Eureka Springs!

hi ES

My first Eureka Springs thread…

ES

tne super bowl’s on my mind but peope don’t wanna talk about it and i need to get to bed.

Heh, we never you see you up this late, Biodun…!

sleep well.

What’s on my mind? Just how great FDL is, and how I’ve made lotsa nice friends here since I first came here in June 2006… Some I’ve met IRL, as we used to say in Web 1.0…

thanks Eureka, i’ve loved that song for a while now.

*ndfg waves at Biodun* my you’re up late!

Sorry ES, but i’m EPUing this for cinnamon ape: TRex is over at the treehouse these days. If we’re lucky he’ll direct his attention to Atlas this week

Thrilled to see you here.

You’re right there. But we now live in different times…*g* (of course HI for you, you guys are still in late afternoon, eh?)

I’m over there too doing a news post on Saturdays.

speaking of meetups

bear creek firepups meet up
sunday march 2
starting at 1pm
ending by 6pm

central texas meetup is feb 16 mid afternoon in austin.

Hey ES and Biodun

NIce!
See you then!

Well in the spirit of ES’s song here is one I feel says a lot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlGLuRlhW3c

*ndfg waves at Biodun* my you’re up late!

I usually am. Just not at FDL…*g* Usually get to bed around 1:AM CT, sometimes as late as 3 AM CT…

This is what’s on my mind.
Obama draws 5,600 in Santa Fe, NM.
That is just mind-blowing.

Hey there…

that’s right, our Betsy has done several great posts – Digging through the Trash, and we hope it becomes a regular feature.

snack time

Well well.. we have a daytime celebrity with us this evening. Great post earlier today, Biodun.

Be there unless comes in town.. but now that you have set a date I will work to make sure there will be no conflicts…. gotta make that chili and apple pie ya know!

any non sports themed food tex?

i’m not much of a football fan but i have no objection whatsoever to football cupcakes. Yum! Thanks, betsy.

Great cupcakes!

house-shaped cake for suzanne

ct, we’ve been scratching our heads backstage trying to figure out why that link would not work

for now, we suggest you embedd any du links – they do work when embedded but not when cut and pasted for some strange reason

Thanks, my friend. But please don’t think of me as a celebrity. I’m just a regular fella…*g* As for daytime, see my 18…

Does anyone have any polling data on a McCain-Obama matchup in the general?

Greetings, Late Late Nite folks.

I just got home from the second hockey game I’ve ever seen in my life.

But I’m not going to talk about that here!

Forgot “FAMILY” comes in town…

thank you (((tex))) queen of snack

my two 20-something daughters were among the approx 20,000 that showed up in Minneapolis today for Obama. Youngest daughter (21) has been a supporter/volunteer since he announced candidacy.

My my. So things get heavy (or deep) in night threads? *g*

Sorry, Bio. Kind of a carryover from the last one…McCain scares me, because I think he’ll be tough to beat.

Re: Superbowl:

Mr. Redd will be watching it. Christy implied that on a thread earlier in the week. Said she walked around the block pissed during the Mukasey hearing instead of throwing something at the teevee, which Mr. Redd wouldn’t have appreciated given the upcoming Superbowl…

Biodun, things get very deep in Late Late night, which is why I recommend hip waders. *g*

sometimes ya gotta get weedy to get down to the good stuff

Full re-breather unit also helps at times

Yeah I missed that. Was otherwise occupied. And my 17-year-old son who will be 18 in April is hoping to have a chance to vote for Obama in general. Doesn’t surprise me, since he looks like Obama, without going into details…

Per an earlier-today post by Phoenix Woman:

The latest Rasmussen head-to-heads now show McCain beating Obama by six and Clinton by eight. Other polls show similar results. The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, conducted about a week ago, has McCain beating Hillary Clinton by 2 points, 46%-44%. This is a three point improvement for McCain, and a 3 percent dip for Clinton. Obama ties McCain at 42%, after having led him by 6 in the previous poll. And in the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted two weeks ago, McCain beats Clinton by 3, 50% to 47% — even though Clinton had led him by 6 in the previous poll. Obama loses to McCain by 5, even though he had led by 3 in the previous poll.

The latest set of national h-2-h polls from RCP are, when averaged out, slightly kinder to the Dems as they include the Dem-friendly LAT and CNN polls, but still show McCain edging both Hillary and Obama.

Hey Suzanne…

PW’s post this morning probably has what you are looking for.

baby girl (19) called me last night to say she was voting for mccain because she (sob) likes his war policy.

i’m blaming her father.

Thanks wigwam. That’s exactly what I’m talking about.

I Got A Name

Happy to help, doood!

nephew is voting Obama. doesn’t like the clintons and would never live it down in this family if he even considered voting repub. this is his 2nd pres election.

Let me go further. The fact that McCain is outpolling both Obama and Clinton nationally scares the shit out of me.

Wow, folks, thanks for the PW link.

We’ve talked about this. Yep.

Speaking of FDL meetups… We need to have one of these again soon for MN. Some of us have had two. Tonight after my thread I had dinner with a DFLer, John Forde (who has had emptywheel live on his show), and we talked about having a Twin Cities meetup soon.

Don’t tell Pam at Atlas Shruggs, she’ll have fodder for a new smear on Obama.

-G

yup,, GOPers on Arkansas blogs are calling themselves Progressive Republicans for supporting McCain.

GAK. my condolences on baby girl’s choice suze. My kids’ dad is for McCain, they give him mega shit about it. *ndfg pats self on back*

Biodun, my youngest & my mom are both for Obama, tho they both said they will cheerfully support anyone not a Rethug. Errm, except of course if Ron Paul goes independent. They despise him as well.

i’d be up for an upper midwest FDL meetup, just let me know.

Ironic…while the right-wing is screaming that McCain is destroying the Republican Party, he might actually be the one to save it.

Ironic…but bad for the country.

McCain has always scared me. He has his war/POW record, and this incomprehensible ability to create the impression that he is a “maverick” and an “independent” despite his record of rubber-stamping most of what Bush has tried to get away with. If he gets the nomination, the Democrats will have to pay special attention to countering these factors.

time to get some sleep.

night all

Night, TexBetsy.

Time to dig up old records on McCain and the Keating five.

g’night TexBetsy, sending you wishes for painfree sleep.

pain free sleep wishes tex (hand on monitor)

Yep, me as well…goodnight, all. The best of all possible tomorrows to you all.

g’nite rond

thanks y’all. your wishes did the trick last night :)

Another daytimer at night? Aren’t you in NH? My my. How many hours do you sleep in 24 hours? (Note that I didn’t say “at night” since I recognize that in globalization, work is dispersed 24/7, ‘coz someone’s always awake somewhere in the world, to twist Trueman’s words of wisdom “It’s always noon somewhere in the world”)…

news update, after Obama rally today, oldest daughter just signed up as an Obama supporter on facebook. Now both kids plus my mom are Obama supporters. Sigh. Me … first Gore, then Dodd, then Edwards. I do not have good luck with men.

btw, I love facebook, i can keep track of my kids *g* (don’t tell them!)

or else took a 5 1/2 hour nap this afternoon (like me)

Sleep tight, as they say…

I am kind of all over the map as far as time on FDL.

But, now that the Bowflex infomercials are on, time is nigh.

-G

ES—those are some mighty powerful images to go along with some mighty fine Colin Meloy.

