I love that puppy! Christy, you always have great pics, but this is over the line precious! Now to read.

I want to reserve judgment until they start doing something concrete…otherwise I fully intend to keep Obama and everyone else’s feet to the fire.

We shall see.

It is not “trust but verify”, it is rather Verify then Trust.

Just my 2 cents.

I’m sure the Democrats in the Senate & House will have Barack Obama impeached over something stupid no matter what powers Barack wants to keep and use. This is the typical MO of the current Democrats in both houses and they will use impeachment of Barack as a way to show the republicans how to impeach when you have the power to. Spit. *rolling eyes*

I have faith in Barack Obama at this point. I have zero faith in a majority of the Democrats. Dennis Kucinich is the only one I trust.

(psst, christy. i think you mean brian hathcock for the photo credit…*g*)

I second that sentiment.

Swear, that can of worms yesterday looked like a dish my friend was served in Panama City. She ordered an artichoke with seafood (don’t ask me why) but it looked like that pic. Octopus legs, same color, etc.

I forced her to try this restaurant (Machu Pichu) because I had previously had a great meal there!

the only appointments i’ve been following enough to have an opinion on are the economics team and foreign policy.

don’t think i’d use competent to describe them.

The new new is the old old but one. Obama’s Presidency looks like the return of the Establishment. This means Clinton Democrats and Jim Baker Republicans. They thought that Bush’s policies were too extreme and poorly executed but never disagreed with the fundamentals of them. This is why someone like a Cass Sunstein says that we shouldn’t criminalize policy differences. While Bush and the Establishment disagreed with each other, they were never really that far from each other.

LS, so good to see you. You had me worrying!

Heh. Sometimes I envision everyone (humans) as animals that wear clothes and strut around like they know something more than “Mother Nature” or “Mother Earth” that they/we are a product of…Just sayin’. No “one” is “special”.

Thanks Loo Hoo…just stuff around the ranch has had me down and otherwise absorbed…plus, I just want the new administration to have a chance to evolve a bit…

Dawn Johnsen

From the NYT this afternoon:

“If I had advice to give, it would be, before you start to implement your campaign rhetoric, you need to sit down and find out precisely what it is we did and how we did it, because it is going to be vital to keeping the nation safe and secure in the years ahead,” Mr. Cheney told Mark Knoller of CBS Radio. “And it would be a tragedy if they threw over those policies simply because they had campaigned against them.”

Sounds more like a threat than advice. As in “you cross us and we’ll guarantee there’ll be another attack.” And Cheney and cohorts are perfectly capable of seeing to it that “it would be a tragedy.”

OK. It’s been a long eight years since I lost two nights sleep running after the Supremes declared they wanted Bush and nobody else but to be President. We are in a deep hole, as deep as that which caused my sleeplessness (and I thought I was over-reacting). So let’s figure out what it takes to get our nose at least to the surface. It is going to be difficult for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the utter refusal of the respectable press (I’m looking at you, NPR and PBS) to seriously address the real issues facing this country. If you want to talk macro, you get guys like Brad Delong and Barry Eichengreen or Peter Diamond on air; if you want middle-east policy, you get Juan Cole. You don’t ask for Cokie Roberts or the Moustache of Understanding.

Now, as to Obama. I think his play is the following: get the public to pressure Congress to ‘make him do’ what he actually wants to do but doesn’t want to be in front doing. This was FDR’s strategy in many (not all) cases. Obama will push behind the scenes. I think the Free Choice Bill is likely to be a litmus test. If he doesn’t cave — and he shows no signs of caving — we can trust him on other stuff.

As to the homeopathic stimulus package. I think this is another head-fake. Larry Summers and Paul Volcker and Christie Romer all know the score, and if they know it, you can be sure Obama knows it, too. He is looking for outside pressure to make it ‘impossible’ not to do the right thing.

Here’s the thing. The MSM have created the miss of a right-wing public. We know, and the election proved, that the public are center-left. Obama knows that. But he can’t say it. The people have to say it — i.e., us.

Anyway, my two-bits worth.

I do too. I think Obama’s been right on so far. A few little mistakes here and there, but overall, awesome.

Hope your animals are okay.

I agree :) Nicely put..

You don’t ask for Cokie Roberts or the Moustache of Understanding

you do know who yesterday senator boxer had come to give a briefing on energy and green technology to the senate committee on energy and environmental resources?

p.s. if you are right about obama the prescription is the same as if you are wrong – we push like hell, no?

