John is incommunicado and I have work and beer blogging keeping me busy, so the inmates will have to run the asylum for a while. Some interesting links to tide you over:
Add your scoops in the comments.
by Tim F| 172 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
John is incommunicado and I have work and beer blogging keeping me busy, so the inmates will have to run the asylum for a while. Some interesting links to tide you over:
Add your scoops in the comments.
Comments are closed.
The Other Steve
Article over at msnbc, basically stating that most democrats don’t want to talk censure because it’s a distraction.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11866980/
The Republicans, on the other hand are over playing their hand. Talk of censure and impeachment isn’t a good thing for them, and I think it’s in part what’s behind the recent downfall in the polls. That is, the more we talk about impeachment, the more the word ‘incompetent’ comes to refer to Bush.
I just find it rather baffling to see Republicans cheering on Feingold. It shows just how out of touch they really are.
Paddy O'Shea
I kind of agree. I think the proper role for Democrats at this golden moment in the national pageant is to stand on the sidelines and throw rotten fruit and vegetables. Why stand in the way of the GOP’s worst debacle in decades?
If we win the Congress and Senate there will be plenty of time to put these dirtbags on trial.
srv
Heh, via Tom Tomorrow:
Instapundit rubbed our noses in it
You can email him at [email protected]
VidaLoca
…from what, all their other important messages? WTF?
Never missing an opporunity to miss an opportunity…
Pb
When wasn’t Instahack a spoof?
Pb
Here’s my news–the Bush administration’s Michelle Malkin strategy for the mid-term elections:
That is, of course, in addition to their many other plans for the mid-term election, including the “cut-and-run from Iraq” plan, and the “trumped-up war with Iran” plan.
ppGaz
Right there with ya, Pb.
One thing is for sure … the lying incompetant weasels have a plan, and that plan will be aimed at solidifying their base. That is one thing we can absolutely take to the bank as we enter the election season.
Every policy, every move, every utterance will be held up to that light. Does this move our base, does it get our voter to the polls?
If yes, do it. Period.
That’s the reality of the next six months. We better be prepared for it.
ppGaz
I agree, though. It is a distraction. Once the votes are counted on any proposed measure, it’s time to move on.
Doing otherwise focusses on the process and not on the actual issue. The story we want to tell is not about Feingold and the censure, it’s about Bush and the fact that he and his cronies have driven our country into a deep ditch and instead of calling for a tow truck, all they want to do now is keep spinning the wheels and throwing up dirt.
It’s the Clusterfuck, stupid.
ppGaz
Drum is the best, my personal favorite and usually the most level-headed political blogger on the planet.
Pb
ppGaz,
Yep, I was thinking the same thing last night, when I was looking at the official Pentagon footage running on the news… Beautiful looking propaganda, by the way…
dith
Politricks is the ritualized killing of love. It is the law of the jungle disguised in the jungle of their laws.
LITBMueller
Here is another crazy to be kept in check: Tony Zirkle:
Source
Well, at least he allows four witnesses!!! Is there any better term than American Taliban for this kind of extremism?
scs
Just a little anecdote for you all on a slow weekend on liberal hypocrisy. Speaking of the environment, did you know it is legal in many states to pump out poisonous fumes in your neighborhood? Even up to the point where it may kill someone? To explain, I have a mechanic behind my house who is there because he is grandfathered into the zoning laws, so we can’t kick him out. And on occasion, maybe twice a day for 20 minutes, he pumps out some fumes. These fumes smell like natural gas and makes you sick to your stomach and makes you lightheaded and feel like you’re about to pass out. Luckily I don’t notice it that often because I’m hardly in my yard enough to catch it. But when I have, I’ve called the EPD on them several times and they go over and look at the shop but they can’t figure out what it is. My guess is it is either the engine cleaners they use or some kind of diesel fuel, which I heard has the same additives as natural gas – something called something like merceptin. Basically, all the EPD guys did was tell the mechanics to call them next time they emit fumes so that they can go over there and check it out. (Yeah, right, like the mechanics are going to do that.)
Anyway, even if we figured it out, the EPD has no power to regulate what they do. They can only leave them nasty notes. Only certain substances are regulated by state rules anyway, and the amount of those materials allowed are usually over 100 tons of gas per year – basically enough to regulate the largest industrial companies, and no less. For instance, a mechanic might emit 1 or 2 tons of gas a year instead. So there is no legal recourse in the law for anyone poisoning his neighbors with poisonous gasses that are legal. You can’t call the police on them because even if you pass out, it would be hard to show your passing out was caused by your neighbors poison gas, especially if it dissipated by the time the cops got there. Maybe if you DIED, for example, and had an autopsy, then your neighbor may be held criminally responsible, but I’m not even sure about that, because there is no law in the books against using allowed substances that emit fumes. Perhaps your relatives could sue the fume releaser after your death for wrongful death in civil court, but that is about your only hope. I guess if you want to murder someone legally, pump out some legal poisonous fumes into their yard.
