Weekend Open Thread: Flag Day Edition

Analog TV is no more; I wonder if we'll live to regret that one.  I know I will, during hurricanes.  The new digital TVs don't receive well on short antennas nor do they last long on battery backups.

The Iranian "election" is going on.  This should be interesting.

It's a pandemic!  Oh boy.  Now, be honest.  Have you asked your primary care doctor for an Rx for Tamiflu, just in case?

I posted a diary about the GOP if anyone is interested in a little navel- or crystal ball-gazing.

Happy flag day, everybody.

 

Comments :

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

North Korea vows to strengthen their nuclear ambitions ...

in response to "American Agression".  American agression?  Why is Obama antagonizing an already enflamed sitution?  The article does not indicate the specifics of the of this American Agression but one thing is clear, Obama is now at the helm and therefore responsible for inflaming this international situation that endangers millions.

Apparently Hillary's "strong rhetoric" is no match for their nuclear ambitions.  Let us see if another round of name calling will put them in their place.

Obama should be out there publicly praising the Norht Koreans and peaceful humanitarians, and denouncing our American Imperialist oppression of them.  Without any such statement from Obama Bush's vile insult by including North Korea in the Axis of Evil continues to stand as the official American stance for the US.  Obama must reverse this immediately if we are to peacefully quell these tensions.  We must stand down and give in to all of the North Koreans demands because, as we know from Bush, failing to do this constitutes reckless disregard for the safety of the region, nay the entire world.

Defiant North Korea 'to weaponize plutonium'

"No matter how hard the U.S.-led hostile forces may try all sorts of isolation and blockade, the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), a proud nuclear power, will not flinch from them," KCNA said.

...

U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy to North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, called "simply groundless" accusations by Pyongyang that its nuclear and rocket tests were in response to American aggression.

More UN sanctions are just continuing the failed policies of the past.  Rather than sanctions we should be sending them food, and money, and more Plutonium so that they will like us.  This is the only way we can atone for our past sins against them.  We should publicly beg for their forgiveness.

Obama must act NOW.

 

Meta: If you can't hear the sarcasm in this comment, I can't help you.

I'm the Bugs Bunny of Swords Crossed!
-4 Strongly Disagree - 0 Meh - Strongly Agree +4

…………

Since you are

 invested in Obama's failure as President of the US, are you suggesting that North Korea's rising star could bode well for Republicans if they chose to score political points from potential world threats by putting the interests of their party before the interests of their country. 

 

 

………… parent

No, I am suggesting that Obama follow the logic

of the left to its natural conclusions.  I thought Obama was going to fix all this stuff and make the world love us again?  Doesn't seem to be working out that way.  He is causing NK to escalate not stand down.

 

Meta: This post is a serious comment.

I'm the Bugs Bunny of Swords Crossed!
-4 Strongly Disagree - 0 Meh - Strongly Agree +4

………… parent

Yeah, well

if it hadn't been for George Bush, it would all be OK now.

;-)

[How DO you write that stuff with a straight face?  I'm rolling here.]

………… parent

Hysterical isn't it

 Bush would have already solved this tricky problem yesterday! 

That's a real knee-slapper. Tears are rolling down my eyes I am laughing so hard. Ha!

 Poor Bush. Everything would have been roses for him if he hadn't inherited all of Bill Clinton's mess. Just ask GoRight. 

………… parent

Yeah I know

You're humor-impaired ;-)  You didn't even get the joke. 

Lighten up.  GoRight tossed a softball.  Could have been a fun satirical thread on a slow day.  

………… parent

Alas, this is so true.

Geroge Bush is the source of all evil in the world.  Did you know that if you write George Bush backwards you actually get "hsuB egroeG"?

That definitely sounds Satanic and suspicious to me.  It's sort of like someone speaking in "tongues".  Perhaps the Obamasiah should perform and exorcism at the White House, it seems that the evil spirit of "hsuB egroeG" is still exercising some sort of influence over the place.  I mean, just look at what has been happening with all the Gitmo policies!

 

Meta: Ditto on the sarcasm meme.