Thanks, fixed.

I think that there is another way of looking at it. All these Clinton appointments, with the exception of the Clintons at SOS, only mean that some competent, ambitious people did work for the Clintons, not like Sandy Berger, George Tenet, Robert Rubin etc. But serious ambitious peole like Reich, Craig, etc., who were frustrated by the Clintons con game. But still wanted power and the opportunity to do something positive with it. Now Obama can be seen as that chance.

Exactly. We push like hell. It’s a democracy, not an elective dictatorship. I regret the 35 years of my successful professional past when I didn’t push like hell. This is what we got. (speaking for myself, I know others fought the good fight through thick and thin).

I agree. It sure walks like a duck and quacks like a duck. There exists very little evidence of any significant changes by the appointments we are seeing, the speeches we’ve been hearing, or the Republican-styled actions taken thus far:

Flip Flop FISA
Lieberman retains full power
Wall St. Bailout
Auto Bailout
Total and complete support of Israel
Pursuit of continued war and military funding
questionable support for Social Security
No sign of single payer (never was any sign), full support for health insurance industry
Back pedalling on jobs
Back pedalling on renewable energy
back pedalling on accountablity

But we shall see. Who shall we believe Obama or our lying eyes? /s

Ding, ding, ding!

i didn’t even start paying real attention until 911, so i also have a lot of catching up to do.

Thanks. They are okay, but I have one that has a chronic problem that is causing a lot of really serious concern daily…sometimes it is hard to accept life and you have to keep fighting. Ugh. Enough said. :(

i don’t understand. can you explain or has it just been too long since my morning coffee?

Howdy y’all.

Balderdash. Less than a handful of people in W’s admin knew how to manipulate power and that was enough. You can’t seriously think that all the dumb blond Regents’ U grads had a clue? They just did what they were told. If Obama were hiring those types from the comparable left-wing institution (which doesn’t exist), I might have more confidence.

Thanks Knut for your comment! Some feel the need to bash Barack down to a size where they can ‘drown him in a bathtub’ right now, because they’re scared of the unknown and they want to be “right” when Barack makes a wrong move (all presidents do at least once). Barack is a listener and his stimulus package could be what you said…a false flag of sorts…meaning, he’s listening to the country right now on how we feel about it and is gathering this information. Once he’s in he will make sure we were heard.

I’m more concerned with Harry Reid…who is not a listener. Barack Obama may not be able to get a damn thing done with that asswipe in charge of the Senate.

I think Obama’s going to be good for the country but the dems need to push him farther left and write progressive legislation. Do you think he would veto it?

Some feel the need to bash Barack down to a size where they can ‘drown him in a bathtub’ right now, because they’re scared of the unknown and they want to be “right” when Barack makes a wrong move (all presidents do at least once).

i want to be wrong.

I’m sorry…

I just don’t think that humans are any more competent than any other species operating in their environment. Humans egotistically think they can solve everything, when most of the time the fork everything up in the entire world. Animals fork a bunch of stuff of up too BTW!

LOL Selise. Well, you ARE the true skeptic here and it’s my hope you are wrong too. ;-)

you may not believe this, but i get punked all the time because i want to think the best of people. but evidence is evidence. and there’s no corresponding list of good stuff to balance out hackworth’s list @21.

thanks.

Come on Pups Digg this post!

Shit link

I think it is healthy to be skeptical as well. I have some reservations deep down that Obama was “approved” by the Kissinger crowd (during the Bilderberger meeting)…it was unsubstantiated, however, if you go to the Nixon library materials, you can see where Kissinger “vetted” Nixon. Considering the economic events that we are experiencing..the influence of the massively wealthy in the world on the conduct of the world banks, etc….well, it makes me pretty leary. I believe, however, that Obama and his wife are stealthy, and would not ultimately cowtow to those forces…and they do exist….but I think he is pretty brilliant and has the motivation to overcome them…hopefully. If not, he has put together a very good group of moderates…i.e., covering all the bases…a “check” if you will on the chessboard of the world.

It is confusing…but I think we have to keep the hope alive and see what happens. He has a lot of failsafes in place…including a few ringers.

