Those can pass as inter-personal skills but inter-personal skills require empathy and he has not one whit of that. But your right, the Bush is dumb meme is a lie.
BigMitch @ 50
According to Molly Ivins (in Shrub), he is incurious and lazy but not as stupid as he appears. And he has great political skills.
Wordsmith @ 61
see #28, supra.
For the benefit of those who expressed an interest in the prior thread in seeing the Gonzales memorandum, Raw Story has provided this link: Gonzales memorandum dated May 4, 2006
JR @ 60
Dog Bless Larry Flynt.
BigMitch @ 50
Eggzzactement! The guy is not stupid. Plus, he can “talk” when he forgets to put on his act. I have seen clips of him when he fake-Texas accent virtually dissapears–though that happens less frequently than it did in his first term. He is a clown and a chameleon. He is selfish as one can possibly be and also quite lazy in that he will never be made to do what he does not want to do (imagine trying to get him to take out the garbage–we have all known 14 year olds who will not be budged). But he is not “stupid” or “dumb” — he is just good at playing dumb and stupid, as it appeals to a certain “type” which is the type that got him elected. A type who does not trust anyone who uses vocabulary words they cannot understand.
a nearly-noon-time edition
of the “nightly nolo” here appears. . .
so, we see contempt bloom, as a small
flower, in the halls of congress, while
all around it bakes the desert of defiance
that is this white house, and this administration. . .
in under two-and-three-quarters-
minutes of highly condensed video. . .
rep. jackson-lee of mississippi,
decrying the echoes of nixonian
stone-walling — long ago defeated. . .
and rep. schiff, of california, laying
bare the nakedly-specious nature of
just about the entire white house
position on blanket executive privilege. . .
all with archival nixon and bush footage,
interspersed — to boot! enjoy the show!
let us move forward swiftly, and ferociously!
JR @ 60
I’ve been calling my Senators on a regular basis (Roberts and Brownback). When I talk to Brownback’s office, I always talk about the importance of telling the truth and how disgusted I am that the GOP is protecting a man who laid his hand on the Bible and swore to tell the truth. Whether it will work or not, it is always kind of fun listening to the staffer deflating.
Mobius Strip? (Man I love hot geeky girls).
PS – Happy F’in Birthday!!
mc @ 48
flew in from Miami Beach, B-L-O-G
Didn’t get to bed last night
All the way the black laptop was on my knees
Man, I had a threadful flight
I’m back in the US (your are?)
You don’t know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the US (you are!), yeah
newtonusr @ 67
I can’t say that I was ever much of a fan but he has begun to look much better.
My dyslexic friend brings up an interesting point at #67. Where is Larry Flynt at today? Weren’t we supposed to be hearing from him?
tommy yum @ 62
That explains 2004, but since hey lost both amjorities and some of the repub critters are coming up for re-election, you would think enlightened self interst would cause them to get out of their parallel universe and spen just a teensy bit of time in a fact based world where their constituents reside.
JR @ 60
There’s no need to make them take a principled stand, and I doubt they know how anyway. What needs to happen is to make it clear to the senators up for re-election next year that their phony-baloney jobs are at stake. That’s hard with the MSM playing Bush’s game, but the approvals suggest it isn’t impossible.
Wordsmith @ 61
Yes.
Plus, moebius strips are easy and quick to knit.
I wish I didn’t know who Lindsay Lohan is …
Woodhall Hollow @ 68
… a type that loved Forrest Gump.
eCAHNomics @ 49
#1. I was reading Harpers regularly before the election. They had it all.
#2. Dick Cheney picked himself. Then I really knew.
Wordsmith @ 61
See Biodun at 28. (And I don’t know who Lindsay Lohan either. :~))
How I long for the time when human/animal hybrids were our biggest concern….
spurious @ 64
He’s a son of a bitch and will fuck over anybody anytime to get whatever he wants and/or thinks he deserves. He has no right to work in public service. He is a complete disgrace.
So there.
Mr. Shiff certainly laid it all out exactly as it is. I’m not fond of the analogy whereby it is asked of the Republicans what they would do under the same circumstances. We already know what they would do b/c they have already demonstrated what they would do. They conducted a witch hunt in Bill Clinton’s zipper.
