LeisureGuy!

blub

this may be funniest website I’ve seen all week: http://www.thegreatschlep.com/site/index.html

an organization urging young people with retired grandparents in FL to fly down there to cajole them into voting for Senator Obama.

es!

Eureka!

Aloha, ES! I saw your comment about the NIE, not much I could work with today about it… Basically, it says the security situation is fragile… Ho-hum…! ;-)

as long as the votes get counted and everyone is allowed to vote in the first place, we can win this friggin state, damnit!!!!! i can’t believe it.

Digg IT Pups!!

Dugg, nahant

dugg

hey, i know alot of you guys will not watch FOX for anything but you really oughta sometimes. saw hannity’s usual hard hitting interview with Plain and her sidekick. at the end he says.. “The polls are tightening. Do you still feel like underdogs?”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

No bullshit. He really said that.

Dugg, and out.

Nite, all.

Evening all.

CT, Nothing like a little confirmation from, you know, all of our intel people…)

you trying to bust da margins dood?

g’nite jayt

Just left this downstairs…

Hubby Tawd’s voice isn’t much better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..re=related
(check out the gum smacking!)

Oh, if only George Carlin were around for the Palins.
“Guys Named Todd”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohXn8WKpYaA

Aloha, Jay!

The wing-nuts are freaking out. They cannot believe that Knut’s little dream of a permanent majority is coming to such an ignoble end. And that a black man is the one giving them the shaft.

Seems like they should be celebrating. They will have all kinds of ways to keep doing what they’re doing – being the slime machine after he’s elected. I think that would be easier than trying to defend the current batch of sociopaths and criminals-in-charge.

What is the Obama/Biden musical theme? Please play, all you super smart doggies.

Well, they did claim their poll results after last nights debate placed McCain as a winner by 82 percent.

The bastards got their money. They should slink away now.

Wow, I joked a while back that Hannity would be named Official and Exclusive Interviewer of the McInsane campaign. Didn’t think it would actually come true.

Heh, basically the same thing Betrayus told the Heritage Foundation today, did ya watch the whole vid?

HANNITY: It’s so (INAUDIBLE). You’ve got (INAUDIBLE) two points. A two point race today. You got hotline as a one point race today. CBS has it as a three point race and it’s even tighter among likely voters.

Do you view yourselves as underdogs?

PALIN: It makes us work even harder. It does.

MCCAIN: We’re the underdogs. She was an underdog when she took on a Republican incumbent governor.

******************
(The inaudible

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

MCCAIN: I was the underdog throughout the primaries.

HANNITY: That’s true.

MCCAIN: You might recall, many declared our candidacy dead. We are glad to be in the underdog role here. It excites and motivates our supporters. It gives Independents another look at us and I’m very happy with where we are, Sean. I couldn’t be happier.

*****

The second “inaudible” at the beginning was “zogby”. Rush swears by zogby. except when he doesn’t.

McCain’s “That One” comment put to good use!!

EPU’d from downstairs, to BFL in re: The Vice President.

If McInsane were to win in some parallel universe (not mine, please dear Lord, I’ve survived eight years of the Dim Son), I suspect that Sarah Plain’s [sic] duties would be to check McInsane’s health status daily, do the you-die-we-fly thing on McInsane’s behalf, and hunt whatever there is to hunt in Virginia/Maryland. Whitetail deer, I’d guess.

Historically, although the vice president virtually never exercises the sole constitutional duty given the office, I can see no reason for that. Except to hone up your golf game, of course. If a vice president wanted to, she could constitutionally run the Senate. The president of the Senate controls the body’s agenda. If you control the agenda, you can swing a lot of power. If you want to. I think Sarah Plain is well aware that she’d not carry much weight in a McInsane administration, and that’s why she was talking about the constitutional authority of the office. She could make a real mess of things in the Senate if she were of a mind.

Of course, that sort of activity could result in her impeachment, too. I’m sure the Senate prefers it’s titular leader to work in somewhere other than in their chamber.