I'm the Bugs Bunny of Swords Crossed!
-4 Strongly Disagree - 0 Meh - Strongly Agree +4

………… parent

Well, Barry should ask Bobby

Well, Barry should ask Bobby Jindal for help in the exorcism of the evil spirits that have possessed a friend, he has quite a bit of experience in that sort of thing.

In our society, people are rewarded for pretending to be certain about things they're clearly not certain about. -- Sam Harris,

………… parent

Hmmm

You might be on to something.  And excising things is indeed constitutional---the word "excise" appears in the document, clearly stated, for anyone to read---so it's obviously the job of the Federal government to take action.  We wouldn't want to overactively interpret the Constitution despite the need for bold, decisive action to protect 'merica, would we?  Activistim of that nature would shake the foundations of our entire existence.  Wall Street and Main Street might collapse or something.

But you have your parties reversed; the Democrats can't act.  Spiritual matters are the purview of the Republicans.  I mean, between Saint Ronnie's voodoo economics and George "I'm on a mission from God" Bush, all things dealing with the FSM clearly belong to the minority party.

I know!  Whatever happened to that oh-so-interesting Mr Brownback?  Wasn't he known for his, er, backroom exorcisms?  He always struck me as a bit creepy, though. Michelle would probably frown at his being in the White House.  And isn't there something a bit unnatural about a man who loves dressing up in funny robes and playing with incense and candles in darkened rooms with just a few of his closest friends?  But of course he's a Republican, so it's all OK. 

;-)

………… parent

But that's good for you

 You should be thrilled.

 You want Obama to fail, so why is this not good news for you and your party?

 You should be clapping and cheering for Obama's failure on every issue. 

 

………… parent

Develop some new material, your act is soooo old already....

n/t

Great Spirits Have Always Encountered Violent Opposition From Mediocre Minds...~ A. Einstein

………… parent

Please prove causality

He is causing NK to escalate not stand down.

Do you have direct evidence that Dear Leader is escalating because of President Obama's actions (or lack thereof)?  Or are you turing a correlation into a causality?

I never broke the law; I am the law! -- George W. Bush Judge Dredd
I'm listening to...

………… parent

I assert that ...

"No matter how hard the U.S.-led hostile forces may try all sorts of isolation and blockade, the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), a proud nuclear power, will not flinch from them," KCNA said.

this pretty much shows causality.  They are directly stating that they are reacting to "US led hostilities".  "US led hostilities" = Obama Policies = Obama.  Unless I'm missing something there.

 

Meta: This post is a serious comment.

I'm the Bugs Bunny of Swords Crossed!
-4 Strongly Disagree - 0 Meh - Strongly Agree +4

………… parent

I happen to believe

That the DPRK is pretty schizophrenic (like their leader) and you can't divine anything about them based on their actions.

I never broke the law; I am the law! -- George W. Bush Judge Dredd
I'm listening to...

………… parent

You are welcome to that opinion ...

but when they outright state that is why they are doing what they are doing it certainly points to causation.  It's not like this is a new meme for them, right?

 

Meta: This post is a serious comment.

I'm the Bugs Bunny of Swords Crossed!
-4 Strongly Disagree - 0 Meh - Strongly Agree +4

………… parent

If you assume

That anything the DPRK says is based in reality.

I happen to think they're the most dangerous country since our dear friend Kim Jong-Il is so mentally unstable.  They're head and shoulders above any other "rogue states".

Fair enough, though.  I'm not faulting Bush or Obama here.  I tend to think they'll do what they want regardless of anything we do or don't do to instigate them or what have you.

I never broke the law; I am the law! -- George W. Bush Judge Dredd
I'm listening to...

………… parent

Hey, is this another example of Obama being worse that Bush?

I mean under Bush the NKs only got a fizzle of a bomb.  Under Obama they got the real thing, so that's worse, right?  Thanks, Bill, for sending them all that uranium.

 

Meta: This post is a semi-serious comment.

I'm the Bugs Bunny of Swords Crossed!
-4 Strongly Disagree - 0 Meh - Strongly Agree +4

………… parent

+4 for pointing out the irony in Obama's FP...