Do not ask that rhetorical question. It makes you look weak. What are you going to do about this problem? What will be the next step in the contempt department?
Now the sanctimonious hypocrites hide from the DC madam and Larry Flynt. The MSM disappears most of the bad news stories for them – making them non-issues. The majority of American citizens remain clueless.
Happy Birthday, Jane. You are a truth teller, a fighter for justice and the American way.
Janda@70
I hope for all our sakes that it has some success.
Senator Tom Harkin on Ed Schultz:
“The Republicans are fillerbustering every ammendment so that we can’t accomplish anything in this Congress.”
Based on what we know of today’s GOP and its allies, is this not plausible?
All legal attempts to reign in Administration fail.
Occupation of Iraq is slowly drawn down to free up troops for war with Iran.
War with Iran. Groundwork for war with Pakistan.
Republicans steal ‘08 elections.
Legal justifications for Unitary Executive are codified. Domestic Security Enhancement Acts are passed.
Draft reinstated.
Another Republican Supreme Court nominee.
These are the stakes. This could very easily happen.
Then what do we do?
tommy yum @ 51
I don’t know, Mean Girls wasn’t a bad movie.
I’m okay knowing that because I don’t own a television set. It vastly improves my quality of life – everyone should look into it.
Hmmm-would it appear that the GOP is “soft on crime?”
looseheadprop @ 75
Well, the answer to that would be that some of them are genuinely stupid (unlike Shrub). Or are in very “safe” district peopled with those who never learned how to think for themselves. But the smart ones will begin to jump ship in order to save their political hides, as we are already seeing with a few in the Senate, where seats are often held with much tighter margins. I am thinking particularly of Snarlin’ Arlen.
Wood Hollow @ 54 & BigMitch @ 56
I read Molly Ivins’ book on Shrub. I guess I didn’t get the import of his personal life & the fundamentalist connection. On the former, my bleeding heart hopes that people can change. On the latter, I know no religious people (at least I think I don’t), or religious people like the ones in W’s base. That stemmed from living in my NYC bubble. I was astounded that such people existed in my country when I started reading about them. So color me naive.
I figured out there were no WMDs in Iraq, by doing astute reading. Took me a couple of months to figure out what to read & then go thru it.
Funny WMD story:
In summer 03, I bought 2 copies of the children’s book Where’s Spot. Pasted over the word Spot wherever it appeared with WMDs. Sent one copy to Judith Miller & another to Tony Blair; no covering note, but did put my address sticker on the outside. From Miller I got a handwritten note to the effect of “Where indeed!” From Blair’s assistant, I got a typed note thanking me for my gift. I initially hoped he kept it on the credenza in his office, but soon lost that naivity too.
looseheadprop @ 53
Got to be Rove’s little black book. Lindsay Graham, Boenert, Keller, and mucho dirt on the straight ones too. They cannot leave the ship.
Steele@83
We already have human-animal hybrids: Republicans and chickens.
janda @ 58
I get the daily email from HuffPost and read the headlines. Long ago I decided that the contents usually didn’t add to my understanding. Any headline involving a subject I don’t know about just passes me by.
BigMitch @ 87
While true, it does no good for that statement to be on Ed’s show. Wake me when it reaches the NBC/ABC/CBS nightly news, where most people get their smatterings of national news.
eCAHNomics @ 95
I only say that because I know who she is(I am totally pop culturally illiterate). I have never watched anything that she is in. Her picture has been on the front page of the HuffPo since she got arrested again.
EvilDrPuma @ 76
There’s no need to make them take a principled stand, and I doubt they know how anyway. What needs to happen is to make it clear to the senators up for re-election next year that their phony-baloney jobs are at stake. That’s hard with the MSM playing Bush’s game, but the approvals suggest it isn’t impossible.
So far Lugar, Hagel, that dishrag Specter, and some others have talked about breaking with Bush but no one has been willing to pull the trigger and vote on anything important. But you are right, without the pressure that could be supplied by the press, there doesn’t seem to be much leverage.
JR @ 60
Huh? I agree that if they hang together they can block a 2/3-majority for conviction in the Senate. But I don’t see how they can stop an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee, or stop the HJC from voting articles of impeachment, or stop the House from impeaching.