JMHO

SOS

Same Old Shit, sadly when we need to Save Our Ship

Good eyes. Obama may well have rec’d the Kissinger/Rockefeller Seal of Illuminati Approval. I like the way you put it.

I’m worried about Global Warming. Like a rookie quarterback, Obama is telegraphing his passes. It don’t look good. Clean Coal Technology? The earth needs a huge f**king break. Obama ain’t talking the talk, that’s apparent. Stealth, perhaps. Cass Sunstein, Chicago School? Jesus H Christ.

Oh for crying out loud! LOL George Bush is the current president at the moment and I don’t remember the country looking for George’s opinion in 2000 right after the election, do you? Nope.

REMINDER TO EVERYONE:

Barack Obama officially becomes the 44th president on January 20, 2009.

Barack has zero power right now and as much as we would love for him to be giving George Bush at the beginning and end of his press conferences the middle finger, he can’t do that.

ANOTHER REMINDER:

Dennis Kucinich was the only TRUE LIBERAL PROGRESSIVE RUNNING FOR THE PRESIDENCY, and what did the progressive liberals of America do to him? Oh that’s right! They said he wasn’t tall enough to be president, they said his ears weren’t presidential either, and they called him a nut for being too progressively liberal. I’m sorry, but ONLY true progressive liberals looked past that and they don’t base their decisions on such things! Jees.

I knew Barack wasn’t a true progressive liberal, but Dennis told me and his supporters to support him anyways. And we did. I don’t regret it one bit. Some of you might be getting the “george bush vibe” in Barack right now, but I’m not.

Barack has the biggest shit pile in the history of shit piles to handle once he’s sworn in and if Democrats start hopping on him from day one, it will be disgusting. GIVE HIM A CHANCE. A YEAR, please. At least more than 30 minutes for crying out loud! LOL *shaking head* ;-)

If Obama gets impeached after the Bush did not that is the end of the country or some massive riots.

I could be wrong, but I don’t agree that Nudging* is the way to play here in the fourth quarter.

*Nudge is the title of Cass Sunstein’s book

I also noticed “someone” added Joe Biden’s name to the PNAC signer’s list on an earlier letter on the old website. Gee, I wonder who did that? I’m sorry, but I just don’t see Barack Obama being part of the Bush Family & Friends Oil Cartel and all their connections. But what can I do if suddenly a majority of Democrats do believe what the right wingers put out there.

We can’t keep hope alive when everyone is saying, “I don’t trust him!”, “he’s the anti-Christ”, “he’s worse than George Bush!”, “the republicans were right!”….all before Barack is sworn in as president.

Bush v Gore was a sad day…

but if you where there in 2004 you know what a body blow feels like.

NOV-2004 was sadly the turning point.

Obama is smart and I hope he know if he does not have a turning point then NOV-2004 is the one that is going in the history books. Now what else Obama “knows” or plans I have no clue.

Always keep in mind that the message is beamed around the word right away 24-7 do how he presents things and what is actually done will have differences. We also have to (somewhat) accept there are many things we will never know.

We are animals. Homo sapians actually.

This is not true.

People want to get ahead and be happy, for their family to be OK, and for the country to step back from a cliff.

Hey, you make a valid point. You are right. I was/am a Kucinich guy myself. I loved me some Kucinich. OTOH, I am not making this stuff up. I wish I were. Any intelligent, learned person with a bit life experience can make pretty good educated guesses. What I am espousing is based on available hard data. Premature, yes. But it is based on available data.

he doesn’t have a year. and neither do the people who are going to die and suffer needlessly unless we make some changes. i’m not planning to criticize him from the right, or carry the Rs water. but i’m not going to sit on my hands and keep my mouth shut for a year either.

obama has had the power to make his own choices. i’m not judging him on his presidency – that time will come. but i can judge him on the actions he has taken, because there have been a lot and i have yet to see him throw us one bone. each and every big decision has been a big “fuck you” to progressives and i’m not going to pretend it looks like kittens and roses when i think it looks like shit.

i welcome being corrected when i’m wrong. but don’t expect me to pretend up is down.

Prescott Bush vetted Nixon.

All you have to do is see the picture where he is running his finger on the brim of Nixon’s hat treating him like a child. A picture is worth a 1000 words.

Nixon also said he first knew he was on the track to POTUS when he went to that Republic/Dem/Rich owl tree humping club in CA and deliver the key speech.