More UN sanctions are just continuing the failed policies of the past.  Rather than sanctions we should be sending them food, and money, and more Plutonium so that they will like us.  This is the only way we can atone for our past sins against them.  We should publicly beg for their forgiveness.

Obama must act NOW.

Great Spirits Have Always Encountered Violent Opposition From Mediocre Minds...~ A. Einstein

………… parent

US rejects Iranian poll results

See, I told you this was going to get interesting. 

The U.S. on Saturday refused to accept hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claim of a landslide re-election victory in Iran and said it was looking into allegations of election fraud.

While I applaud the intentions, I wonder just how we might go about performing an audit of this election.  Send in chad counters?

And this Forbes article from just before the election is priceless.

Only four candidates are allowed on the ballot box on the eve of the June 12 presidential elections in Iran. The outsider among these four is also the youngest; he is most energetic, highly entertaining and a virulently anti-Semitic incumbent known to the world as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And he has already lost the election.  

[snip]

The political death of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may appear as a new and shocking story to the outside world, but inside Iran it has been widely expected and, in fact, anticipated by both the elite and ordinary people alike. How did a man who captured the hatred of the world with his constant anti-Semitic rhetoric, yet was considered the hero of religious ghettos and disenfranchised revolutionaries' fall from power so quickly?

An evil man uses his power to remain in office.  How unexpected.

…………

You forgot about Jimmy Carter ...

While I applaud the intentions, I wonder just how we might go about performing an audit of this election.  Send in chad counters?

I'll bet he is on a plane as we speak.

 

Meta: This post might actually BE a serious post knowing Jimmy.

I'm the Bugs Bunny of Swords Crossed!
-4 Strongly Disagree - 0 Meh - Strongly Agree +4

………… parent

Sure, mock Jimmy Carter

Former Democratic presidents like to actually do socially conscious work after they leave office.  Shame on them.  Everyone knows the proper thing to do is leverage your connections into a cushy Carlysle Group stipend.

………… parent

We shouldn't touch the situation with a 1000 ft pole

This is exactly what we want- the Iranian people rising up to push their government to reform.  The last thing we should do is get involved in any way.  That'd just give the mullahs an easy out by pointing out that this whole thing is the work fo the great satan and changing the matter from internal Iranian to Iran vs US.

This is precisely what we should have let happen in Iraq.  The thing is most of the time things work out a lot better if we let the local deal with their own matters instead of trying to force a solution on them.

The biggest worry right now is that Israel will do something stupid and provoke the Iranian nationalism. 

I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.

………… parent

A policy blunder

Agreed.  This was a policy blunder.  A great example of how the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

In the rush to appear supportive of the Iranian people, the Administration didn't seem to evaluate how easily it could be twisted.  Just like the Forbes article writer who so blithely overlooked the lengths to which people will go to retain power.

………… parent

I have to point this out

Only four candidates are allowed on the ballot box on the eve of the June 12 presidential elections in Iran.

Only two were allowed in Oklahoma in 2004 and 2008.  How I wish for the freedoms they have in Iran here.

I never broke the law; I am the law! -- George W. Bush Judge Dredd
I'm listening to...

………… parent

Iran

I'd change my bar color to green in support of the Iranian people, but it already is!

We are the environment. There is no distinction. What we do to the earth we do to ourselves. —David Suzuki

…………

Green shoots

If you look carefully there are some indications of green shoots, not of economic recovery, but of republican sanity.  These are very welcome developments and I honestly hope they grow (and fast!) rather than getting smothered by the much mroe common vulgar stupidity of the modern right.

More like this please:

The problem with the Republican fixation on Ronald Reagan - and Republicans say "Reagan" like Smurfs say smurf - isn't with the ideals of limited government that Reagan espoused in 1980.  The problem is that Republicans never evolved past the 1980's.  The conservative movement that arose in the 60's and 70's reached maturity in the 1980's.  That period became the conservative movement's frame of reference; the experiences, lessons and skills learned up to that point became the Republican Party's hammer, and when all you have is a hammer...

www.thenextright.com/jon-henke/punctuating-the-republican-equilibrium

I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.