Sounds like a script for Duck Soap. Saw a comment on Glenn Greenwald’s post on Kit Bond that is similar in its logic:
No Contradiction: It Was The Wrong Plan But It Was Successful and It Was Working
You see, the earlier plan was the wrong plan even though it was successful and working, just not successfully and workingly enough.
The new plan, which just seems like the old plan with some more people, is the right plan and is working and is successful, but we don’t yet know if it will be sucessful and working enough.
So the new plan which is the right plan and which is successful and working may soon itself too become the wrong plan, which although correct and successful and working needs to be replaced by the right plan, which will be successful and working even more.
– El Cid
mc @ 84
So a guy gets a flat tire, and he pulls over, removes the tire, and rolls it to a gas station. When he comes back he discovers that the lug-nuts are gone. Looking around he notices that he is parked in front of an insane asylum and one of the inmates is peering at him through the fence. The inmate says, “No problem. Just take one lug-nut from each of the other wheels, and use them. That will hold you till you can get to a service station.”
The man takes the advice, and thanks the inmate. Then he says, “Pardon me, but, well, you know, the sign says this is an insane asylum. How are you capable of coming up with such a clever solution.”
And the inmate replies, “Crazy. Not stupid.”
Bush: “Fucking sociopath. Not stupid.”
Wood Hollow @ 93
Don’t underestimate the influence of the DC bubble. I have come to appreciate that phenomenon wrt both their behavior& mine, as I mentioned in my prior comment.
I am watching with interest the behavior of the R sentors who are up for relection in 08. Only a little movement there so far, even though the handwriting is on the wall in bold.
Fine job, Jane. And a very Happy B-day. It takes a special woman to spend her birthday amidst a Congressional investigation session, and likely all the while thriving on every minute of it. That fact has not been lost on us. We all greatly appreciate it and you.
Conyers should just line them all up and say,
“The Constitution mandates responsibility to this body to investigate possible wrongdoings of this very nature, period. We swore an oath when we came in here, which ended with ’so help me God.’
But we have to be clear on what exactly we swore to God that we’d do. So stand up, I’m going to have you all raise your hand to one or the other; have you sworn an oath to the President, or to the Constitution? Say so now: which is it?”
And now for another installment of Impeachment Thoughts for Today. (Hope you don’t mind, Jane. It is pretty much on topic.)
Impeachment is a very serious affair. It is perhaps the most awesome power of Congress, the ultimate weapon it wields against officials of the federal government. The House of Representatives is the prosecutor. The Senate chamber is the courtroom. The Senate is the jury and also the judge, except in the case of a presidential impeachment trial when the chief justice presides. The harshest penalty is removal from office and disqualification from holding future offices. There is no appeal. On January 13, 1993, Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist put his dictionaries away and settled any doubts about all three cases. On behalf of a unanimous court, he ruled that authority over impeachment trials “is reposed in the Senate and nowhere else.”
Since 1789 only 17 federal officers have been impeached by the House, 14 of which were tried by the Senate. Three were dismissed before trial because the individual had left office, 7 ended in acquittal and 7 in conviction. All of those convicted were federal judges.
From Senate.gov
“Moebius strip logic” would refer to Republicans being able to be on both sides of an issue without contradicting themselves — as judged from within their moebius strip logic, of course, because a moebius strip only has one side.
Jane, maybe that chemo is actually good for the brain? Because you seem very sharp today… as usual, damn it.
TiredFed @ 104
Does that include baseball commissioner?
maralenenok @ 89
Yikes! That means there are two of us without televisions. Though I do know who Lindsay Lohan is because I faithfully read gofugyourself.
eCAHNomics @ 106
It better. Don’t fuck with baseball!
wigwam @ 99
And then where does it go? Another three ring circus in the Senate where the Republicans aided and abetted by the press stick to the party line and claim it is nothing but partisan politics. The voting public will look on in disgust and the Democrats will be seen as weak and ineffectual.
The Democrats should express appreciation to the Republicans for the throughness with which they investigate and cleared former president Clinton of any significant wrongdoing. To return the favor they should apply equal vigor to clearing the name of President Bush and dispelling the cloud that an outstanding Republican prosecutor has noted over the vice president.