Anyway, where I live (and I’m not telling you where) is supposed to be a very liberal, environmentally conscious town. For instance, they just made it illegal to smoke in all the bars and restaurants. Ironic that poisonous deadly fumes not from cigarettes are still okay. So, I called and left a message with the editor of the small, local weekly liberal rag around here. He is constantly running articles about getting more greenspace and stopping pollution and recyling, and outlawing smoking in bars, and how the authorities-that-be and Republicans don’t care about the little people, and I told him about my story and asked if he would bring some attention to this issue. He didn’t call me back. So then I emailed him several times about it, and finally he emailed me a very short cold message back, saying something like “well it looked like you put a lot of work into it” like my emails were bugging him, and basically blew me off.
So, that is a liberal hypocrisy for you right there. This supposed big-time liberal guy rails against pollution and the powers, and wants us to bike everywhere, but when he really has a chance to do something real, and change legislation where he lives, and not for me but for the other people and kids in the neighborhood, uhh, suddenly he’s too busy to get involved. Figures.
Pb
Maybe he couldn’t handle your sparkling personality…
scs
First of all, I never spoke the guy in person, so I hardly doubt he could know enough about me to not like me. Second of all, even if he didn’t like me, it’s not a personality contest, it’s about protecting the public. I’m sure he knows that I am not the only one who lives near there, for instance there are little kids who live next door and play out in the yard constantly, so they are going to be affected more than I will. He should be smart enough to hone in on the important issues. Nah, he didn’t want to offend the small businesses around here that advertise in his paper probably. It’s fine when it’s a theoretical national issue, just not when it might effect him economically. It’s reverse liberal nimbyism – but in this case it’s “not in my back pocket”.
Pb
LOL!
Pooh
As PB points out, maybe you ain’t ass convincing as you think you are. Around here, your logical powers are without peer, but in the NFL that is the Real World, they play at a slightly higher level.
Or maybe Doug J is the editor of your local paper.
scs
Okay funny guy. And I never blogged with him either, okay? I left him a nice polite and factual messages – no peronality involved there. Just business.
scs
Yo my ass is convincing mofo! Seriously, I could be an odious retard with an IQ of 70, it shouldn’t matter. (Please feel free to insert your snark here) Are liberals supposed to be for the least amongst us anyway? If the issue deserves attention, it deserves attention. And again, it is not really about me. There are other people and kids who live nearby. Kids will be the most effected.
SeesThroughIt
In lighter news, the sure to be truly awesome film masterpiece Snakes on a Plane now has a trailer. It delivers exactly what the title promises. And there is absolutely no way I am missing this movie.
srv
Well, I missed the “let mechanics pollute” parade last week, so I can’t give you status on that. But perhaps if you got several of your neighbors to complain about it, took some videos, and got a lawyer, you might be able to make him identify exactly what he is doing. Probably burning oil.
I’ve known some people who take dirt samples from questionable activities and get them analyzed. I doubt it’s easy, but you could google for atmospheric sampling test labs. Probably pretty expensive.
It doesn’t sound like you live in a liberal state if the regulations are as lax as you say they are. Most counties and cities leave it up to state regulation. You really expect most towns to have their own evironmental regulatory authority?
srv
That has got to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen this year. What was Samuel thinking?
capelza
Oh, oh, oh…scs speaks jive….
I just got back from the doctor, I have bronchial pneumonia..and I just burst a lung laughing at this. If you don’t hear from me again, know I died laughing…
scs
I know, I looked into all of that. I called the univesity organic chem department, spoke to some professors. They didn’t care/ said it was too difficult/ too expensive. I called my local reps, they didn’t care. Emailed my (also liberal) mayor, she didn’t care, but at least she said she would look into it and ask the EPD. I tried to convince the locals to draft some laws about toxic fumes but they said they wouldn’t know how to draft such technical legislation and that they would ask the EPD to help draft it. But then I called the EPD on updates and they basically said they couldn’t draft it because they don’t draft local laws. It’s a mess.
The only good news is that they want to put in some large plant around here that will emit lots of toxic fumes that will effect a lot of people here and give them cancer and still prob fall under the state limits. That’s good news because I finally saw some interest in drafting local laws against fumes, which would be used to ward off this new plant. Finally there may be some action in this front. But it took a lot of people being effected for anyone to care.
Ancient Purple
Since when are smoking bans a liberal vs. conservative thing?
Here are just a few of those liberal havens that have smoking bans in restaurants, bars or both:
Anchorage, AK
Mesa, AZ
State of Idaho
Ft. Wayne, IN
State of Maine
Helena, MT
Bozeman, MT
Minot, ND
Fargo, ND
Bismark, ND
Columbus, OH
Odessa, TX
State of Utah
And, it looks like if the initiative drive to get a smoking ban state wide in Arizona hits the ballot, it will pass easily.
Arizona – Liberal Haven.
Pb
Hmm… I wonder if there could be some sort of environmental contaminant out there that might cause authoritarian submission and aggression, and conventionalism (that is, RWA), or maybe just SDO. This would be self-perpetuating, because the authorities sanction the contamination, and the affected population couldn’t care less…
scs
Trust me, it’s liberal here.
Pb
scs,
It sounds like you are in desperate need of a free-market solution, like… ah… buying a lobbyist…
scs
Anchorage, AK
Mesa, AZ
State of Idaho
Ft. Wayne, IN
State of Maine
Actually looking at that list, most are liberal places(not all). Many are college and or tourist towns
Pb
Ancient Purple,
Heh. The liberal state of Utah. Good one. :)
scs
Yeah. See Tom Delay had his good side.
scs
Come on now- I said “Not all”. However Utah does have some tourist areas, such as the ski resort towns, ie Park City, and the other natural parks areas.