Nice find.

McCain is going to have a touhger time once the media is compelled to do some, some due diligence.

Don’t forget, Bob Dole was a WWII vet with injuries and he suffered a harsh defeat at the polls.

I am not pooh-poohing McCain in the least, but he’s got lots of liabilities to go along with his finer points.

-G

I missed the earlier discussion of the general election polls, but I think it’s too early for those to be terribly meaningful. We’ll know more after the first debate between the nominees. No doubt McCain is the toughest to beat, though.

Big problem is that the press loves and adores McCain. That’s why Clinton’s negatives make me nervous.

btw, I love facebook, i can keep track of my kids *g* (don’t tell them!)

Me too! My 19-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son are on there as my friends. I check in on what they’re up to maybe once a month. I figure if they can tell the world then they might as well tell me…*g* My daughter is the only one who’s curious about how often I do that. Well, they did accept my Facebook friend request. Is it a great techie world or not?

ct, we’ve been scratching our heads backstage trying to figure out why that link would not work

for now, we suggest you embedd any du links – they do work when embedded but not when cut and pasted for some strange reason

Wilco, Suz, thanx! I was over at the treehouse chatting with Persi, earlier…

Hillary is no match for McCain when it comes to causing orgasms among the imperalists and/or to scaring the bejezus out of the pants-pissers who adore their courage.

Similarly, Obama cannot out-bipartisam McCain, who has serious bipartisan credentials.

I don’t like McCain, but I respect the fact that he is a dangerous adversary, and the work-a-day press loves him.

tell persi next time ya see her, i’ve got bridesmaid dress picture but she’s gotta come here to see it

Thanks.. I had to watch it a few times just to get the full impact of the kids. Mighty power stuff.. I hope Colin sees it someday.

I am too. But not on FDL. Sometimes I deal with clients in Europe or Southeast Asia, so I have to up to engage different time-zones… Kinda fun, but can be exhausting, especially for an old fogey like me…

Heh, make her jump back into the Lake, eh? ;-)

bear creek on the west coast?

Tweety has been sizing up McCain for a new codpiece since July ‘07.

hehehehehehehe

In the redwoods

hi Biodun, and all who are still here. sweet dreams to TexasB and other sleepy heads. it’s early morning here in Dresden. a jet overhead leaves a vapor trail shining in the sun which has brightened the sky but hasn’t cleared the horizon. i’m still not over the defeats of the week but a few hours in bed helped.

i’d rather McCain look good now than later. five or ten points in a poll in February is like five or ten points in a basketball game at the beginning of the third quarter. a lot can change between now and late October. McCain looks like he may get the Repub nomination.

Obama and Hillary aren’t sorted out yet. until it’s clear who the Democratic nominee will be we won’t get good polling data so don’t let polls rattle your cage. do we have work to do? we always have. the polls are a good wakeup call. McCain will probably be hard to beat. i felt that was true weeks ago. it’s a good thing he got our attention now. for months some people around here have been talking like a Democratic victory in November is almost a foregone conclusion. well? smell the coffee. we’ve got a bar fight on our hands and it will start up real soon.

my little cottage by the creek in the redwoods above santa cruz, mary mcc

Hey! I think I have been there.

Ron Paul ended up third in Maine with 19% of the vote.

His book is selling third best on Amazon.com.

Rudy Giuliani freely admits that Ron Paul won all the debates.

Hang in there folks. Ron Paul, our candidate of quality, is doing just fine.

Sure glad that some are taking McCain serious….

Wave to RGB…. Elmore says he is really tired of the Super Bowl…

McCain in a dangerous maniac. But I feel that when he is contrasted with
our candidate his lack of stability will shine through. Our candidate will have to push the bastard towards a cliff and then let him do the jumping.

yes you have – you have the token seal of approval

Rudy Giuliani freely admits that Ron Paul won all the debates.

Not sure I’d mention this as a selling point…

i’m probably a close second behind elmore in my dislike of the superbowl, katymine

Superbowl-b. . .o . . r . . i . . n . . g……..

TLM, have a bite chocolate pecan brownies

Ya but he has to work it tomorrow….. at least his part is the talking heads shows…. in snotsdale …

Suzanne,
Is it blowing like a mother over your way?

i’ll be working it too – just in a different fashion backstage katymine (groaning) why on earth all these sports fans start off nice chatting but then devolve into my dick is bigger than yours contests is totally beyond my understanding.

TLM, have a bite chocolate pecan brownies

Bribes… I wonder what deviousness Margot is up to!

raining like one

am hoping the little valley protects me some from the winds – winds plus wet ground plus big trees usually means i lose power at some point

i’ll be working it too – just in a different fashion backstage katymine (groaning) why on earth all these sports fans start off nice chatting but then devolve into my dick is bigger than yours contests is totally beyond my understanding.

*clears throat*
Really?

IMHO, McCain is vulnerable on his flip-flopping on all of the key social-conservative issues. That won’t cost him fundamentalist support, which he can buy with a promise of the next Supreme Court appointee, who will kill Roe v. Wade. But it will make the rest of the country realize what a pandering, flip-flopping, deceitful jackass he really is.

The other thing is his militarist/imperialist stance on foreign policy, which is 180 degrees out of phase with the U.S. voters.

I, personally, like big dicks.

*waiting for camels and/or clowns*

Male primate bondage rituals. Okay?

Guys? This thread just became a foul-mouthed FemBlog hen party. Best strap on our pads and helmets!

Good night all good firepups I am calling it an early night…. see ya all at the next late late late late night at the Lake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sjSHazjrWg

g’nite nahant

Bribes!~
It’s a nice plate of brownies, that’s all.

Male primate bondage with camels and/or clowns rituals. Okay?

See, it’s part of the ritualistic courtship process, it’s human nature… ;-)

male primates with big dicks.

Hmmm… Persi said she’d pop in…

nite nahant!

What do you think the go-round between Kennedy and Clinton was? Who has the bigger …

Kennedy called bullshit on Clinton.

I think the Clintons did less than nothing to help America, the D party, and Kerry in ‘04.. which helped Bush.. and folks like Kennedy are not going to forget it.

I wish Edwards was still in the race. I vacillate between Obama and Clinton, whereas I felt comfortable with Edwards.

Super Tuesday is heaven for political junkies like me. I can’t wait to watch the results pour in.

I responded to that post by Phoenix Woman pointing out the problems with Rasmussen’s methodology (basically ignoring the vast differentials in Democratic registration (4:1 in California over the last year) and Primary turnouts. They assume that republicans will actually be more likely to turn out in high numbers based upon historical patterns and prior voting records. So they suppress the Democratic turnout. Rassmussen and other polls have been consistantly wrong in their predictions of turnout and final results during this campaign.

As well Phoenix Woman’s post was attempting somehow to support the fact that Edwards was the best candidate against McCain. But the most recent Diageo Poll, the last to actually have Edwards, Clinton, and Obama in head-to-head match-ups vs. McCain (January 11-13, 2008) showed him 8 points behind McCain. Obama and Clinton were in a statistical tie with McCain. That so-called Edwards advantage had dissipated by the first Primaries.

All these match-ups ignore the issue of turnout. It also ignores the fact that when queried about which party the respondent will support in the Presidential race a generic Democrat leads by some 15%. That essential is what the undecided vote is. So the Republicans have to win almost all the remaining Undecideds to push McCain to a victory. The Democrats haven’t begun to campaign against the Republican nominee as yet…but the Republicans have targetted Hillary.