Nate Silver (fivethirtyeight.com) projects Obama winning with:
90.5% likelihood
346.8 to 191.2 electoral votes
51.9% to 46.5% popular vote.

In terms of probable senate seats: 55.9% D vs 42.1% R
(Let’s get Al Franken in there; unlike many dems, he’s really one of us.)

Caught some of it on cspan. Hey.. the news of Russia in Syria helping out their neighbors is almost funny. Surprised they waited so long myself. I guess the sharks are smelling blood in the water.

Yup! Take a lemon – make lemonade! There are T-shirts all over the place with that logo and “I’m voting for That One” etc. Whooee!

Music-Obama Campaign? Anyone? Goodnight Firepups, from Andy M. Stewart.

“President That One” to you, my friend!

nite chris

The Obama Team had a FactCheck list up within an hour after the debate with the “17 Lies” that McSame told during the debate. Boy they are getting fast!

don’t forget the funerals. mccain, as you probably know sauid the VP had 2 duties: 1) check on ter president’s health; and 2) go to funerals.

to this day, i still don’t know what the hell she was trying to say at the debate about the VP. if she was ever VP I think she’d be more like a firs lady. do stuff for special needs kids. they’d give her some stuff to do. she’d get no respect in the senate.

It seems that Spencer agrees with my assessment of Betrayus’ little chit-chat…

Petraeus Talk Bolsters Obama
While McCain Backs Petraeus, General Sounds Notes That Harmonize With Democratic Nominee.

Btw, did you see my post yesterday, particularly, about the Russkies intervening in Iraq?

Damn those guys are good!

The McCain campaign seems to be imploding. Pulling out of swing states, suspending his campaign (not), his debate performances, inciting riots at his stump speeches.

News today that he has suspended all work on his transition team ‘because he’s superstitious and thinks it will jinx the result’. Huh?

What a treat, ES! Thanks.

dugg!

Nite, Newt.
Let’s try tomorrow for a better day.

Yup.. That’s what I was referring to.. your post with the russia scoop.

Franken’s big problem isn’t Smilin’ Norm Coleman, it’s the knucklehead independent in the race.

We’ve been there and done that in New Mexico. Bruce King was running for re-election as Governor and got crossways with his Lt Gov, Roberto Mondragon. Apparently they had an agreement that 1998 was Mondragon’s turn to be Gov, and Bruce would retire. Bruce didn’t, so Roberto ran as a Green. He drew enough support away from Mondragon (my vote was one of them, the second worst mistake I ever made with a vote) to elect loopy Gary Johnson. I can’t imagine any set of circumstances that would have led a Mondragon voter to vote for Johnson. Between them, King and Mondragon’s vote would have kept Johnson out of the office.

Similarly, my contacts in MN suggest that the independent is drawing most of his support from Franken. He’s going to screw around and re-elect that worthless b @ st @ rd Coleman.

In the article I saw about Obama’s transition team – he has a group assigned to each Department/Cabinet Secretary. The groups are researching the current issues in each area, developing plans on how to implement BO’s programs, making lists of potential appointees, and will be hitting the ground running.

All the people on the teams have to sign an ethics pledge – no financial ties to anyone anywhere for themselves or their families on subjects covered by the team they are working on. AND NO LOBBYISTS ALLOWED!

An hour afterwards is the latest i’ve seen. It’s usually out within minutes.. Sometimes less than five.

De nada..)

g’nite christine e

Petraeus has been amazingly careful in his pronouncements. Before he ever went in with the surge he gave it a 25% (1-in-4) chance of success. His recent pronouncement that he thinks he’ll never use the word “victory” in connection with the Iraq occupation is another indication of judicious use of rhetoric/terminology. But, amazingly, Obama appears to have missed both.

But, I’m willing to entertain an alternate hypothesis, which is that Obama’s campaign has determined that “surge is winning in Iraq” is a focus-group losing issue for the voters. So, rather than putting him away by quoting Petraeus, they let him keep on attacking, whence Obama parries with “we should never have been there in the first place.”