Pooh
Anchorage, Alaska…liberal oasis. That’s a good one.
I’ll give you maybe Maine and Columbus, OH, but other than that…
scs
Oh- I block quoted wrong up there- just meant to block quote the whole thing.
srv
You obviously haven’t been reading the chemtrail sites.
scs
I heard Anchorage, Alaska was the artsy town in Alaska, as compared to Juneau – no? Relatively good tourist scene there. Please correct me if I got them mixed up.
scs
Aren’t these college towns? Isn’t Mesa, AZ near Flagstaff, another college town? Anyway, I’m just guessing. I might look it up later. I don’t want someone jumping in here holding me to it and saying “YOU”RE ALWAYS WRONG” if I’m nmistaken.
Steve
Anchorage is, uh, the only real city in Alaska, period. It’s hard to find a truly “conservative” urban area over a certain size, though.
capelza
Anchorage and artsy have never even in the same room, let alone the same sentence. Juneau maybe, but you might be thinking of Sitka or Ketchikan…
The sick thing is that Ak used to pride itself on its rugged individualism, libertarian live and let live…cry for my beloved state…
scs
Steve, you’re supposed to be a lawyer? Any legal advice?
jg
Oddly there are two Mesa’s in AZ and no the one with the smoking ban is nowhere near Flagstaff and Flagstaff ain’t liberal, neither is Tempe or any other city in AZ.
scs
Flagstaff has a definite liberal slant. I know this because I was there, and saw a lots of artsy/hippie types meandering around there.
SeesThroughIt
Seriously, he didn’t even read the script. He saw the title and immediately signed on. And wouldn’t you? I know I would. I can’t fucking wait for this thing to hit theaters.
Pooh
Capelza, you’re from AK too? (Parenthetically, is scs T. Obermeyer in disguise?)
scs, what possible cause of action could you have here? The editor didn’t publish your letter and therefore…help us out…
Pooh
Because as well know, the plural of ‘anectdote’ is ‘data’. I saw several car accidents today, therefore nobody here can drive worth a crap (wait, that one’s actually true…)
jg
So? That means the town votes liberal? There are tons of hippies laying around on Mill Ave in Tempe but that doesn’t mean liberal measures pass in Tempe?
scs
Well Pooh, what is your definition of a “liberal” town? It’s a somewhat subjective term, is it not ? Besides it’s a large college, ski, and tourist town. Three def liberal markers right there.
capelza
Pooh..I’m not a native, but it is my adopted home, I have lived there off and on for almost 30 years…I am sadly stuck in Oregon for the moment, can’t pry my husband out of here with a crowbar. But I still escape back to western Alaska whenever I can..Kodiak and Bristol Bay, though I have fantasies of living in False Pass. My last job was tendering in Bristol Bay…absolute heaven.
You from there or live there now? Lucky man.
scs
I just saw Tempe is next to Mesa on the map. Okay, so another college town on the list.
Ancient Purple
Right. Because the way to preserve the “liberal” ski resorts, you ban smoking in Deseret, Utah.
Odessa, TX is not liberal. Neither is Mesa, AZ, nor Anchorage, nor Bismark, ND, nor Utah, nor Helena, MT, etc.
Pooh
Counting dreadlocks is as good a measure as any, I guess.
Skiing is a liberal passtime now? I didn’t get that memo.
And touristy you say! Those damn libruls who run Mt. Rushmore…
scs
Well there is a catch-all law called something like “Quiet Enjoyment of Premises”. I could try to get him under that. Probably this spring, when I have time, I’m going to sue his ass.
capelza
scs..only liberals ski? Only liberals are tourists? (I’m sure Orlando is bemused).
No wonder you righties are so cranky..hit the slopes!
Besides, judging from your earlier definition of liberal,
the disconnect is enormous..what hippie can afford a ski pass?
scs
I have a feeling most of those towns have large colleges there. Mesa does for instance- it’s smack next to Tempe. Anchorage def does too- Univ. of Alaska. Utah has liberal areas mixed with health conscious Mormon areas- so that one’s mixed. I will google it later for you’all. Bismark , ND is NOT, and I know this authoritatively through the ” above mentioned “dreadlock test”, because we drove through it and I saw a LOT of mullets scattered around the fast food joints on the strip.
scs
Damn, did you ever go to college? The hippie types were some of the richest ones.
Ancient Purple
Where are you getting this stuff, scs? Honestly… where are you getting this?
capelza
Proud graduate of Oregon State University,(aka Oregon Straight) dearie…and the main campus of Uof A is in Fairbanks. Seeing as half of the residents of Alaska live IN ANCHORAGE, and as it is a hugely red state, you’re reaching here.
scs
I looked it up in the Encyclopedia of Liberal Towns, where else?
capelza
10 bucks says a Michael Barone article I once tore apart elsewhere…
Ancient Purple
Mesa is overwhelmingly Mormon and is NOT liberal. Scottsdale, AZ is also next to Tempe, as is Phoenix, Gilbert, Chandler, and Apache Junction. Those are NOT liberal areas.