…………

You stopped too soon

Republicans are still trying to fight the same fights, even though the situation has changed.  It's one thing to mobilize people around tax cuts when you're cutting the top rates from 70% to 28%.  It's a lot harder to persuade people to vote on the difference between 39.6% and 35%.  Republicans are still trying to run against the vulgar great society liberalism of 1979, but (for a variety of reasons) that's just not as relevant to voters.

Yeah.  The top tax bracket through most of the Reagan years was 50%.  Even I'd blink at that.  Today it's 35%, and you "top out" at around $350k.  In my perfect world, we wouldn't have federal taxes but our state taxes would be much higher.  In reality, we should lower the tax brackets pretty much across the board but create quite a few more.  People making $10,000,000 shouldn't be paying the same 35% on their money that the people making $350k are paying.  Howsabout an extra 1% per $100,000 up to $1,000,000 at which it increases 2% every $100,000 up to a max of X?

I never broke the law; I am the law! -- George W. Bush Judge Dredd
I'm listening to...

………… parent

I don't really have a problem with 50%

of 75% or 99%.  What matters as i see it are two things:

 

1) does society get good value for the tax levied?  High taxes that support a society that provides good universal healthcare, college, etc. don;t bother me in the slightest.  High taxes that provide little or no value bother me a lot.

2) Are the taxs sufficient to redce income inequality?  As a general rule if income inequality is growing then the taxes on the top end are too low (and the taxes on the bottom end may be too high).

I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.

………… parent

I don't disagree

However, there is some creedence in the belief that a high enough marginal tax rate discourages work/investment/etc.  It isn't anywhere near where we're at now as the conservatives would have you believe, but I think there is an upper limit at which point you'll actually get less revenue if you increase taxes.

I never broke the law; I am the law! -- George W. Bush Judge Dredd
I'm listening to...

………… parent

So Senator Ensign, when are you resign for adultery?

You've all probably read about the good Senator from Nevada who it has been revealed carried on an affair with a woman. 

If not: tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/gop-sen-ensign-admits-to-affair.php

He was one of the Senators calling for Bill Clinton's resignation.  He is a long term member of Promise Keepers.  He called for Senator Craig's resignation after his kerfuffel.

I ask you Senator Ensign, when are you going to resign?

 

-crickets-

…………

Legal footing trumps all

Bill lied about a consensual relationship during a civil case about him possibly imposing himself on a different women. [I don't see what resulted from the Monica relationship as being material to whether Bill would make nonconsensual advances, but I digress].
Craig was barely legal is his affair, border line prostitution.
Ensign just bedded down with a friend and underling's wife.

In our society, people are rewarded for pretending to be certain about things they're clearly not certain about. -- Sam Harris,

………… parent

You understand I don't think it is a resigning offense.

I was merely having some fun with his hypocrisy.  When you hold yourself out as pious & pure, especially when publically judging others, you'd better be true to your word.  Otherwise you get my treatment.

………… parent

Yeah

So much for the "marriage is a sacred institution" line he seemed to like to use.

 

………… parent

Where's the inflation

It's not here, or there and not likely to show up any time soon, as the 'new normal' arrives, predicting a future with far less consumption.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/business/economy/18econ.html?ref=business

 

 

Despite rising gasoline prices, overall retail prices in the United States barely budged in May, the government reported on Wednesday, a sign that inflation remained in check as the recession drags on.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose 0.1 percent last month after being unchanged in April. The index measures how much consumers spend on an array of goods and services, and is considered a gauge of inflation in the economy.“Slack is headed to near unprecedented territory here,” said Haseeb Ahmed, United States economist at JPMorgan.

“If wages are falling do you really expect people to believe inflation’s going to go through the roof next year?”Consumer prices fell 1.3 percent from a year ago, the largest drop since 1950. The decline reflects a sharp drop in the prices of transportation and energy from last spring.

 

 

…………

I know crude prices have risen, but not as fast as a gallon

of gas has.  Here in northern Cal, I'm paying just under $3 a gallon.

I say we follow Venezuala's lead an nationalize the oil companies.