You don’t need respect, just authority. And she’d have the constitutional authority. Whether she’d be allowed to exercise it is a different matter entirely.

I really think the Senate would try to have a vice president who actually tried to run the Senate impeached.

I slapped myself on the forehead right after I hit the submit button… The comment was on that thread…! D’oh! ;-)

Thanks Suz, and if you find out any musical themes for our Dems,let me know. I’m headed for bed.

i agree. the idea of a vp doing anything other than break ties I think is a nonstarter.

I’d like to see something Springsteen since he’s a huge supporterr and walks the walk. but his songs are all about getting fired; getting out of NJ; or getting laid. Or any combination.

I swear that’s the only logical reason why Obama is not pushing the Surge failed the true objectives meme… He has all the facts to argue it!

Night all … calling and early evening….. sleep well when you get there Pups(:>))

Aloha, nahant!

g’nite nahant

How well a candidate runs his/her campaign is something of an indication of the candidates competence to govern. That’s not always so; for instance, McCain has surrendered himself to his campaign staff — they even took away his cell phone.

But, Obama has run a truly impressive campaign, as witnessed by the fact that I don’t need more than one hand to count the number of his staff whose names I know. By contrast, I was always hearing the names of Hillary’s staff and McCain’s staff. That’s not a good thing.

We are everywhere…)

Well, as I said, the authority is there in the Constitution. But the culture of the Senate doesn’t really permit it.

That isn’t to say that cultures can’t change. But even if we don’t make it to 60, the Senate is going to be controlled by the Democrats. Plain Sarah could toss a wrench into things by controlling the agenda. If she weren’t impeached (on Troopergate? refusing a lawfully issued subpoena in Alaska? for income tax evasion? There are so many choices …) I think that McCain would yank her off Capitol Hill to keep decent relations with the Congress.

The only way I can see the culture changing is if the White House and Senate are controlled by the same party, and the VP was a forceful enough personality who wanted to run the Senate rather than a cabinet portfolio or minister without portfolio.

Thanks. I thought I might be crazy. During the first debate I almost threw a brick through my very expensive TV (and it wouldn’t have been the first time). “Why the fuck don’t you put him away by quoting Petraeus two weeks ago saying that “victory” isn’t a word he expects to ever use regaridng Iraq.”

Biden used it the next day! So, it’s not like the Obama campaign isn’t aware of this put-away response. Visibly, they don’t want to put that line of attack away, just as Hanibal fell back at the battle of Canai. Keep attacking there, Saint John. Yes, indeed, you’ve found a winner.

These guys are deadly.

And the fact I see an Obama advertisement at the top right of my fdl screen now. About time!

CT you remind me of”Casablanca” the internatiional intrigue was so thick with French, Germans and Arabs . Find a vacuum and fill it.
Chimpy had a vacuum in his head and look what happened.
S)

That was my response to Obama’s reluctance, fortunately a wise Pup said awhile back during the FISA debates to keep rolled up socks nearby…! Works like a charm! 8-)

dang, jon stewart just called mccain a dick!

BB, I wish I was making it up…

…said a former top Iraqi official, many Sunnis may turn to an unlikely source for support: Russia. “The Russians are very active,” he said. “They are talking with many Iraqis, including resistance leaders and Awakening members, in Damascus, Syria. They are in discussions with big Baathists.” According to this official, former Baathists, army officers and Awakening members in Damascus, Amman and inside Iraq are looking to Russia for support, especially since Russia seems intent on reasserting itself in the Middle East. “The Russians intend to come out strongly to play with the Sunnis,” he said. “I heard this from sahwa members in Damascus and Amman. ‘If the Americans abandon us, we will go to the Russians.’”

I like to wait until a television set dies… take it out to pasture and let loose on it before hauling it to the dump.

Better than a thousand socks.

master of understatement

(Let’s get Al Franken in there; unlike many dems, he’s really one of us.)