Your claim that if it has a college in it or next to it, then it is liberal.
Tell me, scs. Since when is Tulsa, OK a liberal oasis? It’s the home of Oral Roberts University, so it must be party central.
scs
I knew that already. Heard much talk about the NW university thing before. Oh wait, no that wasn’t you, that was someone else. Never mind.
capelza
Don’t forget that other bastion of liberalism…Pullman, WA..haha.
scs
I would posit that most large college towns are statistically more liberal than most other American cities of the same size. Should we take a demographical countrywide survey to check this? You start it and let me know how it’s going.
capelza
Because your way hasn’t been working so well has it?
scs
You are so obvious NW Phd.
capelza
Thank you! :) Whatever you meant…
scs
Hey, where’s GOP4ME today? He’s being awful quiet for once.
ppGaz
I’ve got twenty dollars that says scs is John Cole.
scs
You wish.
scs
So ppgaz, you can be useful here for once. What’s Mesa Arizona like?
Pooh
No action from me, ppG. A strong, strong whiff of troll-dung in these here comments. Maybe scs really is Doug J. Or maybe it’s Tom Maguire getting his Just One Minute of revenge. Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get me…
scs
Why is it so hard to believe I’m me? Righties happen you know.
By the way, I just saw Steve show up here amongst the DougJ suspects above. Now if HE is a DougJ clone, then I’ll REALLY lose it.
ppGaz
Mesa, Arizona is like …. ten miles from where I sit.
Demographics of Mesa, AZ
ppGaz
Mesa, AZ sends Matt Salmon to Congress
If you can get any more mainstream GOP-righty than Matt Salmon, I don’t know how.
scs
Okay thanks ppgaz- I notice age groups are largest from 24-54, mostly white homeowners. I didn’t see the average income. I’m guessing probably a yuppie town where the college grads move to.
scs
Okay strike that one off liberal list then.
ppGaz
All in all, I would say that Matt Salmon is a decent guy and probably a decent congressman, as tighty-righties go.
However, I think Ancient Purple or maybe another commenter here lives in his district and could give more insight.
Pooh
I agree, righties happen. (Don Rumsfeld even said so.)
But you are sui generis
scs
You mean there’s actually one good one? Wow.
scs
Yeah I must be a rightie, cause I don’t use a lot of Latin.
ppGaz
I’d say Mesa is more middle-of-the road middle class, than yuppie. The upward mobile consumers tend more toward South Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, and Ahwatukee.
Ahwatukee
The core of Mesa, the older part, is a place that you could transplant into almost anywhere in the Midwest and it would look right at home there. The newer parts are all subdivisions and shopping centers and AMC 20-screen multiplexes.
We used to rely heavily on “winter visitor” trade here (the snowbirds, as we called them) and the snowbirds would nest in Mesa in large numbers. But I think now as the primary county here, Maricopa, is the third largest county population in the country, the economy is much more diverse.
Yes, we are the third most populous county in the United States. I think LA and Cook (IL) are the larger county populations.
ppGaz
Yes, of course.
There are a number of good ones. Unfortunately, their party is held hostage right now.
scs
Okay, thanks, good info to know before I run.
Ancient Purple
Sorry, but I am addressing your screwy notions regarding suburban Phoenix. You made the claim that because Mesa was next to Tempe, it must be leaning left because Tempe is a liberal town due to ASU.
Tempe is not a liberal town by any stretch. I should know since I attended ASU and my nephew currently attends. We could only hope it was as liberal as you believe it is.
Mesa is home of the largest Mormon temple in Arizona. The city is overwhelmingly Mormon and very conservative.
Scottsdale is heavily conservative Republican and also borders Tempe, but you conveniently dismiss that fact, as you dismissed the Oral Roberts University in Tulsa item.
You originally claimed that my list of locales that had smoking bans was dominated by liberals. It wasn’t and you are sadly ignorant of the facts.
Again.
Ancient Purple
Alas, I live in Shaddeg’s district. Salmon is not a bad guy.
J.D. Hayworth, on the other hand….
Perry Como
He is. This thread is 90% DougJ.
DougJ
Did you hear that the lawyer in the Mossaoui case was in cahoots with the airline industry?
Here’s the link.
ppGaz
Ugh.
I still think of him as a bombastic sportscaster.
Which he has in common with Rush Limbaugh, IANM.
Steve
What is the obsession with college towns? Are there any major cities in America without a college? Does that really make them all “college towns”?
Remfin
Just a shorthand way to declare something “liberal”. It of course makes no sense, as did so many of the other claims. Like “tourist towns”, hint: tourists don’t vote, and every smoking ban is ending up on a ballot at some point, either in response to councilman making it themselves, or the citizens pushing for it. For that matter, college kids don’t vote either as a practical matter, and some of them couldn’t anyway because they are still registered wherever their parents live. On top of which colleges, while usually attached to certain cities, many times legally belong to another city. I’m pretty sure for instance at OSU that some/most of the student dorms/housing belongs to a suburb, and people registered there wouldn’t vote in Columbus anyway
Pb
Remfin,
Amen–a lot of college students were disenfranchised in 2004, I wonder if that’ll make them more or less likely to try to vote again…
Pooh
Nope, just saying you are one of a kind, take it how you will…
The Other Steve
I am DougJ.
ppGaz
I am DougJ.
