“Today’s new beginning is nothing more than a new low for the Democratic majority,” lamented Rep. David Dreier (R-CA). “Their cynicism and manipulation is all the more dismal against the backdrop of President-elect Obama’s vision or hope, unity, and change for the better.”

Dave, your slip is showing.

I really hope Feinstein watched Rachel Maddow last night. That was great

man, rachael is great, she has such a way with words

for instane I ususally spend an entire post claiming why torutre should never be condoned, indluding “you get less information, you lose valuable information, you create enemies and you cause more incidents you are trying to prevent”

she did all that with a few words;

“if there is an iminent threat, why would you waste time on methods that notoriously don’t work”

bing, make the idiots look like morons when they try using the rediculous “we need the information” as their justification

rachael for liebermans seat next election, she would make an excellant progressive entertainment politician bookend to franken to be sure

ja, good one

Breaking banner at Reuters: France’s Sarkozy says Israel and the Palestinian Authority have accepted a Franco-Egyptian truce plan for Gaza 8:09am EST

What would Jesus plagiarize?

Linky - what Palestinian “Authority” is Hamas onboard?
311 hrs & 43 min

There is no link yet, it is the breaking banner at reuters. I’m hoping it’s different than the 3 hour break to let aid in linked in swim.

An absolute must-read from a former IDF soldier. On the current situtation in Gaza and Israel.

http://avners.blogspot.com/200.....ldier.html

story up now: http://www.reuters.com/article.....R720090107

Our liberal media at work.
From the NYT:

Ms. Kagan served as a lawyer and policy adviser under President Bill Clinton, who nominated her to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That nomination stalled in the Senate.

Now, how does a nomination stall itself? Any ideas?
I guess the only Republican involvement in stalls takes place in airports.

Rachel is great. Another women who is smart and articulate.

We need more of them in decision making posts. Jane? Christy? Digby? Marcy? Come gals make a run for office. We’ll make it happen.

That’s old business.

The 2008 Electorate
Liberal Democrats: 15 %
Moderate Democrats: 18 %
Conservative Democrats: 5 %
Liberal independents 5 %
Moderate independents 16 %
Conservative independents 8 %
Liberal Republicans: 1 %
Moderate Republicans: 10 %
Conservative Republicans: 21 %

2008: Dem Rep Ind Lib Mod Con
Total 39 32 29 22 44 34
18-29 45 26 29 32 42 26

http://voices.washingtonpost.c......html#more

add up all the GOP votes even the liberal GOP voters

Conservative independents 8 %
Liberal Republicans: 1 %
Moderate Republicans: 10 %
Conservative Republicans: 21

plus the Blue Dog/DLC types the famous Reagen Democrats

Conservative Democrats: 5 %

and you only get 45% of the vote

And just like his father, he wants a gate to be installed along a public street to limit access to his neighborhood.

A note to the Dallas City Council. No gate is complete without a 30-foot wall topped with broken glass and razor wire attached. After all, it’s not about keeping innocent folks out, it’s about keeping scumbag war criminals in.

I hope that reporters will also take the opportunity to go in.

In addition to being scary smart (her most important feature), she so *doesn’t* fit the physical appearance mold deemed critical for every other airhead female who only reads the so-called news……gobs of hair, visible cleavage, etc. “Breath of fresh air” is too trite a description but apt nonetheless.

With a h/t to naked capitalism,

State’s jobless claims systems overwhelmed

Harter said the [Ohio Department of Job and Family Services] telephone hot line generally receives about 7,500 calls a day, but has been getting about 80,000 each of the past two days.

[…]

Unemployment claims systems in New York and North Carolina are experiencing similar problems due to a surge in callers.

I don’t think they will be on the list.

That’s a fairly low-cut burnoose there doncha think?

2008: Dem Rep Ind Lib Mod Con
Total 39 32 29 22 44 34
18-29 45 26 29 32 42 26

http://voices.washingtonpost.c......html#more

My bold The future of the GOP looks bleak. I guess standing around and saying Reagen is not working to well with younger voters who don’t remember Reagen.

Mornin’, hobbit -

According to some of the callers on Washington Journal today, all these people should just suck it up and pull themselves up by their boot straps….who do they think they are asking for help from the government? s/

When was the last time Bush spoke to an audience that was not prescreened for loyalty as well as weapons?
That would be the mark History will say Bush’s handlers if not the MSM knew that Bush had lost his popularity.
I wonder if they had secret polling telling them that? Because the Media certainly never picked up that Meme until recently.