I agree. 2004 was the biggest blow. We could not afford the four additional years of Cheneydub. We have been gutted like a fish.

Here’s a wiki brief on the Owl Man Power Club that destroys the world.

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

Barak is not losing sleep over people not “giving him a chance”.

Activism is not to sit back and wait for 9-11 to happen.

And we showed the world that we would re-elect someone who… well what’s the list…Hugh’s list (I can’t even start to name all the shit stains Bush had on his record and the constitution at the time.

Pre-emptive war, torture, being a fat liar, and raping the environment come to mind.

(I use the royal “we’).

but if you where there in 2004 you know what a body blow feels like.

i was supposed to be in nh doing gotv for kerry but instead was in illinois sitting in icu with my dad.

I checked him on Wiki. One thing that looks interesting is his book on collective knowledge.

I am sure based on his other topics and what I saw he is a little short on science and a little large on opinion and guessing. I do not know what his insider deal is (since as I noted I just looked him up on Wiki).

That was more important.

I was in NH. We were the only state that flipped away from Bush if I recall correctly.

Don’t blame me I was from MA when the vote counted, and then from NH when the vote counted :)

KayInMaine @ 40 and @ 43: thanks, this is how I see it. And I would add that progressives can no more unilaterally ’run’ this country than can conservatives. Barack has noticed that it’s a diverse country and I think we forget that in the zeal to see what we think is best get done yesterday. It’s a really scary time, for that reason and a whole bunch of others.

I was going to say a lot more but the negative atmosphere is a bit oppressive so I will leave it at that. I will say that I just don’t see all these facts or evidence that are supposed to prove that Obama is the disaster or the liar some say he is. It’s too early for all that, anyway. And not persuasive.

It can all work out EVEN if it’s not exactly as progressives want it to be. Obama’s President, not us.

Interesting! Is it true that Prescott stroked baby Nixon’s hat? Hmmm. You can listen or read the transcripts of Kissinger’s trepidation about Nixon in the Nixon Library tapes.

…you need to sit down and find out precisely what it is we did and how we did it, because it is going to be vital to keeping the nation safe and secure in the years ahead,” Mr. Cheney told Mark Knoller of CBS Radio.

You dam betcha. Because we gotta keep the nation safe and secure from power-mad egotists like you, Darth Cheney, who in the name of protecting us have corrupted and profaned the Constitution until it is barely recognizable. Gibbon had something to say about Octavian’s role in the decline and fall of Rome on this point.

That’s why we want Obama to appoint a Special Prosecutor to look very closely at what you and your pals did and how you did it, Mr. Cheney. And he will, no doubt, have a number of questions for you (and them) to answer. Under oath.

Bob in HI

howdy neighbor! (waving from MA)

I agree with you.

Another point on what Obama will do, and what he will say.

Sadly I was for Edwards – and look how he turned out.

I always had my reservation (and did not like him as a VP pick in 2004) but I thought – at least he is “saying” the right things. To some degree I find it hard to see Obama as even “saying” the right things on many critical issue.

Needing 80 votes on the econ stim package sure as hell comes to mind.

Take a look at this and try not to puke and cry for your country:

http://people.cohums.ohio-stat…..age024.jpg

Nixon – Prescott Bush (my pretty pet)

The Edwards’ situation is truly a tragedy. Dayam.

Excellent!!!!

Cassie! Whassup???

Bob in HI

Freaky stuff.

(same link, in case anyone missed it. No vouching for the site I just google image searched it since I that picture sticks in my maw)

http://people.cohums.ohio-stat…..age024.jpg

Peace.

One day I will have to attend an FDL event when (and if ever) life settles down!

Like GoodFellas, Prescott appears to have “made” Nixon like a Mafia Don.

If the Media or Dukakis had saturated the teevee waves with that photo, it might have prevented the George Herbert Walker Bush succession after Reagan.

Dawn Johnsen for head of OLC – both Glenzilla and CHS like her a lot.

Then there is Hilda Solis. Shinseki and Chu may not be progressives, but they are good choices. Janet Napolitano is another solid pick.

I just want one signal that Obama is half as smart as people imagine him to be! When I hear him speak w/o teleprompter, all I hear are worn out cliches and trite remedies for serious problems. Even his speech today, all PR and old tired solutions that never worked. I just get the feeling he is determined to funnel all that money to his Chicago cronies. I just hope I am wrong.