From longish article at Minnesota Public Radio today:
http://minnesota.publicradio.o…..enatepoll/

” Two new MPR/Humphrey Institute polls show Democrat Al Franken went from 9 points behind to 4 points ahead of Coleman following congressional approval of the Wall Street bailout plan. Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley’s support held steady at 14 percent, before and after the plan was approved “

well, i don’t wanna spoil it for ct and hmmm and others who are time zone challenged

I always wonder about the timing of stories like this.

Torture rampant in Jordan’s prisons, report says
Human Rights Watch condemns the U.S. ally, saying prisoners are tortured and abusers go punished.

BEIRUT — For three days, he was severely beaten by prison guards. Then, on an early morning in May, Firas Zaidan was found dead in his solitary-confinement cell in Jordan, one of the United States’ staunchest allies in the Middle East.

An investigation was launched. But, as with numerous other cases, there are doubts about whether Jordanian authorities will hold prison officials accountable for the alleged torture and death, according to a lengthy report published Wednesday by Human Rights Watch.

snip

point taken

Good news, thanks SN.

I’m watching it, M’dear! All the McSame hype that he’s in his element with the townhall format…! So much for that meme, eh? ;-)

sorry newton – dayam ct, i thought you were delayed for tds

don’t michelle look good and sound good. bet cindy won’t do tds – especially after jon called mcgeezer a dick

For me the central issue is ending the wars. I do not like war. The Empire View causes war and we are much like the Btitish Empire was…spread too thin with long supply lines that are not logistically sustainable.
It seems to require the military to bomb civilians.
Why can’t Obama win as a peace candiate?
International coalitions that have the member nations best interest at heart are effective and less costly in life and assests. Foriegn policy based on what McInsane says is defending our interests is Empire building. Is Ossetia our national interests? The wolrds resourced we want to feed our MIC our national interests.
There has to be a limit and off limits. Obama is playing expand and contract. We have to attack Pakistan?
Come on folks how war right are the FDLers willing to move? Stop the resource wars. If our economy is based on military world dominance and not “Detente” we are about done as the “leader of the free world”.
A better approach is to be a leader of the problems of the world…famine and disease. We do not need any more enemies America needs more friends.

and abusers go punished.

You meant unpunished, right? ;-)

Hugs for Mr. Stewart!

Nah, good reminder. Only right to live by the same niceties as the East Coasters.

I thought she was fabulous, she shoulda agreed with Jon about, after 20 months…’Who the F*ck are you?’ ;-)

She is like her husband – as cool as the other side of the pillow.
Drives me crazy, but they are doing this right.

Amen bigbrother!

but.. since we are the last to watch it ‘live’, i am comfy with us talking about it during – whadda think, lurk? es – its your thread – what do you think?

Not me.. that was the title to the article linked.

I’m cool.

Shoulda inserted a (sic)…! :D

Ok by me

Bob Schacht, are you in here now?

Impressive. Michelle is impressive.

Seems that after getting a better look at Wachovia’s books in court, Wells Fargo and Citibank have gone from fighting each other to get the spoils darn near to playing Alphonse and Gaston.

Fits with my working hypothesis that using mergers rather than receiverships on some of these large banks, even though the acquirers are hardly in better shape, is motivated partly by a desire to keep the goods on a lot of fraud out of the hands of some no-good public service wage-slave types that might lurk in the bowels of places like the FDIC.

Snakes in a Bank

thanks es and lurk. i didn’t wanna step on any toes.

nice ad following her interview directed to bo and mcc – from one.org

That reminds me of all the (understandably) horrid english utilized by Lady Bird at Roads to Iraq, Aswat Aliraq, Al Sabah, Uruknet, Lailah Faidel, etc…! ;-)

We got a slasher-film ad :-(

CT I went over to your place and caught that. Russia has interests in Central Asia, Afghanistan and The Baltic and Syria is not liking Isreal any more than Iran which has Hezbollah in Syria. Is that so surprising. Nah that is pretty well known. Since we drove the Sunnis into Syria their is a vacuum. And they did qualify that with an if.
Sunnis have had a very long connection with Russia where a lot of military hardware was provided under Sadaam Hussien. The Sunnis are out of power in Iraq and out of sorts…they lost their homes and assets. Not happy campers. The most ridiculous part of th Iraq story is that Al Queda is not liked much by any player.
So Sunnis and Russian MIC are very well connected as are Shites and USA MIC.
The fear is that these resource war are still on the table for the Obama administration.