Ancient Purple
I am DougJ.
Pb
I am Spartacus!
Perry Como
I am not DougJ.
Or am I…?
ppGaz
I am Perry Como.
I am not Vic Damone.
ppGaz
You guys talk among yourselves. I’m just here for the Lane Bryant ads.
Ancient Purple
It’s time to kiss the 4th Amendment goodbye.
On Countdown, Olbermann read from a US News and World Report press release regarding an article appearing tomorrow evening on their website. The press release stated:
So, if the King and his flunkies think you are a terror suspect, you don’t get 4th Amendment protection. Period. No warrant necessary. Please assume the position.
Oh, but it goes further:
Would President Bush and his jack booted toadies like Abu Gonzales really order an attorney’s office searched without a warrant as well?
You bet your ass he would.
See the video exchange between Olbermann and Turley regarding the death of the 4th Amendment here.
The Other Steve
MSNBC is reporting that Iraq war will likely cost $1 trillion.
Is it legal to seize fortunes in the United States by people who royally fucked up and cost us $1 trillion?
I’m thinking Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney… oh and hell people like Andrew Sullivan while we’re at it. I figure $100 for every time they repeated the words “bush hater”.
The Other Steve
Do we even need the 4th amendment any more?
I mean, isn’t the Bill of Rights a rather quaint document which isn’t applicable in todays modern world?
Ancient Purple
Warrants? Constitutional protections? Freedom?
That’s pre-9/11 thinking, The Other Steve.
scs
Most cities do have colleges, however a college town is what I consider a town where a large portion of the city’s population/jobs is based on their college (Chapel Hill) and/or is known to house a particurly large number of colleges (Boston) or houses a very large college (Columbus, OH)
Yes college kids and tourists don’t vote, but college and tourist towns are full of aged college kids and aged tourists who moved to those towns for their thriving arts and culture scene and also business/shop owners who cater to that scene and who tend to be liberal. And since this is the US, such towns with a good cultural scene are not that common.
Anyway, I looked up some of the towns on the list. This is what I’ve determined:
Anchorage, AK -tourism, arts, University of Alaska
Mesa, AZ –
State of Idaho – lots of Rocky Mountain tourism
Ft. Wayne, IN – big college town
State of Maine -liberal
Helena, MT -tourist town
Bozeman, MT -college town
Minot, ND (these ND towns do have U of ND branches)
Fargo, ND (but not really college towns)
Bismark, ND
Columbus, OH – college town
Odessa, TX
State of Utah – mixed tourist state
By the way Capelza, former Alaska resident, was wrong on University of Alaska:
The UA educational system is made up of three universities,
UA Fairbanks – enrollment in 2003, 10,487
UA Southeast- in 2002, 700 full-time student
UA Anchorage -Number of students: 17,512
So UAA has the largest campus, not Fairbanks. Capelza must not have spent as much time there as she said.
Ancient Purple
You complete distorted what he said, scs. Typical.
He didn’t say “largest,” she said “main.” And there is a difference. She is correct. UAA is not the premier or main university in Alaska. UAF is.
In Arizona, the largest university is Arizona State. But the main university historically and present day is the University of Arizona in Tucson because it has the medical program and was the first university in the state.
The rest of your research is bogus as well, because you base your conclusion on false assumptions. Interestingly enough, you won’t address the ORU situation in Tulsa. How about Bob Jones University in Greenville, NC. Is that a liberal town? How about Virginia Beach, VA with Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University. Is that a liberal town too?
And your howling about tourism = liberalism is hooey as well. Please, by all means, tell me how Scottsdale, AZ, a Republican stronghold suburb of Phoenix (and adjacent to Tempe) is a liberal town because it has a huge tourism base. Oh, it also has arts and arts and arts.
But don’t let the facts get in the way of your troll ranting.
Pb
scs,
I live near Chapel Hill–and let me tell you, there’s no shortage of colleges around here. So tell me, is Durham a college town as well? Is Raleigh? What are we to make of RTP? And how does all this affect Cary and Carrboro… There’s no simple dynamic at work here.
Pb
Oh, and as I alluded to before–your ‘mixed tourist state’ of Utah just happens to be the most staunchly Republican state in the nation as well.
BIRDZILLA
I support anyone in the interior dept who is oppsed by the eco-freak wackos
ppGaz
There is. It’s the “SCS Effect.”
ppGaz
Hey BIRD, what is “oppsed?”
If you are speaking some kind of code, you should know that NSA is watching this blog like a …. well, like a hawk. If you’ll pardon the expression.
capelza
scs:
Fairbanks, Alaska..pop. 30,000 (college students 10,487)
Anchorage, Alaska..pop. 277,000 (college students 17,512)
somebody else want to do the percentages…but even to our own little GOP dream date here, it must be obvious.
Stormy70
New York Times, liars. It’s hard when you can’t trust every hard luck torture story. A little cream for the coffee today.
Back to Mario.
docG
Liberalism = antismoking legislation?