More Moebius strip:
Tithonia @ 78
Depends on which direction you’re knitting. I do the round-the-edge version, which is technically more interesting (it starts in the center and works out). (You learn fast why the symbol for infinity is a figure-8!)
eCAHNomics @ 49
I figured we would be in for four years of mild Gerald Ford-style incompetence. He would be sort of an embarrassing do-nothing laughingstock, and in 04 he would be soundly defeated and we could move on. Boy, was I wrong. I figured he would be sort of crappy, but I didn’t realize he would be Hank Aaron to Nixon’s Babe Ruth.
Ok, why exactly should we wait until August recess is over to press this contempt case? I just sent an email to Nancy Pelosi, my rep, with the following suggestions:
I urge you to similarly contact your representatives.
here’s the catch 22
the public at large does not apprectiate the depravity of the events as they unfold before our very eyes
corporate media is doing whatever it can to keep the public at large in the dark
the more in the dark the public is the more powerless oversite control becomes
it would be impossible to keep the public in the dark if impeachment hearings went forward
corporate media would be forced to cover the trial and the populace would become aware of what kind of depravitiy has been residing in the oval office
the ground will swell and all patriots will demand the people that have destroyed this country be removed from office
whether or not we think a trial of impeachment will succeed, it’s the only method we can use to educate the populace of waht has been going on in their name
time to impeach
A little discussion of what comes next. Hopefully, the full House will take up the report on the contempt citations next week (rumor has it that they wont take it up until after the August recess, but I’m hoping folks will make enough noise that they decide to deal with it before they leave town). The vote will likely be along partisan lines and will succeed by a majority. The case will then be referred to the U.S. Attorney in DC. who has already been instructed by the Department of Justice to decline to forward it to the U.S. District Court for processing. This issue can then be added to the list in the articles of impeachment. And the House and Senate can proceed with future contempt citations by acting on their own inherent contempt powers, which are not subject to review by the courts, and are enforced by their own law enforcement powers vested in the Sergeant At Arms, the Capitol Police and the D.C. police department (which can be deputized to support the Capitol Police). Anyone else feel like we’re sliding into a Constitutional crisis?
OT – I have called my local PBS station, WGBH, and spoke at length with the young woman charged with informing Programming.
I asked that these hearings be broadcast live, in their entirety. I also asked that there be enough discussion and explanation that people can come up to speed on this. I spoke of the Constitutional crisis that Constitutional scholars agree we are in. I also talked with her about the challenge to the checks and balances of our system – the threat from the imperial presidency.
She asked for examples of hearings and I talked of yesterday’s and today’s. I had to explain quite a bit.
After taking my information, she suggested I call the national PBS at 1-703-739-5000. A young man directed me to Programming and I left a lengthy message.
I explained that the Watergate hearings were carried live and that I was brought into politics and government by watching them. I explained that my one inch picture streamed from CSPAN-3 which I must go get is not comparable to television coverage from PBS.
I believe that these hearings and the Tillman hearing on August 1st must be covered.
Hope you’ll find your local stations as well as contact the national number.
JR @ 109
Listen to you!
Bill Clinton was impeached for having an affair. Not like JFK, LBJ, and DDE didn’t. Probably 1/4 of the house that impeached him had engaged in the same conduct at one time or another in their lives. But even though he was acquitted, that is the first thing that people think of when they think of WJC.
The case against W is so much stronger. There is no way that it can go to trial, and then lose in the court of public opinion. And that is not an inconsequential victory, at all.
calguy @ 114
No August Recess!
Support Our Troops’ Safety; Support our Country’s Health.
No August Recess!
(Let the Republicans hem and haw about not getting a summer break. Time’s a wastin’.)
Boston1775 @ 117
Excellent work. Will do.
Biodun @ 111
Do you have the link? (It’s a math joke.)
calguy @ 114
the better question;
how on earth can they even think abour recess when they know with no doubt the president will hire more of his corporate fascists into positions that will further harm our republic
perris @ 115
Amen.