Thus the facts of McCain’s record haven’t been blemished as yet by any but his opponents – who make McCain appear to be a “liberal”. No wonder he has relatively high approval ratings…people think, erroneously, that he supports Choice, and even (according to exit polls of his supporters) opposes the war in Iraq. Actually he may be supported by Republicans who see him as the least worse of those presented to them…who don’t want to throw their party over to the Romney and Huckabee crowd in perpetuity.

thanks, ct

As soon as Bill Clinton got into the White House, he caved on promising to allow gays to serve openly in the military. I was so disgusted and turned off by that. He didn’t even try to fight! I expect more of the same from Hillary.

Obama is new to me, so I guess I have more “hope” with him. I wasn’t really excited by any of the candidates.

No Prob! I shall bid ya’ll another fond adieu! Aloha Oe!!!

Huge rainstorm system moving through Northern California at the moment, minor flooding advisory in the North Bay. Pissing down in Oakland for a while now.

Going any better in Hilo Town, CT?

tis a tough year to find a candidate to like

The wisdom of Karl Rove:

But that’s not to say that the Reagan legacy is exhausted. Ronald Reagan’s legacy was not simply that he was “a campaigner and orator of uncommon skill,” as Don Campbell argued last week in USA Today. President Reagan’s gifts to the Republican Party were ideas: growing the economy through tax cuts, limiting government’s size, forcefully confronting totalitarian threats, making human rights a centerpiece of America’s foreign policy, respecting unborn human life, empowering the individual with more freedom. Those ideas endure. They give Republicans a philosophical foundation on which to build. The Reagan coalition has a natural desire to stick together. Fiscal, defense and values conservatives have more in common with each other than with any major element of the Democratic Party’s leadership.

Democrats have a similar philosophical storehouse in the ideas of FDR and LBJ. Both expanded the size and scope of the federal government and saw it in almost an entirely positive light: as an agent of economic redistribution from the rich to the less affluent, as a provider to the poor and the disabled and as an enforcer of equal rights and equal justice. The Democratic Party has two challenges. One is that the modern economy has led voters to prefer markets, decentralization and consumer choice far more than centralized control by government and the substitution of “expert” decisions for those of the individual. The other challenge is that many in that party mistake the “Third Way” tactics of the Clinton years for a substantive approach to governing. Triangulation—making yourself look good at the expense of allies and adversaries in both parties—is lousy for providing coherent answers to modern issues.

IMHO, both Democratic frontrunners make the mistake I’ve highlighted.

Sunday Talk

Scroll down to see three great pictures of Edwards & family…. one with Edwards sweaty, dirty and doing what he believes…. helping other people.

g’nite ct

hmmm, its pouring up here at about .45″/hour rate – poor little token got soaked going about doing his part to save the redwoods a little while ago

Huckabee’s wife visited Anchorage today. One of Romney’s sons was up here. Ron Paul did a call-in to supporters. Obama called the Anchorage Daily News this morning. And that’s by far the most attention this state has EVER gotten the first week of February of a general election year.

‘Night CT, stay dry, appease Pele, and sweet dreams.

wow

But the most recent Diageo Poll, the last to actually have Edwards, Clinton, and Obama in head-to-head match-ups vs. McCain (January 11-13, 2008) showed him 8 points behind McCain. Obama and Clinton were in a statistical tie with McCain.

San Diego is very atypical. It’s far to the right. And it’s a Navy town, with McCain as a naval hero. That poll has to be dismissed as abberant data.

NWS radar loop of sf bay area

I’m here Mr T, just catching up on commments.

minus 14 F, calm. Incredibly beautiful sunset this evening – about an hour later than it was a few weeks ago. Listening to Sir Thomas Beecham conduct Richard Strauss’ “Ein Heldenleben.” My old cassette player fixed itself somehow, so I’m listening to some performances I haven’t heard in about eight years or more this weekend.

Yeah, rather spectacular. You stay intact up there, hear?

This just announced on an AR blog:

Chelsea Clinton will be watching the Super Bowl at George’s in Fayetteville tomorrow. < <<br />
Yes, here’s the E-mail that most area Demos received:

“Please join
Chelsea Clinton

for a Super Bowl Watch Party in Northwest Arkansas!

Sunday, February 3

George’s Majestic Lounge
519 W. Dickson Street
Fayetteville

Doors open 4:00 pm
Kickoff 5:18 pm

Food & beverages available for purchase

No RSVP necessary

Please bring other Hillary supporters!
All ages welcome!

For more information, please contact Jamie Oliver at 501-454-1260″

To which I replied..

Good grief.. What a nightmare.. Watching the Super Tureen with future Junior Leaguers and the young daughter of the woman who is ready to be the next war criminal on day one.. I would rather be drugged and put in a straight jacket on wet floor hooked to the nearest electric socket with a soundtrack loop of Rudy repeating 9-11 9-11 9-11.

sounds like a perfect evening, et, except for that minus 14F thingie

Salon did a bit on McCain’s Pro-Life positions and he’s totally a flip-flopper. He’s said that Roe vs. Wade is “a deeply flawed decision” and would appoint Supreme Court Justices that would “re-examine it”…while at other times he has said that he opposes “repealing it”. He was in favor of repealing the ban on Federal stem-cell funding…I wonder if he’s changed his views on that recently.

Exit polls showed his supporters in the NH Primary were predominantly pro-Choice and opposed to the Iraq War. It seems that something isn’t getting through to his Republican supporters when you see results like that.

Hi Suzanne, evening firepups. Suzanne, CTuttle led me here with a trail of letters that spell out ‘bridesmaid dresses’. Oh yeah, I want to see the bridesmaid dresses!

persi.. i’ve been saving it for ya. do ya remember what the dress looks like? here’s the bridesmaid dress and color is the one they chose.

I cooked a special dinner for Ms ET this evening:

Ahi tartare on Granny Smith apples – Patricia Yeo recipe

Sea scallop fettucini with homemade red bell pepper sauce on homemade spinach and basil noodles – my recipe

2004 Z Cuvée, Estate Bottled Santa Ynez Valley – right down the wet, slippery road from you, Suz…

Being Ronald Reagan

Now here is a great campaign poster against McCain…
Nothing like your crazy neighbor

dang, now i’m hungry again et (sigh) i’m so tired of the taste of my cooking

Heading off to bed….. stay safe and dry… Nite all

persi!
It’s so good to see you!

g’nite katymine – 24 from now, it will be all over :)

The DIAGEO (not San Diego) poll is a nationwide poll. It’s the LAST poll that gives any sort of data on a potential Edwards vs. McCain match-up. In mid-January Edwards would have lost to McCain. Edwards lost considerable edge vs. McCain since 2007 in that poll in which he previously did quite well, and was the frequent source of individuals stating that McCain was the best candidate against McCain.

Hillary and Obama were it a statistical tie with McCain in that same mid-January.

That’s been supported by most other major polls since.
Polling Report

hiya, persiflage!

Na…. it will be all over when the last TeeVee truck leaves the compound which will be Monday afternoon… THEN it will be all over…. really tired of all the clebs parading around and the news going wacko… give me a break..

Oops! My bad.