I saw the piece where the Rethugs are touting everything Raygun. Sorta like Rethugs during FDR’s reign touting everything Hoover. Supply side, voodoo, or trickle down economics is so, um, Raygun-ish. Hasn’t worked out so well over the last 20 years so it makes me wonder why they think it’ll work during the next 20.

Maybe it is true that the GOP has run out of ideas? Or maybe they need another big election loss before they will admit that they are wrong and try and change?

The trouble with Gupta indeed. I saw him lie right to Michael Moore’s face. He’s a typical villager. I think his appointment bodes ill for reforming health care.

They ran out of ideas long ago. Their goals were unrealistic and their methods just plain sucked. When their goals were unattainable they just changed their methods. The Dems, in their infinite wisdom and spinelessness, thought it best to just go along. Now we have fewer Rethugs and more spineless Dems in the mix. Same shit, different day.

OT question if you add up the cost of taxes plus medical care in the US do you get a number bigger than what Europe or Japan pays in taxes that pays for their medicare plus any medical costs that they may pay out of pocket or for a private plan?

Run out of ideas? All they’ve got is war, tax cuts and cutting regulation. They don’t have enough ideas to run out of.

I haven’t had cable for years but when I did and Gupta was always on CNN he was full of shit. He’ll be another one advocating abstinence only programs and working to pass anti-abortion legislation.

Well Ideas that work yes

I like those numbers. Bring it on!

As long as the corporate media remains the primary source of “information” for the vast majority of the uninformed electorate there is every reason to believe that the Republicans will be back on top in Congress by 2010.

That’s because Obama is now the mayor of the village.

Has he preached abstinence only or anti-abortion rules? I really don’t know. He helped write speeches for Hillary when she was working on health care. He did present erroneous facts to Michael Moore and Gupta should correct that. Who’s the present Surgeon General?

Is anybody keeping track of Satann Coulter’s appearance on NBC this morning? I got about half way through the clip of her with Harry Smith yesterday before I had to go heave. Surprised I lasted that long. She looks more gaunt than I’ve seen her. At this rate it won’t be long before she looks like death warmed over.

Talk of cease-fire aggreement premature?

Officials from both parties have denied French claims that they have accepted its ceasefire proposal. (UPDATED)

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/eng......asp?scr=1

I don’t know. That’s my gut speaking about reproductive issues. I don’t trust the guy.

Last thread people talked about it they liked it she got all whinny.

We desparately need health care reform in this country. I don’t listen to Gupta enough to know if he will be a mouthpiece for this or not. I do know that he will be a mouth piece and hope that he will use his oratory skills (lol) to promote Obama’s agenda.

The only reason Israel agreed to lighten up for a few hours to allow humanitarian aid in was due to international outrage at yesterday’s shelling of the school. Israel is now saying that they had reports of militants firing from the school but don’t say when those reports occurred. All of the info coming out now looks like the Israelis were lying. Imagine that. I’m sticking with my gut feeling that it was more about preventing future terrorists. The same rationale voiced by the Nazis about Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally ill and anybody else that didn’t fit into their Ayrian purity bullshit.

Christy is upstairs…

I’m wondering why the GOP is not changing their strategy yet after looking at those poll numbers? Of course they are probably in denial. I wonder why they think they lost?

The bit I watched sure showed she was on unfamiliar ground and wasn’t used to being called out.

With respect to

Cuomo out-maneuvering Kennedy

He won’t need much help doing so after the New Yorker’s Talk of the Town called her:
a Sarah Palin for Democrats.

Repubs think they lost because they did not push the rights of Terry Schiavo enough.

Morning, Waccamaw. Yeah, listening to WJ is too close to listening to Rush Limbaugh for my tastes (at least by half). I’m not surprised.

Here’s my Blogpost on Gupta.

Obama is getting on one nerve after another on a daily basis.

On the other hand Panetta’s appointment greatly cheers me. And Rachel knocks one right out of the ballpark with that Bob Baer interview.

Thank you, imagine, for the link. I found the article and its comments very helpful in my search to learn the truth about the current conflict from the viewpoint of each side.

Here is a link to an article in The Guardian which doesn’t mince words. It is written by Avi Shlaim, Oxford professor of International Relations. He served in the Israeli Army. Israel’s merciless assault on Gaza has led him to some devastating conclusions.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worl.....-palestine

How many kajillion doctors do we have in America?? And Obama appoints a TV doctor as Head Surgeon? I’m sitting here thinking, ‘what’s that telling me about Obama’s evaluation of the intelligence level of the voters who elected him?’…. I don’t like my thoughts that follow thereafter.

Regarding Difi and Rocky and CIA investigations:

I wonder if we can be treated to senate hearings and hear shrieking akin to McCain’s howling about POW/MIA records, hmmm.