How about a different guess? Only 27% of men and 22% of women in the United States smoke. The vast majority of people do not like to smell like shit from being around smoke. It ain’t political, but is as good an explanation as liberals promote smoking bans.
The Other Steve
Stormy70 – Well, you are certainly be well familiar with overstating facts. So it takes one to know one, I guess.
For the record, I never cared about that article.
Richard 23
scs:
No big deal, but when something affects you, you feel its effect.
Kids aren’t “effected” by anything. And there is no such thing as a placebo-affect.
Good luck with your fume problem. But don’t sue — we’re in favor of tort reform around here.
I’m not so sure that you’ve found liberal hypocrisy, but there may be a question of scale (neighbor’s passing of gas vs say mercury emitting coal plants).
Your story had my head spinning and I don’t huff chemicals. Maybe that has something to do with the response you got. Presentation matters.
capelza
Wow…a paper issues corrections and they are liars…seems to me, to be a liar, one has to stick to the incorrect facts and continue to say they are factual. (i’m thinking the Bush adin, here…by your standards, even if they release some kind of correction, they are liars, too…thanks, I’ve been waiting for that mea culpa from you.)
So the guy with the hood and the electrodes was NOT this guy? So who was he?…Lyndie Englund (spelling?) in a gag outfit?
scs
Yeah, I will never feel comfotable with that difference. I vote we abolish it and stick to one word.
And nice try Capelza. You said this:
Which is wrong. Again:
The UA educational system is made up of three universities,
UA Fairbanks – enrollment in 2003, 10,487
UA Southeast- in 2002, 700 full-time students
UA Anchorage -Number of students: 17,512
And you lived there for 30 years? You’re slipping.
scs
A refresher from Dictionary.com
scs
I still don’t get that. Let’s say kids are bombarded by fumes and feel lots of pain. Then they are feeling the fume’s “affects” and are “affected” by it. However, let’s say these kids with the fumes then later get asthma or cancer, and then these kids will be later experiencing the “effects” or the results of the fumes, so they will be effected.
There is hardly ever an “affect” without an accompanying “effect”. Let’s face it, it can go either way, no matter what the high falluting grammar authorities try and pretend.
capelza
scs..either you are a troll or you are too willfully stupid to even talk to. If you are trying to make a point don’t repeat the same numbers without responding to the post that followed it. Fairbanks..pop. 30,000 (students over ten thousand), Anchorage..pop. 277,000 (students over 17,000).
Fairbanks was the first and remains the heart of the UA system. Anchorage, with it’s huge population, is of course going to have more students, but percentage wise it pales to Fairbanks, which is still the queen of the system. And Fairbanks itself remains the COLLEGE TOWN of AK.
If you want to keep beating the Anchorage is liberal because it is a college town, please explain why Fairbanks, which IS a college town isn’t the one that passed the ban.
I really have to restrain myself here. I don’t want to get banned because of something I might call you. However, I have to agree with others that in your passive-agressive way, you ARE the instigator. I am very tired and offended by your bullshit insinuations that I am not who I say I am. It only makes you look like an ass. John or Tim can look at my IP and see that it belongs to me and noone else and that it is unique to my name.
Now go crying to John or Tim, but seriously you can go fuck yourself.
scs
DougJ, you are soooo cute.
The Other Steve
HA! I’ve been saying this for at least a month now.
I think she’s clearly a parody troll to make Republicans look bad.
Pooh
Further facts to get in SCS’s way on the Great College Town Debate is that UA-Anchorage is largely a commuter school – they built the first dorms about 5 years ago. So it’s much more night students and continuing education then people “going off to college” in the traditional sense.
And Capelza, the correct answer is willfully ignorant. If you close off your eyes and ears, you won’t be exposed to unpleasant facts and can saefly indulge in your ‘intuitions’ and honestly say “I didn’t know that and I don’t believe you” anytime something contrary is said.
scs
Besides I didn’t say Anchorage was JUST a college town, I said it had a good arts and tourists scene, as well as colleges. Here is some info from Wikipedia for you:
Okay, happy now Capelza?
Pooh
Scs, please tell us more that you know about Alaska that one current and one former resident don’t.
capelza
Just a rhetorical question, folks..purely hypothetical..if a woman calls another woman a c**t, is it still considered sexist? Just askin’ here…
scs, I would explain further who I am, but if you are a troll then I would be giving out too much information. Now if you are truly the insane person you present yourself to be, then again I would be giving out too much information. I don’t feel like endangering myself or my family to satisfy your sick little games.
scs
So Capelza, 30 year native of Alaska, when you said this:
Wikipedia, the enclycopedia of the people, begs to differ:
capelza
What is really sad…scs conflates the arts with liberals. That is sad commentary on the creative spirit of conservatives.
A funny story, my ex was stuck in Anchorage once, years ago, as the plane to Dutch Harbor was canceled (sadly a very common occurance) due to weather. So he goes downtown and buys me a lovely gift, a fossilized walrus bracelet. He tells me he had help from a nice lady that worked at the Bush Company, which was right next to the gallery he bought it at. In a nutshell, besides the dust (or dirty snow or mud), dirt and drunks on the very unlovely streets of that fair city, THAT is what Anchorage represents to me. Pooh, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.