ET, that sounded yummy.
I was half asleep last night when you posted some fundraising figures.
i was kind of disappointed your lady friend had not jumped farther ahead.
Really troubling was how much the R candidate had on hand.
thoughts?

hey busted

Howie and Ricki Lee have a brilliant new video just for Nancy Pelosi that will knock your socks off.

http://downwithtyranny.blogspo…..nancy.html

Hi Suze.

Oh Suzanne, they’re lovely and they’ll look great with the bridal dress. The colour is beautiful, the style simple but elegant. And what, pray tell, is the mother of the bride planning to wear?

here is that link for ya, npb

(sigh) i am forbidden to wear tie dye

she says she is taking me to find my dress the beginning of april – she has everything scheduled and plotted as to who does what when and where

Hi Margot, ET, it’s good to see you too. I lurk here a lot but things move a little too fast for me to keep up. Then Suzanne lured me out with promises of bridesmaid dresses. I’m a sucker for this wedding.

HEE HEE, killin’ ya, aint it?

Bless you Suz….blushing bright-red embarrassment.

persi, i’m thinking a dress similar in style (vneck) but with a little jacket thingie to cover my batwinged arms. perhaps a metallic pewter with beading

watch it busted or i’ll ask ya to be my escort and make ya get a tux

Thoughts? – I’m working on that.

Diane Benson’s campaign isn’t behind where we thought we’d be. We have to raise A LOT OF MONEY SOON to jump into recognition territory by people like Emily’s List and other feminist groups. Diane’s record on civil rights and women’s rights is among the best in the USA, and some of the tribes – especially in the lower 48 – would like to finally see a Native American woman elected to Congress for the first time in the history of our nation.

As far as Gabrielle’s fundraising vs. Young’s goes – she has some fairly good creds in the commercial fishing community, and a lot of her money is coming from that sector.

Omitting tie-die still leaves you a whole palette of colours to choose from. Still, I see she’s taking you to do the dress-shopping, just to make sure you don’t wander off the straightened arrow.

persi, she’s turned into a real stickler about the dress i’m wearing. i’m gonna end up looking like a society matron, i can just forking tell. bet she tells me i gotta wear makeup too.

Squeak!

I have followed this out of the corner of my eye as you have posted on it here and there.
it certainly looks to me like Dianne would be an excellent choice.
I did notice there was only one R on that list last night.
It would be great to see Dianne kick some butt.

Eureka Springs you made my evening with the video of the kids. Good to have our thoughts brought back to them. How incedibly incompassionate Thr republicans have been to them. The years of hardships they have endured under SaAdamm who our CIA allied with. The destruction of a secular society that was moving women’s issues forward to a degree not so much in the other ME countries. All they have ever has is oppression.
That all could have changed had we not invaded and occupied on and on…
The kids… Then earlier Mahatma Ghandi was admired for his courage against the Brits…no fear…and compassion…compassion…compassion Thanks for keeping me focused on the prise ….PEACE

i really was hoping this place wudda sold by now and i cudda gone to mexico with some $ and got my teeth fixed for the wedding after moving. i don’t want my lack of dental insurance teeth to mess up her wedding pictures but you know what they say about good intentions and the best of plans…

‘lo everyone.

Woke up today with the local bug that’s got my store dispensing antibiotics like its going out of style again. Sore throat, chest congestion and no really too much ability to think straight. *yawns* Gonna make a bit of rice to munch on and then maybe see if i can’t get to sleep again. Probably a bit of tea to help that along as well. Trust me to come down with this on my first weekend off in 6 weeks!

Oh my, batwing arms? We call them bye-bye flaps here. Cause when you go out and wave bye-bye to the family, the bye-bye flaps swing in the breeze.
I like the idea of a metallic, they always look classy. I’m sure you’ll look wonderful whatever you wear, beaming with your mother-of-the-bride happiness.

Crap!

I guess she’s got a bit of a right to be controlling. It’s her wedding afte all. And, even if you end up looking like Mrs Cumberbatch Fossington-Smythe, I’m sure you’ll carry it off with grace.

One million Iraqi children have lost both parents.. according to some accounts.

alias :( :( :( (putting hand on monitor)

persi, yeap. i tease her about being the meddling mother of the bride but really, i just do what she says when she says it. it is her day, not mine.

FOX/Opinion Dynamics Poll. Jan. 30-31, 2008. N=900 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 3. LV = likely voters
JohnMcCain (R)41% HillaryClinton (D) 41% Mike Bloomberg (I) 6% Other/Unsure 12%
Mitt Romney (R)30% HillaryClinton (D)46% Mike Bloomberg (I)8% Other/Unsure 16%
JohnMcCain (R)45% Hillary Clinton (D)44% Other/Unsure10%
MittRomney (R)36% HillaryClinton (D) 50% Other/Unsure 14%
JohnMcCain (R)43% BarackObama (D) 44% Other/Unsure 13%
MittRomney (R)33% BarackObama (D) 51% Other/Unsure 16%

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R). Jan. 20-22, 2008. N=approx. 500 adults nationwide. MoE ± 4.4. RV = registered voters
McCain (R) 46% Clinton (D)44% Neither/Other 4% Unsure 6%
Huckabee (R) 41% Clinton (D)50% Neither/Other 5% Unsure 4%
Romney (R) 36% Clinton (D) 52% Neither/Other 4% Unsure 8%
McCain (R) 42% Obama (D) 42% Neither/Other 4% Unsure 10%
Huckabee (R) 33% Obama (D) 48% Neither/Other 4% Unsure 8%

Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll. Jan. 18-22, 2008. N=approx. 650 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 4.
McCain (R) 42% Clinton (D) 46% Other 5% Unsure 7%
Huckabee (R) 38% Clinton (D) 51% Other 5% Unsure 6%
Romney (R) 39% Clinton (D) 50% Other 5% Unsure 6%
McCain (R) 42% Obama (D) 41% Other 5% Unsure 12%
Huckabee (R) 37% Obama (D) 47% Other 6% Unsure 10%

I think I see a dark horse in the race. That Unsure dude isn’t doing too badly in the polls, 10% and more in some cases, which is pretty good considering Unsure has no ads running, has raised no money and hasn’t visited one primary state. Go President Unsure!

persi, other is running a close second to unsure. is there a difference in their policies? (/s)

persi, my family calls em batwings :)

persi, i’m thinking maybe something like this

Well I gotta admit that this is a lot better than the Atlas Juggs videos
ObamaGirl vs. 9iu11iani 91r1

The REAL reason that Rudi lost Florida!

The bride has quite a good eye for fashion, I think. When I saw what she had chosen, I thought of Grace Kelly.

Suzanne, I don’t really think other has much chance. S/he already has a running mate neither, who contradicts other quite a lot.
Unsure, on the other hand, while hard to pin down on any issue, reflects the confusion in the electorate and is connecting well with those in the State of Bewilderment.

Suzanne, I think that looks lovely. I especially like the lacy jacket, it’s very pretty and it’s something you could wear anytime, to dress up a casual look.

tis a little pricy tho but i’m thinking that is the style i am leaning towards

The price is a bit off-putting. Would you prefer a long dress like that or something shorter? What time of day is the wedding?

tis a late afternoon, sunset kinda wedding and formal attire

Then that dress would be perfect. It sounds like your daughter has a very clear picture of what she wants and how she wants things to be. Which is as it should be. It’s not far off now, is it, just a few months. Now it gets exciting with side serves of frustration and the occasional dash of panic.

she’s got everything done and ordered and paid for. all that is left is for me and her step mom to get our dresses and then for her and mike to get married.