I’m sure Brit Hume will make sense of it all tonight on Faux News. But he won’t be wishing Jane a Happy Birthday. Hope we can count on Keith O to wish our girl the happiest day in the FDL year (cept maybe for Scooter’s sentencing)
fern @ 107 & maralenenok @ 89
My parents did not get a TV until I, the youngest of 3, went away to college, It was great for my mental life (though there were other places to watch).
I no longer have the fortitude to do without. There’s C-SPAN for my mind, and the junk I watch to wind down in the evening. Plus Daily Show &, if I can stay awake, Colbert Report.
And I was way too busy on Wall St. when my son was growing up to do without the electric babysitter.
I’m not proud of it, but there it is.
BigMitch @ 118
Big Mitch I signed up with Impeach Bush in 2003. There is nothing that I would like to see happen more for the good of the country than for Bush and Cheney to be impeached. Now how do you get those 10 Rebublican senators to sign on?
Thanks TexB :)
Diane @ 124
well, if anyone knows David Shuster’s number…
Fern @ 107
Well, it is an excellent blog. Usually I catch up on two months of it at a time. Back when I had it in my bookmarks I clicked on it all the time even when I knew it wouldn’t be updated.
Boston1775 @ 117
I sent an email to the PBS Ombudsman. Others can do the same here http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/feedback.html
BigMitch @ 118
It cannot be denied nor understated that the MSM is providing serious CYA for these thugs.
There are some arrows we have in our quiver. We have Dubya and Cheney’s abysmal approval ratings (which reflect actual public opinion) and we have the truth which is becoming glaringly obvious.
looseheadprop @ 53
Theydon’t think they are sinking. They are a synchronized swim team…
BigMitch @ 121:
The limerick itself appeared in Leonardo Journal. The limerick I linked to above is from wiki.
WH at 54: Simply put, GWB is a con man. All con men are likeable, otherwise they couldn’t pull it off. If GWB wasn’t the son of the 41st president, just some other anonymous rich kid, he would be selling oil and gas limited partnerships to dad’s wealthy friends and otherwise ripping off the public. Instead he rose to this level, for which we are all suffering.
Oh, the NY Times inserted an interesting bit of contempt history into its article on today’s proceedings:
I had totally forgotten about that!
OT
I have the terrorism hearing on in the background, but not listening carefully. At one point, some questioner pointed out that the problem was fundamentally a hearts & minds one (cleverly contexted by positing what would happen if we kill all the ones who are alive today). The answer was: Karen Hughs’ operation. I didn’t hear any titters, let alone guffaws.
spurious @ 123
Jeepers Perris, you mean you’re not concerned about crooked refs in the NBA? *g*
great post and ITA.
eCAHNomics @ 130
Thanks. I forgot to say that she also suggested emailing as well as calling.
Breathtaking GOP Mendacity…
based on NOLA they can’t mend a city either.
DOJ Multi-Tasking
Jane, Have the happiest birthday and again thanks for all you do. Peace, bluejeansntshirt
correction:
synchronized
swimsink team.eCAHNomics @ 130
done
Woodhall Hollow @ 91
We have been looking at this stuff today with interest.
A popular limerick is often associated with this design which reads,
“A mathematician confided
That a Möbius band is one-sided,
And you’ll get quite a laugh,
If you cut one in half,
For it stays in one piece when divided”
BigMitch @ 121
Biodun @ 133
It’s a math joke!!
When a mobious strip is cut in half, it results in a chain with two links
jim o’connor @ 134
I agree, but I maintain that Dubya is a dummy. If one is incurious and doesn’t read (can’t read?), how can one be considered to be smart in any real sense?
How slick must a con man be, if one’s family name, connections and office staff do all the heavy lifting?
This intellectual lightweight went to Asia and chose to eat at an Outback Steak House and Condi and everybody had to eat there with the dunce.
Someone at TPM mentioned that Jeffrey Taylor, interim USA for D.C. (and the USA who would be the one to enforce contempt of Congress, should same be voted by the entire House) has a term that expires on September 13, 2007.
I wonder if this figures in the House Democrats timetable?
The AP is reporting….
“A senior Democratic official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the House itself likely would take up the citations after Congress’ August recess. The official declined to speak on the record because no date had been set for the House vote.”