Pooh
And McDonald’s sells nutritious breakfast…
If you think Anchorage is artsy, you’re in error. If you think Anchorage is liberal, you’re in error.
But please instruct me more from a position of complete ignorance, you should be used to it.
Pooh
That’s the Great Alaska Bush Company. And no, it is not a campaign headquarters, it’s a world (in)famous establishment
scs
Well then maybe you should try some editing on Wikipedia. It’s up to you to set America straight now. By the way, after that walrus bracelet story, I have a new theory on who you are, James (what’s his last name) the guy who wrote “A Million Little Pieces”. Do you know Oprah?
capelza
Scs..I’m not taking the bait.
why bother..every town likes to think it has a “lively arts community”…I bet even Provo says something similar in their speil.
The other sad thing is that apparantly conservatives (based on your criteria) think that only liberals ever go anywhere…hence tourism. So what DO you people do? No arts, no tourism…huddle around your radio, listening to Limbaugh?
Pooh
Yes, I know Oprah, so I have the power to make you disappear with a word in the right ear. Fear the Pooh.
capelza
Pohh, I forgot…when my ex was giving this and telling me about the Bush Company (I was so innocent in those days.. :P ..I thought it was an outfitter, like REI (I’d seen it on the credit card bills and didn’t even blink))…the “hooker with a heart of gold” comment he made at the time went right over my head.
capelza
Sorry, typo..Pooh..
scs
Well my theory is, conservatives may travel, but they don’t MOVE to those tourists spots as much, to run the small shops that cater to tourists. I would guess that conservatives tend to be “conservative” in their living choices as well and are more likely to stay close to where they grew up, hence why small towns tend to have more conservatives. Or I would guess conservatives choose a location based more on “family” issues, such as being close to family, or moving to a place with good jobs to support their families, not so much the “culture” scene. But that’s just me and my impression. Feel free to disagree. I know you will.
scs
Oh my gawd…
Pooh
A theory you say? Have any support for it, or just feelings….nothing more than feelings….
scs
Trying to forget you….
ppGaz
Anchorage might be considered “artsy” if by “art” you mean sculpture made out of old railroad ties. Or elaborate snowmen.
Mind you, I have never been to AK, but (a) I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once, and (b) I just felt like saying the thing about the railroad ties.
Which, so far, makes me more of an expert on the subject than, say, scs.
Ancient Purple
Agreed. scs continues to completey ignore the facts I pointed out regarding Scottsdale and its fantastic arts scene. The Thursday Art Walk in downtown Scottsdale is one of the most popular things in that suburb and Scottsdale is and always will be a conservative Republican stronghold.
And scs also wants us to believe that Tulsa, Greenville and Virgina Beach are liberal havens because of the universities there.
scs is either a troll or an idiot.
I think a bit of both.
Davebo
Significant travel usually requires an airplane ride.
Muslims have not been banned from the Airlines.
It’s just so much safer to stay home.
Under the bed.
scs
I think you have a problem with the concept of or statistics or “trends”. Refresh up on that and get back to me.
capelza
ppGaz…there is also a splendid tradition of horrible, tacky gold nugget jewelry, too. You ain’t nobody until you own a watch made from gold nuggets with ram’s heads with ruby eyes (or giant king crabs) on either side of the face …and lest we forget…the moose dropping earrings.
scs
Anyway, Sybil, it’s been fun today, but all good things must come to an end. Besides, I thought you didn’t have a computer this weekend? Did you fix it? Carry on..
Ancient Purple
Well, scs, I know about statistics and trends very well. But you were the one who popped off about how the list of locales I provided were all liberal havens with smoking bans. And over the course of less than 24 hours, you have backtracked again and again, even stupidly maintaining that Mesa, AZ was the land of vegan food parlors and lesbians run amok until shown that you were completely wrong.
I know it is easier for your uninformed self to cling to the concepts of black and white in your small little world, but just because you believe something to be true doesn’t make it so.
Or are you still going to maintain that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a front for fundamentalists?
Steve
I have a cousin who lives in Dutch Harbor. Between the two of us we might have just described the entire population.
scs
You decide.
scs
You know, looking at the news on TV now, I’m convinced you must be French as well.
Pooh
Were one to make a statistical analyis of BJ posts, would Scs’ entries be significant, or simply ‘noise’?
ppGaz
Oh, well, I didn’t know about those. That changes everything. That’s why they call Anchorage the Sedona of the Frozen North.
BTW, can I get a pair of those earrings? I’ve got a wedding anniversary coming up and it would be a gift for the woman who has everything ….
capelza
Haha…sometimes it feels like the entire population of Dutch is stuck in the Anchoarge airport…
Ask your cousin if they have ever been to Egegik. The best liquor store in the whole world is there. It’s open during lunch and an hour after work. It’s a rusty old quonset hut with with a crappy leanto attached on one end and a hand painted hand on beat up plywood. Of course to get there you walk up a sand trail not wide enough for a truck. That is after you take the 30 minute skiff ride from the boat. Folks line up to get what they want..they even had Grey Goose! But that’s in the summer…I think there are 90 year residents.