ZOMG – moment of zen!!!

Hojo does have a lot to repent for…!

Can’t argue with that assessment, BB!

Add the fact Pakistan needs 100 billion to keep from going bankrupt and they are sending 50k Afghan refugees home.

Cheney may get a few more big explosions in before he leaves.

Well, I shall bid ya’ll a fond adieu! Aloha Oe!!!

nite tuttle

Wow! That is so fucking great!!!!!

Franken isn’t just one more democrat. I have to count him as one of my key mentors (via his books). Reading “The Truth, with Jokes” was like reading FDL three-to-six months ahead of time. Al and his staff of 16 Harvard students really did their homework.

aloha ct

See ya CT enjoy the reunion

ES May I pose this questions….Would Obama bail out the Pakistan Markets in exchange for one well known terrorist?

I really have no idea… but he might if he could get Osama, a handle on their nukes and bring most of the troops home from Afghanistan.

If they really have to have 100 billion … I would think all options should be on their table. of course.. removing or controlling their nukes may not be the big of a deal for much longer since india and a few others are certain to have them soon.

I’ve only read “Lies and the Lying Liars…….” I’m a fan.

The analysis seems reasonable. Not counting any chicks, but sounds like he’s got a fair shot at it.

Citizen wigwam:

Franken’s campaign got a big boost not only from the economic crash but from the bailout where he could stand apart and not be identified with either the final plan or the causes of the folly goin on in D.C. And the biggest boost came from the first debate confrontation with Coleman and Barkly where , like Obama and McCrazy, the more you see Franken right next ta Coleman and Barkley the better he looks and sounds…another couple a debates and Coleman will be suckin’ Barley’s dust. As long as the dynamic in this race is focused on Obama’s rise, Barkley will take from Coleman but I’m worried about the next couple a weeks, there are alotta “older” (50’s-60’s) middle class white feminist wannabe’s who are pissed that Mrs. Clinton lost and are takin’ it out on Franken…this is gunna be a problem in statewide election, especially for Governor with the Independence Party bein’ the stalkin’ horse for the fascist Republicans.

Well it’s time for me to turn in.

good night all

g’nite es – thank you for the ear candy.

nite eureka

the more you see Franken right next ta Coleman and Barkley the better he looks and sounds…another couple a debates and Coleman will be suckin’ Barley’s dust.

Damn! I so want Franken to be a senator. That guy is really, really good!

g’nite es. Thanks.

So, I’m still trying to figure out what we are facing with this meltdown shit.

Were I a banker, I’d be reluctant to loan to anyone unless I expected to make a profit on that loan. But my expectatons of making a profit would be colored by that person’s likelihood of making good on the terms of the loan. The less likely, the more I’d charge. Rational behavior. But, if I knew that the govt would make good for them, I’d be much more inclined, especially if I had a govt guarantee.

But, now bankers are not loaning, even to each other, because they have no way of knowing who is solvent and who isn’t. And the recent congressional decision to drop “mark to market” bookkeeping for assets has killed all hope.

Not like mark-to-market didn’t distort portfolio value like crazy, though.

I do get the sense with a lot of the bailout measures that none of the companies want to show their own cards, portfolio-value-wise. Sounds like that’s unexpectedly causing stalls in several places.

Nice simple assessment. Then their is inflation that eats up the value of the loan. So as long as there is uncertainty the economy will not expand and will contract back to minimum services like the local, state and federal government. Some migrants will have to go home. Healthcare will along with rising housing cost eat up disposable income dampening consumtion. Chain retails will close or be in hostile takeovers. Commercial real estate is tanking liker in the 80s and vacancies will grow.
Schools and universities may remain a haven for unemployed. Just some of my concerns.

Attaturk is upstairs!
Milquetoast of Amnesia