This is so wrong. They should cancel the recess, but at a minimum, hold the vote on Monday.
One step forward, ten steps back.
Time to act. Here’s the plan.
Tomorrow, a friend and I begin a march from Connecticut to Washington, D.C.
The next day, we each recruit 1 other person to join us. Makes 4.
Day after, the 4 of us each recruits 1 other. Makes 8.
We keep marching and repeating the pattern.
By day 10, there are 1,024 of us.
By day 15, 32,768 of us.
By day 20, 1,048,576 of us.
The House leadership better hope the march ends at day 20, when the shouting and chanting is at a decibel level that merely disrupts all business and government activity in D.C.
If the march continues its pattern until day 25 (33,554,432), the tide is irresistable. We’ve got a new government.
By day 30…well, you get the idea.
Anyone for a walk?
ifthethunderdontgetya @ 148
Who would be acting? And what is his/her record/politics?
BigMitch:
You got me! I have only freshman college math, which I had to take to graduate. I actually learned about Mobius strip from Jacques Lacan, the French psychoanalyst.
Jonathan @ 150
If you push the wheelchair, I’ll come along. Walking limited to a block or two.
What’s tying me up into a Moebius strip is that all the crap that Bushco has thrown all over the US and world would not be tolerated AT ALL by the GOP if it were conducted by a Dem.
I so enjoyed watching Abu sputter when asked if the interogation techniques he condoned for detainees would be acceptable if done to US citizens abroad. Well, f*cking DUH!
Would these peabrained Reps tolerate an exployee of Clinton blowing them off? would they tolerate ME blowing them off? what f*cking gives with these guys? Are they that f*ing stupid??? Blind??? Selfish???
Sorry for the rant, but I just cannot take another day of BS off these guys. Have they forgotten what it means to be an AMERICAN?
Jonathan @ 150
let me know when you get to Baltimore.
Colleen a daily Luker @ 144
I wrote above messed up the blockquote
EllenG @ 149
Time to man the phones.
Henry Kissinger in talks with Putin
Last week Henry Kissinger led a delegation of US political big-hitters on an extremely low-profile mission to Russia, where they met with Vladimir Putin and an equally matched Russian delegation – led by former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov – to discuss some of the more pressing issues in US-Russia relations.
Make no mistake about it – this was a serious, high level meeting. Just take a look at this list of delegates:
http://www.siberianlight.net/2…..ith-putin/
BigMitch @ 23
It shares that property with other closed things, like Republican minds.
BC
BigMitch is of course correct. A true mobious strip is a two dimensional object that has only one side. It’s three dimensional analog is the Klein Bottle which has no inside surface.
BigMitch @ 146
Are you sure that’s right? I just made one, cut it in half lengthwise, and got one whole strip with (I think) one full twist.
I did laugh at your joke, though.
Happy Birthday, Jane! It’s gonna be a busy year, and a great one. :D
Jonathan @ 150
Another math joke? I like it. If I weren’t in CA I’d take you up on it.
Hi colleen. Glad you delurked!
Stephen Parrish, CPA @ 66
Just read the memo. Are we to assume that the last clause was added without Abu’s knowledge? That it wasn’t there when he signed it?
eCAHNomics @ 151
Jeffrey A. Taylor.
From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Taylor served as majority counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee where he advised Chairman Orrin Hatch and drafted provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.[2]
Which makes me mighty suspicious of Mr. Taylor, right there.
Quiz: Who said the following:
drumroll please… that would be Rep. James F. Sensenbrenner (R- Hypocrisy)!
Math jokes.b>
maralenenok @ 161
Oooh, I see, I have to cut it in half twice.
Colleen a daily Luker @ 156
We all do it. Welcome! Once de-lurked…
Happy Birthday Beautiful Jane!
(In case anyone missed it, bbc4 report on Prescott Bush)
Ish @ 167
Good one, let’s throw their words back in their stupid faces. A lot.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 158
Not to belittle your comment, but I find it interesting that a former congressman Sam Nunn and the CEO of Chevron attended. Fascinating that oil companies are so heavily entwined in American political maneuverings. Heckuva job Bushco.
P J Evans @ 112
Hurrah for the FDL knitters!