Jesus jumping Christ on a barrel of fishguts!
What a pain I just went through!

Que?

Give it up, Busted

Busted, what happened?

I wish I had that level of organisation. Or maybe I did when I was her age but it’s drifted away now. I don’t really miss it either.

was it the threat of that tux?

I been trying to listen to KPIG for over an hour, nada, the player don’t work.
So I notice it’s powered by Real Player. I’ll just down load that!
Put that on my headstone.

i remember being organized and having a lot of energy when i was young – but that was a long time ago (laughing) i think of it as having mellowed

ya dont’ have to use real player, busted. it works fine in either winamp or windows media player. i just cut and paste the url

I can equate that to kneeling down on broken glass to intensely watch two snails take a liesurely stroll through the park, only to stop halfway through to make mad, passionate love for two hours before stagerring off in different directions!

You’re not the only one. I always have problems connecting.

ouch busted – dare i say that uncle sherman wasn’t there tonight so there was no dirty boogie. martin covered his shift and now the auto dj is playing random tunes in the library.

GRRRRRRR>
My Irrtation meter pegged. Of course you have to turn off your browser while you sit and watch the paint dry.

It’s been lovely chatting with you Suzanne. There are thunderstorms predicted for this evening ahead of 3 days of rain and I’m only halfway through a job in the garden. I want to try and get it finished before it starts raining, or else it will take a week or more to dry out after the rain stops. It’s hard enough for me to get motivated in the first place, let alone start again after the rain’s buggered everything up for me. So, as it darkens a bit outside, I’d best be off. I’ll try and squeak up a bit more in future.

my anti-HRC rant…

enjoy gardening, persi

busted, i just noticed that my old url isn’t working. i’m gonna try to use their new player and see if i can get it to work.

Persi?
Am I mistaken or are you on the other side of the planet?

i got their player to work after i logged in – here’s the site

I was trying right off their homepage.

Yep Busted, I’m on the other side, in the deep deep south of the planet.

Thats not good for Clinton or us. That’s just ugly.

I have been shocked and amazed at the deafening silence in the blogosphere in re this article this week.

You mentioned
as it darkens a bit outside…

It’s one oclock in the morning Pacific time.

time for me to head out. g’nite all

Gnite Suze, I will figeer out this KPIG problemo t’morrow.

nite suzanne

You’re back! somehow can’t get my NYT password to work.

Hold on ET

Late on Sept. 6, 2005, a private plane carrying the Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra touched down in Almaty, a ruggedly picturesque city in southeast Kazakhstan. Several hundred miles to the west a fortune awaited: highly coveted deposits of uranium that could fuel nuclear reactors around the world. And Mr. Giustra was in hot pursuit of an exclusive deal to tap them.

Unlike more established competitors, Mr. Giustra was a newcomer to uranium mining in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic. But what his fledgling company lacked in experience, it made up for in connections. Accompanying Mr. Giustra on his luxuriously appointed MD-87 jet that day was a former president of the United States, Bill Clinton.

snip

NY TIMES

By JO BECKER and DON VAN NATTA Jr.

Thanks Busted.. I just left the same link on ET’s blog in case he missed it here.

oh no!

ROFL

This is the kind of shit that has me rolling my eyes like a wild mare when it comes to HRC.
No fucking different than BushCo when it comes to shady deals.

Seriously.. I have been trying to find decent scrutiny of the NYT article all week. Media Matters covered a few errors re the Mr. Giustra’s history in that region.. But no mention of Clinton or uranium dealing etc.

Oh yeah, The best part.

Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton’s charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month.

Busted, it’s 6.22pm here on the Western side of Australia. With daylight saving, it won’t get dark until about 9.

Clinton’s foundation has raked in enormous amounts of anonymous money. On top of it all The Clinton School has a guest speaking list as extreme as any neo con think tank.. Yoo, Rove, Delay, Griffin.. etc. etc. It’s a long horrific list.

Crikey!
You are on the south side!
G’Day Mate!

Lol.
Just teasin a little.

feelin’ better now, are ya, bkn?

I still think we need to be strategizing on how to take 30 more seats in the US House and 4 more in the Senate, than wasting out time on American Idol, the every-four-year Version.

ES,

Link, please – for the caucuses.

What I don’t understand, is how does giving 30 million to charity make him a bad guy.

I agree the access he obtained via Bill is unfair…. ….but since when is life fair?

South side? I like that. I usually say ‘in the very deep south’.

It’s the Ick factor.

It just doesn’t pass the smell test, y’know?

ET – You mean something like this?

That way they might think Chicago instead of Shreveport, Yes?

Maybe that came out wrong. The access to the Kazakh government seems shady as hell. But when compared to the Halliburtons and the Blackwaters…

At least charity got 30 million… …that has to help the ick factor just a little…

You are right , of course.
It’s just that ANY deal, having money like that floating around ,makes the spidey senses tingle when it comes to business or politics.

soulful loving encore

sweet dreams y’all

Busted, you’re right. As soon as I think South Side, the words ‘…of Chicago’ pop into my brain. Damn that Leroy Brown.

That’s very interesting

{{{{ESAR and the Decemberists!}}}}

Spreading uranium for Aids care seems like a seedy self defeating trade to me.

And remember Kazakhastan is where Cheney goes when he wants to piss off Putin.

Cheney, Visiting Kazakhstan, Wades into Energy Battle

by Ilan Greenberg & Andrew E. Kramer
New York Times
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Saturday, May 6, 2006

http://tinyurl.com/nvc22

A day after chastising Moscow for its use of oil and natural gas as “tools for intimidation and blackmail,” Vice President Dick Cheney visited Kazakhstan on Friday to promote export routes that bypass Russia and directly supply the West.

With his comments, Mr. Cheney waded into a messy geopolitical struggle for energy and influence in the countries of the former Soviet Union, rapidly becoming one of the world’s largest-producing regions.

The United States backs efforts to weaken Russia’s grip by building new export routes for the enormous energy reserves of Central Asia, much of which now must cross Russian territory to reach ports in the Black Sea or pipelines to Europe.

Mr. Cheney’s visit to Kazakhstan, on Russia’s southern rim, highlighted the balancing of United States interests, trying to counter Russian dominance in energy matters by cozying up to states like Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan that have spotty human rights records and limited democracy – and plenty of oil.

“The United States is trying to strike a difficult balance,” said Tanya Kostello, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a New York risk consultancy. “It is trying to encourage the regime in Kazakhstan to move toward democracy while maintaining the economic ties.”

The Kazakh president, Nursultan A. Nazarbayev, won a third six-year term in December 2005, with 91 percent of the vote in an election that international observers said was flawed. Two opposition politicians have been murdered in six months, raising the specter of instability.

Kazakhstan produced 1.2 million barrels of oil a day last year but is expected to pump 3 million a day by 2015.

Gnite Muzzy.

Hell of a koinkydink Ol Clenis has some pull in the same area, no?

I sincerely believe much of the reason we are fighting in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan is because Cheney and Clinton’s paymasters have their eye on the Caspian Sea region.. all points south and south east are pipeline routes for oil and gas shipping throughout the rest of the world… Uranium is just a bonus.

Zbig Brzezinski wrote about it in his book – The Grand Chess Board-

This may be a pdf of the book.. or extended excerpts.