Really, I'd prefer to have a better battery so an electric car could go 250 miles before recharging or adding a charged battery pack.

………… parent

I know you'd like to believe

 that Obama is the knight in shining armor poised to come to the rescue of everybody here in the United States and the world at large, misslibertiies, but, unfortunately, thus far, it hasn't turned out to be the case.  Like  his predecessor(s), Barack Obama has sold the American people straight down the river.

………… parent

Who was it who said...

The Republicans will screw you.  The Democrats do the same, but at least they give you some lube.

I never broke the law; I am the law! -- George W. Bush Judge Dredd
I'm listening to...

………… parent

There lies the rub, stinerman.

 At least one KNOWS right away that they'll get screwed by the Republicans, but the Democrats are way sneakier about it, with the "lube", as you're calling it.

………… parent

Melodramatic, aren't we?

Bloggers in general aren't gaga Obama worshippers, and it's not fair to imply Missliberties is either.  To me it seems she's simply defending him from what she perceives as unjust criticism, not mindlessly following everthing he does.  You're mistaking enthusiasm for his candidacy with blind loyalty towards his policies.  Maybe because the other party does tend to do that.

Obama's a cautious politician who places lots (too much in my view) emphasis on conciliation and common ground.  I knew that and I voted for him anyway.  I actually think he's too slow to take offense.  If you forgive every political opponent for saying nasty things about you and opposing your every move, there's no downside to doing it.  Democrats got shell-shocked into going along with bad Republican initiatives in 2002 and 2004.  I believe there would be no NCLB or Medicare part D if those Dems had behaved like today's Republicans.  I guess the prospect of losing office is more terrifying that voting against your conscience.

That's why when I got called on at YKos '07, I asked him if he had a Lyndon Johnson side.  He gave a long interesting answer, but it was essentially a dodge.  I wasn't sure whether he simply didn't want to let on that he intended to arm-twist for votes or whether he didn't believe in doing it.  I now suspect it was the latter, unfortunately.

Still, much of the conservative criticism annoys the hell out of me too.  Mad at overspending?  Don't elect freemarket doctrinaire lazy morons who let amoral bankers turn the financial system into a ponzi scheme.  Then we won't have to deficit spend out of a nasty recession.

………… parent

Even more ironic

 is that I didn't even mention 'the one's' name in my post. The response seems out of sync with the actual post and the pattern is that this poster goes out of her way to point out Obama's flaws at every opportunity, as if it is personally my fault. It's actually kind of amusing. I didn't know I had that much power. :-)

  I didn't expect Obama to be a hard core progressive when I voted for him either. It cracks me up the flames thrown in my direction, that I am some kind of insane  a wild-eyed naive liberal and how disappointed I must be that Obama is a politician.

 

 

 

 

………… parent

I disagree with you here, missliberties.

 It seems to me that you go out of your way to defend Obama every step of the way, and I refuse to buy into the "Obama can do no wrong" dogma that you so clearly subscribe to.  A lot of the criticism of Obama, imho, is justified, and the people who defend him every step of the way are no different than the people who defended G. W. Bush every inch of the way, either.  

………… parent

That's a fresh take

 Would this be like the one hundred and fiftieth time you have stated the exact same thing. 

 It really gets tiresome having you stalk my posts, to give the same endless spiel over and over.

 I like Obama. I mostly like his style. I mostly like the way he has handled things. I mostly like his ideas. I mostly like him better than most democrats. So crucify me.

In the real world we had two choices.  I will take Obama over McCain (Palin) eight days a week. 

I know since Obama did x blah blah blah, it is just unacceptable to you. We know. You have said that. We get it. Roger that. Take 29. Obama sucks in your world. Also. Gotcha.

 

 

………… parent

You know what? Tough s**t, missliberties.

 You're entitled to your opinions, and I'm entitled to express mine.   You're irritated by my posts...fine.  Frankly, I'm glad of it, because you're so bitter, cynical and sarcastic all of the time.

More to the point, missliberties, a lot of the stuff that Obama's done so far IS unacceptable, and I think his style is quite phony.   Moreover, sweetiepie, I can use my vote in however way I please.  I go by the quote  "It's  better to vote ones conscience and vote for someone who can't win than to vote for someone who can win and will betray you".  