You have to be sucking hard for oxygen in a vapor lock for an awfully long time in order for this to make any sense.
It appears that a considerable portion of America is short on oxygen, and the worst oxygen deficit appears to be located in Washington, DC.
maralenenok @ 169
You just have to cut it once down the middle.
There is some info here:
The Möbius Strip
noen @ 176
I think this is the first birthday party I’ve been to with a math theme other than the person’s age! We serving cake or Pi? ;)
Happy Birthday to Jane!!
noen @ 160
I think any implication that the rhetoric we saw on display today is three dimensional should be avoided.
“limits” tells us nothing ever touches anything. George Bush is not the teflon prez, but he seems to be the asymptote president.
Jonathan @ 150
By day 28, we’ve run out of people.
By day 33, we’ll have to change operating systems.
Okay Biodun, now I’ve been annoying my husband with math jokes for the last 15 minutes…and he’s not half as amused as I am.
I’m feeling particularly nerd like right now.
Actually, by day 29 we run out of Americans. Oops. Curse this metal brain!
Cujo359 @ 180
Okay, now you definitely NEED to follow Biodun’s link and go past the definitions to find some pretty good math humor.
Also I liked your 3-D comment in reference to the R’s.
Other Pat @ 119
This was a great note and I’ve plagiarized it shamelessly.
However, I am wondering if suspending the August recess is really an option. An congressional scholars know? Here is what I know:
1) If the House and the Senate can’t agree on when to go into recess the prezident get’s to decide.
2) The Senate requires 2/3 for any rules change and we know the reThugs want a recess.
So would canceling the recess require a rules change in the Senate. Anyone know?
ifthethunderdontgetya @ 166
Yep. So it wouldn’t make sense to wait for him to step in. Let’s go NOW.
noen @ 176
Unless I need even more sleep than I think, that link actually says I have to cut it twice:
The first cut gives you one band, the second cut gives you two linked bands. If you cut each of those two linked bands again, you get four bands. It’s pretty awesome. I want to try it with a wider strip of paper to see how many times I can do that.
do-si-do @ 177
I propose cake. Each gets pi servings.
hackworth @ 173
Just another specific example of who’s really making U.S. foreign policy.
Could U.S. relations with Russia be more f’d up? I guess there’s no reason to think Russia would be any different from any other country, but it is really amazing to go down the list of countries & observe the detrioration in U.S. relations under W.
Even China. I read that on Paulson’s last visit, he walked out of a presser before his Chinese counterpart showed up, a huge faux pas there. And since Paulson’s a vaunted China expert, he did it deliberately. I used to think he was one of the adults in the Admin, but not after that. (things come undone, if you’re online, please note.)
Oklahoma kiddo @ 179
I prefer to think of him as the Drunkard’s Walk President. At least in this case, there’s hope karma will eventually happen.
On my less optimistic days I agree with the asymptote metaphor, however.
I e-mailed Feinstein this morning and told her it was time to move on impeachment, have not had time to get to the other judiciary but I will.
Is all of Congress in on this crap or what. Where is the inherent contempt charge why do we have to wait till Aug for a full vote? The big BS House at its finest.
I’m beginning to think that Pelosi and Reid were not the best choices…
Shiff sounded pretty powerful. It was correct and good to hear. On the Youtube video–who are the guys talking and laughing while Shiff was speaking? Incrdibly disrepectful. Does this kind of thing happen a lot in Congress? Like kids cutting up in class.
Happy Birthday Jane!!!!
The Republicans are correct. There is nothing to see here, move along now. No criminal violations of 18 USC 606 (use of federal prosecutors for partisan purposes to effect the outcome of elections). No criminal violations of 18 USC 1505 and 1512, by lying to Congress that the White House was involved/not involved. Nothing to see here, move along now. Please return to your previously scheduled childrens programming, and leave running the government to the adults.
noen @ 160
A mathematician named Klein
Thought the Mobius band was divine
Said he: If you glue
The edges of two
You’ll get a weird bottle like mine.
myers @ 100
Duck Soup is one of my all time fav movies. The parody and snark is so good you always miss half of it while even smiling, much less laughing. That requires repeated viewings . . . good call. *G*