I asked DU of Gorillasguides about the plan.. and he said as a NATO Cadet/ school this was common knowledge.

There has been a flurry of pipeline building over there for the last ten years.

China and Russia both play heavily into that game.

as opposed to here….

Clinton and Cheney are so much closer than Democrats are willing to admit.

And yes, I don’t think the plan will really work without all out nuclear war.. but Russia and China will allow us to screw our own pooch… We are doing such a fantastic job of it so far.

Ed Zachary.
One of the things that really pisses me off about these billions of dollars the Oil companies have been raking in. Not ONE thin dime FOR INFRASTRUCURE !
That pipeline y’all have up there is fallin apart and not a new refinery in the last 25 years.
They are playing a dangerous game.

Maybe I am old fashioned but I prefer my ex presidents nor future presidents spouse not wheel and deal in uranium.

That is one of the horror stories way under reported in Iraq, the depleted uranium dust that has blown clear to China from our weapons.

And when folks try to say ..well the uranium deals were for commercial power generation.. Ask them if they are so sure.

Civilian populations in Afghanistan and Iraq and occupying troops have been contaminated with astounding levels of radioactive depleted and non-depleted uranium as a result of post-9/11 United States’ use of tons of uranium munitions. Researchers say surrounding countries are bound to feel the effects as well.

In 2003 scientists from the Uranium Medical Research Center (UMRC) studied urine samples of Afghan civilians and found that 100% of the samples taken had levels of non-depleted uranium (NDU) 400% to 2000% higher than normal levels. The UMRC research team studied six sites, two in Kabul and others in the Jalalabad area. The civilians were tested four months after the attacks in Afghanistan by the United States and its allies.

NDU is more radioactive than depleted uranium (DU), which itself is charged with causing many cancers and severe birth defects in the Iraqi population-especially children-over the past ten years. Four million pounds of radioactive uranium was dropped on Iraq in 2003 alone. Uranium dust will be in the bodies of our returning armed forces. Nine soldiers from the 442nd Military Police serving in Iraq were tested for DU contamination in December 2003. Conducted at the request of The News, as the U.S. government considers the cost of $1,000 per affected soldier prohibitive, the test found that four of the nine men were contaminated with high levels of DU, likely caused by inhaling dust from depleted uranium shells fired by U.S. troops. Several of the men had traces of another uranium isotope, U-236, that are produced only in a nuclear reaction process.

Stupid bastards don’t remember what happened after Chernobyl?
They are killin us all!

Madness. I really hope someone with some background dives into that NYT article.. It’s either a very necessary point to bring forward or a massive hit piece.

We’re No 1 – in greeting cards!

The job numbers were instant election fodder. President George Bush toured a Hallmark greeting card plant in Kansas City on Friday and said the numbers underscored the need for the Senate to pass the $150billion economic stimulus plan.

New statistic: greeting cards have great gas mileage, low accident rates.

I’m thinking that it’s been buried for reasons pointing to BushCo and their hopes of a smooth transition when his chosen heir gets elected.

My tin foil is on high.. Bush and his wing of spooks tour Hallmark days before Clinton is due to use the place for a national campaign event.. Isn’t she due to do a show/internet deal with Hallmark in a day or two?

Kirk!
dammit, I missed you excellent post earlier today. I still haven’t read all of it.
A new epoch, eh?

Well fellers, I am plumb tuckered out. A lively discussion though.
Y’all have a good day t’morrow. I’m out.
Gnite.

i can’t sleep – anyone still here?

What the fork are you doin up?
I was just shuttin off the lights.

took a forking 45 minute nap this afternoon after the showings (2) and the forker turned into a 5 and 1/2 hour nap.

Lol. You needed it.

G’nite busted – thanks and sweet dreams. Tomorrow’s a Brave New Dawn ;0)

Great post, ES.

I’m just tickled the pres candiates now tour where we make cards…not cars.

Hey Suzanne… about to try and call it a night myself..

conggrats o nthe showings, Suzanne.

wishing you free at last…

waving g’nite to kirk and ES

thanks, kirk, one was lookie loos and the second was, well, we will see.

g’nite, suz – good luck!

g’nite, pups.

good sleep to all who wish

(like me

more, please)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/200…..jdmwas0NUE
Melissa Bean is a top GOP target? Who writes this stuff Melissa got her job because the longest serving member in the House of Representatives (he won a special election when Nixon promoted Rumsfeld) was such a drunk that despite serving since 1969 the year I was born.
The GOP only made him head of a subcommittee on trade, the House promotes people I believe based on Seniority.
In other words my 1,2,3 grade? teacher I remember told the class that he was the reason why or school district kept having to raise local taxes.
Phil was very anti tax we never saw any money, course his drinking didn’t help.

http://findarticles.com/p/arti….._n20563242

The article says he was drinking heavy after his daughter died, local rumor says he was drinking heavy way before that.

Libertarians choose pol dogged by abuse claim to top ticket

You have to wonder about the sanity of the folks who run the Libertarian Party.

The Libertarians have the greatest opportunity in years to build their party.

When Republican-leaning citizens become disenchanted, they often vote Libertarian. And the Republican Party is fractured and weak after a brutal primary campaign. The GOP winner, Jim Ryan, has yet to either unify his party or provide sufficient answers to many of the questions and accusations hurled at him by his two feisty opponents. The attacks didn’t work well in the spring campaign, but according to a post-primary poll, independent voters paid attention and are streaming away from the Republican in truly scary numbers.

But instead of putting together a serious ticket, the Libertarians decided to court disaster at their recent convention by nominating as their candidate for governor a former state representative who has been accused of pedophilia.

Former Illinois state Rep. Cal Skinner claims the allegations that he sexually abused his 18-month-old daughter are completely false and were concocted on the eve of a particularly nasty divorce in order to pry away custody of his daughter.

He may be telling the truth and this could just be some terrible nightmare, which would fit nicely with the Libertarian philosophy of “government as bad guy.” But Skinner repeatedly has made misleading comments about the charges, and has woven enough phony spin to fill a yarn warehouse.

He has claimed, for instance, that the Department of Children and Family Services cleared him of the abuse allegations. But DCFS did not clear Skinner, even though he stated in a 1998 letter to his McHenry County constituents that the agency had “removed the slander from its files and issued a letter to me certifying that DCFS has no record of my having abused any child.”

What Skinner didn’t mention was that until a few years ago, DCFS was required by state law to expunge an accused child molester’s record after five years if no new allegations surfaced. Skinner simply asked DCFS for any records of abuse allegations against him two months after his file had been destroyed.

And he never mentioned that a DCFS investigator testified at a trial that Skinner had “sexually molested his daughter.”

Skinner also continues to point to a judge’s ruling that gave him custody of his daughter. But the judge was unaware of the DCFS report and the abuse allegations.

And he never mentions that another judge restricted him to supervised-only visitations based on the DCFS report and the damaging testimony from an agency investigator.

Skinner says his wife has “disappeared” with his daughter, and he can produce a warrant for her arrest on charges of parental kidnapping. But the state’s attorney who issued the warrant apparently never knew about the abuse allegations because he told the newspaper which first broke the Skinner story that he would consider reversing his decision. Skinner also didn’t file a missing person report until a year after his ex-wife fled with their child.