………… parent

tsk

  Yes I understand the frustration, yet your liberal glee at derision could be considered,  Exhibit A in the case of,  how liberals use sanctimonious personal attacks to make themselves feel superior to 'others', by berating them.

 General statement:

  Liberals are smarter than everyone else, cooler than everyone else, know what's best for everyone else, and in an effort to highlight their enlightenment, are apparently meaner than everyone else.

 IN the world of unintended consequences, the backlash of this perceived liberal meanness has created a host of resentments from conservatives that we see swirling in political debates today.

 

………… parent

Projection of one's own shortcomings on others:

That's PRECISELY what you do, missliberties.  I see a lot of the same stuff you mention in your above post coming from YOU constantly..personal attacks, nastiness towards people who've got openly different viewpoints than you do, and a generally nasty, cynical and bitter disposition.   I just wanted to let you know what it's like to be on the receiving end of that kind of vile meanness that you regularly indulge in.  It's people like YOU who've contributed to much resentment among conservatives and helped get us 8 years of G. W. Bush.

………… parent

uh huh

 It's ALL my fault.

 I deserve ALL the blame for your frustrations.

 

………… parent

Yeah....right!

 

………… parent

The trouble is though, corph, is that

the vast  majority of today's Democrats ARE behaving like today's Republicans by going along in lockstep with pretty much everything that the Republicans are doing.  The Democrats weren't shellshocked into going along with the Republicans--they just simply  haven't had the spine and the will to stand up to the Republicans....PERIOD, and it's proven disastrous.  Nobody says Obama STARTED the stuff that's presently going on--i. e. our Iraq war, torturing, gitmo, etc.  THAT'S agreed upon.  However, he's affectively allowed all that to continue, which, imho, is inexcusable.

………… parent

That's particularly true wrt a Single Payer/Public Health option

There isn't any reason for the bulk of the Democrats to be scared.  Polls consistently have and continue to show the public doesn't like the 'for profit' part of health coverage.  Something like 70+% wants a Government option.

Then you get dickheads like Baucus and the other yahoos who whore themselves to Big Pharma & Big Health and act like the 70% don't exist.  Some of these assholes are just going to have to lose their seats.  They don't deserve to call themselves Democrats.  Now my preferance would be to cut off their funding like the gay community is now doing to the Dems.

………… parent

Democrats are the New Republicans

 So sez Bill Maher

 Wouldn't it be nice to have a party that advocates  for a smaller defense budget, gun control, universal health care, taxing the rich, a clean and environment, that could actually state their opinions well and back them up with strong sound arguments? INstead we have democrats cowering in fear of having their campaign contributions from big pharma and the insurance industry taken away.

 New Rules from Bill Mahar: The Democrats are the New Republicans. Everytime Obama supports a progressive position there is one party that gets in his way. The Democrats.

 The problem for me is that the Republicans are so batshit crazy these days, the thought of them being in power again is just beyond unacceptable.

 I wish millions and millions of progressives would march on the capital in peaceful support of the public option and scare the bejesus out of these moderate democrats.

 It's time. The only voice I hear in the MSM that is passionately progressive is Ed Schultz. The few people I hear making any sense on health care are Howard Dean and Bernie Sanders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtUAHPYYzeM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edaily...

  

………… parent

Well.....

 First of all, Obama has gotten in his OWN way of progressive policies by not having the spine to stand up to anyone who gets in the way, and, if his appointees are any indication, he's sold out pretty much since the beginning of his campaign that got him elected.  

Secondly, I agree that Bernie Sanders and Dean, and Dennis Kucinich are the rare people with sensible visions on health care.  Obama, I'm sorry to say, was against single payment to begin with, and so;s Sebelius, or whatever her name is that has been appointed healthcare advisor.

Thirdly,   I have a hot surprise for your, misslliberties.  I didn't like or trust either Obama OR McCain, so I wrote in my OWN ticket at the polls this last election:  (Bernie) Sanders and Dennis Kucinich.

………… parent