In Skinner’s defense, he was never arrested for sexual abuse, no charges have ever been filed against him, and no allegations have ever been made that he abused any other children. And his former father-in-law, who claims to have caught Skinner touching himself in a lewd manner while his 18-month-old daughter lay naked on a changing table, stood by silently for years while Skinner ran for the House.

Anyone who has ever been through a bitter divorce or child custody battle knows how awful they can be. And you will get no argument from me that way too many innocent people are permanently slandered by their ex-spouses every day.

And, frankly, some of Skinner’s ideas ought to have a place in the upcoming gubernatorial contest, particularly his belief that the four state legislative leaders have far too much power.

But Skinner has proven that he is the wrong candidate at the wrong time. He has yet to speak of the allegations against him without engaging in deceptive half-truths. And it doesn’t help matters that the country is currently mesmerized by revelations of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests. The public may not be willing to listen to his explanations when this story finally gets out.

Skinner lost his Illinois House seat two years ago mainly because his constituents had lost their trust in him. The rest of the state, and the Libertarian Party, should take heed.

http://www.freerepublic.com/fo…..6850/posts

Another reason why Melissa won Cal “anti tax ” Skinner lost our local Paper the Northwest Herald after he lost decided to finally tell us voters that Cal’s first wife was on the lamb.
She caught Cal molesting her baby and so she left the country. I believe there might still be a warrant out on her if she ever comes back to America. I don’t know how Cal pulled that one off but it was in the paper.
Cal’s first wife was a well off Barrington woman from a family with cash if she with her parents support chose to live outside America rather than take a chance on an Illinois court despite being able to afford the best lawyers, well no divorced woman in our county was going to vote for him.
In other words Melissa won because the old boy network was in shambles. Unless something has changed something big I don’t think the GOP can win the 8th district. I would like to read what Congressional Quarterly thinks has changed because EVERYONE WHO LIVED IN THE DISTRICT KNOWS THESE STORIES.

A Crystal Lake woman who was driving drunk when she struck and killed a bicyclist three years ago must serve her entire jail sentence despite her good deeds since, a judge ruled Thursday. Lauren Zolecki, 21, returned to McHenry County jail to serve the last 110 days of her six-month sentence after losing a bid to have the remainder of the term dismissed.
Zolecki was 18 on Oct. 28, 1997, when she got behind the wheel after drinking at a Crystal Lake restaurant. She collided with a bicyclist a few miles away, killing 36-year-old Francisco Fernandez. After the accident, the teen …

http://findarticles.com/p/arti….._n20588652

The underage completely hammered Lauren was getting free drinks from the owner of the bar and several patrons where the County GOP hangs out. Francisco was on the freakin sidewalk . Supposedly the family got a few measly thousand as compensation and Lauren agreed to do volunteer work in Mexico.
The owner of the bar had to sell his bar, he reopened it a few blocks down after the case was over.
Was the local GOP at their favorite bar on a weekend in a County that drinks more per capita than the rest of Illinois? Sure I can’t prove anything but it was sure funny to us locals that no local GOP names were mentioned?
Again this helped Melissa Bean.
Now just who are these slacker media types that we are depending on to tell us about the election? Have they never heard of Google? Or asking a local newsman for help, or even a commentor on a blog?

Alaska’s about to implode.

judas forking priest, ET

good morning!

Is someone trying to silence or discredit the witness with these charges EdwardTeller or is someone leaning on him to get him to talk more about other stuff?
I don’t have a score card for Alaska politics just who is hurt/helped by this besides the usual suspects? Details Speculation please.

Morning Everyone:)

Thanks for that. It’s much more encouraging than the results that Phoenix Woman had this morning.

i know i’ve been out of the loop…. but digby turned off comments? wtf?

Good Morning!

Selise, Digby turned the comments off around the 22nd of January. I don’t know more than that tho

thanks elliott – there wasn’t any announcement? or any discussion in the blogosphere? seems like a pretty drastic change…..

and here’s what’s on Washington Journal this morning:
7am – Newspaper Articles & Open Phones
7:30am – Rita Nissan, NY1, Political Reporter
8am – Charles Dean, Birmingham News, Staff Writer
9am – Rachel Stassen-Burger, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Political Reporter
9:30am – Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee, Political Columnist

hey elliott – it’s my night to not be able to sleep. how’s your part of the country this morning?

I remember some talk from this discussion at fdl, it starts here

oh no, not you too suzanne?

is there a developing pandemic of insomnia?

On June 22, 2004, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider agreed to release the custody files. In those files, Jeri Ryan alleged that Jack Ryan had taken her to sex clubs and asked her to engage in sexual activity in front of other patrons. The decision to release these files generated much controversy because it went against both parents’ direct request and because it reversed the earlier decision to seal the papers in the best interest of the child.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ryan_(Senate_candidate)

2004 was a magic year for the GOP er I mean Melissa Bean and Barack Obama after all Barack’s opponent made 7 of 9 of Star Trek Voyager cry
Needless to say the GOP lost the all important Trekkie vote that year.

hey elliott – it’s my night to not be able to sleep. how’s your part of the country this morning?

Well Goooood Morning Suzanne! It’s freezin’ here,just freezin’

thanks – that gave me enough to google on:

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com…..reads.html

Suzanne,
I understand you have a showing or two? on your house . . . that’s good news. Glad to hear St Joseph is getting himself to work finally.

we have a blustery rainstorm going on – i’m just waiting for my power to go out. we got almost 2/3″ rain tonight and now the winds are kicking up. acorns, twigs, and small branches are tapdancing across my roof and token is most distressed.

The corruption scandal that led to Ryan’s downfall began over a decade earlier as a federal investigation into a deadly crash in Wisconsin that killed six children. The investigation revealed a scheme inside Ryan’s secretary of state’s office in which unqualified truck drivers obtained licenses through bribes. As the AP wrote: “The probe expanded over the next eight years into a wide-ranging corruption investigation that eventually reached Ryan in the governor’s office.”

In March 2003, Scott Fawell, Ryan’s former chief of staff and campaign manager, was convicted along with Ryan’s campaign fund on federal charges of racketeering and fraud. Former deputy campaign manager Richard Juliano pled guilty to related charges and testified against Fawell at trial. The investigation finally reached the former governor, and in December 2003, Ryan and lobbyist Lawrence Warner were named in a 22-count federal indictment. The charges included racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering and tax fraud. The indictment alleged that Ryan steered several state contracts to Warner and other friends; disbursed campaign funds to relatives and to pay personal expenses; and obstructed justice by attempting to end the state investigation of the license-for-bribes scandal. He was charged with lying to investigators and accepting cash, gifts and loans in return for his official actions as governor. In late 2005, the case went to trial.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Ryan

The father of the kids was a minister, in 2004 we could have run anybody in Illinois even a Democrat in a county where David Duke got more votes than Jesse Jackson.
See its the little details that make an article interesting its the lack of detail that makes the Congressional Quarterly piece a hack job.

Good Lord ET. Would require a chart to track that cast of scuzzy characters and events.

Bizarre to resurrect a 10 year old claim after the investigation was knowingly dropped. Why is this happening? Who benefits?

Good morning, pups. It’s MoDo, Kristof and Rich in the NYT today. MoDo is still gnashing her teeth over the last Democratic debate. It seems to have upset her mightily that there was no actual bloodletting. She typed something called “There Will Be Blood” about it. How clever of her… Mr. Kristof’s column is called “Evangelicals a Liberal Can Love,” and he says bleeding-heart liberals could accomplish far more if they reached out to build common cause with bleeding-heart conservatives. Mr. Rich says we should “Ask Not What J.F.K. Can Do for Obama,” and points out that what has often been forgotten is that Barack Obama’s weaknesses resemble John F. Kennedy’s at least as much as his strengths.

http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/

The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are all ready, and I’ve got omelets this morning. I think I’m going to have cheese with some fresh herbs. What’s your favorite? Have a good day.

we have a blustery rainstorm going on – i’m just waiting for my power to go out. we got almost 2/3″ rain tonight and now the winds are kicking up. acorns, twigs, and small branches are tapdancing across my roof and token is most distressed.

WOW!
that’s a lot of rain, you must be getting pretty mossy

moss is a benefit of living in a temperate rain forest – that and a lot of ferns. i am, however, checking my feet for webbing (laughing) we need the rain – last year we only got 1/3rd of what we normally get and we’ve busted that already. hope we end up with our usual 75″ for the year.

sounds to me like you guys may be half way there all ready

and maybe I should call my sister to make sure she isn’t heading out to sea

the rain was fairly light by our standards (most i’ve had since moving up here was a wee bit more than 9″ in 24 hours) – where’s your sister located?

she’s up in Marin County

Ugh – I had not connected the Uranium deal to our munitions… …although I probably should have.

As I have gone back and forth on what this story means, I have been (sorta) surprised at the lack of coverage (although during my work week I could miss even a BIG story).

Personally, I think the lack of coverage/scandal about this would last until about 10 minutes after HRC gets the nomination. Then the scandal and outrage will be 24/7.

Morning Marion. Nice synopses – more than sufficient for me. Cheese and herb omelet and a cup of hot tea would hit the spot. Thanks.

It all started in 2002 when Attorney General Jim Ryan was running for Governor against Rod Blagojevich (he of the Lesbian sister in law who got arrested knocking over a cop at a gay protest fame)
Jim’s Murder case against Rolondo Cruz case was being retried for a third time this time by another prosecutor who would lose the case. (no relation to Governor George Ryan or Senate candidate who lost to Obama, Jack Ryan)
This case was so racist and messed up Gov Ryan a Republican felt that he had to get rid of the Death Penalty for which I for one am thankful.
But the curse of the Ryans especially the Jims had begun and the Illinois GOP has yet to recover. Thomas Frisbie has a great book on the case “Victims of Justice”.
Melissa Bean is so lucky I bet she could break Vegas!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Ryan_(politician)

It’s been reported by a very worried diarist on DKos whose diary I don’t have time to retrieve (SB cooking, ya’know), that Rove has predicted “suprises” that will prove that the demise of the Rethug party has been premature.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

We expect our ex-presidents to be above influence peddling except for the most noble of causes. IMHO, most people feel that influence peddling for competitive advantage of a benefactor is border line or somewhat over the line.

That said about Melissa Bean I support her opponent in the primary:)

Silly me, I expect the same of our CURRENT president too. Luckily, I am growing used to disappointment.

But you are right, of course…

Good Morning, Marion what did you think of Rich’s column?

gonna head off and try to sleep again. g’nite all

BSTH
is this what you were refering to?
Crackup? Not So Fast

Sweet Dreams Suzanne!

Good Morning

Morning Maid Marion and all. Remember to leave room and carbo count space for tonight’s little national madness.

The local upscale supermarket in a very Blue university town filled with great minds and Very Serious Things to Do was busier last night than at Christmas. It was selling football shaped cakes of the kind I have only seen (through pictures) in Alabama Auburn worshiping houses.

Still getting my mind around the idea of my neighbors and colleagues as football-demented BlueNecks (with apologies to all the good people of Alabama who are not rednecks or, if such a thing exists, football fans.

That’s it for today.

Have a very merry ChristBowlmas, and may all you Bowlmases be (Red, Blue) and white.

Seeing war & conflict through the eyes of a child pains me to no end. Some of these children will grow up wanting peace and some of them will grow up wanting revenge. Unfortunately, I don’t think many peacemakers will blossom.

I was listening to the Howie Carr show on the way home from work on Friday and the topic of the day was about a guy who had been let out of prison after sexually assaulting a couple of kids. Howie was upset that this person a year after his release raped a 6 year old boy in a library as his mother worked on one of the computers. Everyone is upset by this, of course. Howie stated that the judge who let this asshole go free had a low IQ and was also a victim of sexual assaults throughout his life. Howie talked about this 6 year old little boy and how he is going to be traumatized for the rest of his life.

My response is: Yes he will, Howie, but what if this child grows up to be an offender himself? Will you then sympathize with him?

It’s a vicious cycle. War is too. I’m tired of it all.

Is fixing an election a surprise, is martial law a surprise?
I mean what are the odds that Bush who can’t find Ossama, will win in Iraq, or save the economy, raise wages, strengthen the Dollar, lower the price of oil, save people from losing their homes, save the Stock Market from people defaulting on their home loans, fix the rising cost of healthcare which was the biggest cause of bankruptcy in this country at least until we get the subprime numbers on bankruptcy in, get every American Healthcare etc
Is there really anything Rove or Bush can do about any of this except steal an election or declare martial law. Besides math that is.

***the judge didn’t have a low IQ & was a victim…the sexual offender did.

Just thought I’d clarify! LOL

No, not this reasoned. more in the be very afraid vein. OK, I’ll go get it. back in a sec. You guys are irresistible.
however, family rule today after 8:00 am there can be no frolicking at the lake with the pups.

Morning MM, croissant stickies this monirng? I’m enjoying one of Marion’s cheese omelettes, altho it looks and tastes more like a bowl of Cheerios.

CSPAN is talking about NY and NJ campaigns now that there’s like three minutes left

http://www.newsweek.com/id/107568/page/2

Third, we are told Democrats have raised more money. You will search in vain for a similar declaration of last rites for the Democrats in 2000 when Republicans outraised them. And having more money doesn’t decide the contest. Consider 2004, when Democratic presidential candidates, committees and 527s outspent their Republican counterparts by $124 million—and lost. Besides, the RNC has nearly eight times the cash on hand as the DNC. Just a month has passed since voting began, and nine months remain before November. Let’s see what happens to Republican bank accounts as the year goes on.

Maybe we are not seeing the crackup of the GOP. Rather, America is more likely to be at the start of an intense and exciting election. The contest will be hard fought, the actions of the candidates each day hugely significant. It’s far too early to draw sweeping conclusions about the health of either party; the presidential race, after all, has barely begun. Lots of surprises lie ahead.

Hi Elliot

Yes once I get the motivation to go downstairs

It’s far too early to draw sweeping conclusions about the health of either party

they both suck? i don’t think it’s too early to draw that conclusion.

… although, imo anything dean is involved in is likely to have some bit of hope.

I thought he made quite a few good points. I think that, to borrow a term from the other side of the aisle, the “silent majority” is sick of fistfighting and Obama may appeal to some on that basis. As far as Obama’s critics saying he’s naive and it may be easy to pull the wool over his eyes, I don’t think you can be that easily led and hornswoggled and still be President of Harvard Law Review. On the other hand, he still hasn’t had all that much experience in the Senate yet. I’m still a bit up in the air, but will probably vote for him on Tuesday, if only to be contrarian because the local Democratic club, who support my DINO congresscritter instead of wanting to primary him to death, came out for Hillary.