Of course you risk getting stranded on a sand bar on the way back, but at least you go the booze to tide you over… :P
I am very homesick…
Pooh
My favorite is the roadhouse (definitely in the Swayze sense) on the Parks highway up to Fairbanks: “Skinny Dick’s Halfway Inn”
ppGaz
Well, we’re gonna need a way to associate scalars and vectors with the utterances of a paranoid schizophrenic.
Let me check with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, I think they have something on this ….
ppGaz
For some reason, that sounds vaguely familiar. Hmm.
Reminds me of a joke I heard from Jay Leno last night:
Guy calls 911 and threatens to cut off his own penis.
Police said when they got there, he was just nuts.
Otto Man
Wow, nice catch Stormy! The New York Times made a mistake and they got stone cold busted by … the New York Times. Oh well, I bet they hid the evidence by burying the retraction on … the front page. Um, they lied, OK?
Unlike Bush, who — as Stormy will surely tell you — didn’t lie about the WMDs because he really believed in it, unlike those lying dirty liars at the New York Times. And Bush had the courage to retract his mistake when many many other people pointed it out to him, unlike the liars of the New York Times who quickly and fully corrected themselves.
Liars!
capelza
I think my favourite is once in Larsen Bay, on Kodiak Island…there is a salmon packing plant and a lodge, and some homes. Not a whole lot to do. So the going to the dump to watch the bears eat garbage ranks high on the entertainment scale. Some friends once crammed into a Yugo (now you know where THOSE cars go to die) and went up there. A couple thought they were safe in the car, but one friend pointed out that the bear was probably thinking..”yum, crunchy on the outside, but soft in the middle”.
Pooh
And by ‘admitted his mistake’ you mean ‘searchrd under his desk’. (Which I still think is funny in a “NFW he did that” sort of way.) Where, ironically, he found Nicole’s real killer.
Otto Man
Good point. I guess he never really admitted his statements about WMDs were incorrect.
So that makes the New York Times an even bigger liar!
Ancient Purple
I have.
You are a troll.
ppGaz
Okay, it’s an open thread.
So let’s get open.
The following is from DKos, and talks about star rising in the Republican firmament. Read it and then get mad, very mad. These crazy assholes are stealing your country:
Tell me again how Democrats are responsible for the partisan atmosphere in today’s politics?
Richard Bottoms
Dear suckers for Bush, your war turns 3 years old tomorrow.
US dead: 2300
US Wounded: 17,000
Iraqi Dead: 100,000
Cost: $400,000,000,000 and counting
WMD found: 0
Have a nice day. Assholes.
Steve
I wonder if the liquor store in Egegik is better than the grocery store in Wasilla.
Ancient Purple
Mr. Bottoms,
You forgot this statistic:
Number of confirmed connections between Al Qaeda and Saddam: 0
Ancient Purple
Yeah, because the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims that the richest nation on the face of the planet should allow 44 million of its own citizens to go without health care coverage because they can’t afford it.
God must be so proud.
Pooh
I dunno about that, but I’m quite certain that I’ve discovered the best sports mascot. Tetetlik HS in Tetetlik, AK.
The Fighting Tetelikers. I kid you only sort of…
Jon H
Go see V for Vendetta.
That is all.
(Except for this: any right winger who condemns the movie and says it glorifies terrorism would probably have a monthlong orgasm if ‘V’ clones appeared in Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya, Egypt, etc. )
Baron Elmo
Fear not, Gaz… the likes of Brownback and Huckabee don’t have a chance in hell of getting elected in this country. The Christian Right is overplaying their hand with a vengeance, just like they did after Reagan got elected. Remember? The Moral Majority was riding high, and the Falwells of the land were eagerly awaiting the overturning of Roe, prayer put back in the schools, porno banned for good and smut driven from the airwaves.
Didn’t pan out so well for them, did it?
Fact is, the fundie Xians get much more accomplished by stealth, when the American public isn’t watching them… their modus operandi during those heathenish Clinton years. But now they’re cocky and sure of themselves, getting in everyone’s faces — and it will backfire big time. They may have helped push Bush’s numbers over the top in 2004, but the religious right is more of a liability than an asset to the GOP circa 2006.
Because, when push comes to shove, most Americans just don’t want our nation to become a theocracy. Our nation loves fun more than life itself… and Christian right-wingers are easily the least fun, most pain-in-the-ass demographic we have.
GTinMN
The problem is, no one should allow these fucking frauds to get away with calling themselves Christians. Call them faux-Christians, anti-Christians, the American Taliban, the New Pharisees, utter hypocrites, White Supremacist shitestains, etc., but for the love of everything decent, don’t let them get away with associating themselves with the Jesus of the Gospels by calling themselves Christians. Also, be sure every time they start up with this crap in your presence, to make sure you rub their nose in the fact that Jesus is consistently portrayed in the Gospels as an utter liberal, and has nothing at all to do with anything they profess or aspire to.
Seriously, these people need to be consistently called out in public on this crap, so they are forced back into the woodwork.
The Other Steve
In other words. Huckabee is a phony.
He wouldn’t have said that, if it wasn’t on his mind. He’s projecting again.
Elmo wrote:
Actually, that’s interesting. I no longer see the protests against porn LIke I say back in the 80’s. They used to picket the local 7-11 because they sold playboy or something back then.
Maybe that’s cause now the fundies can get their porn online.
Krista
Well, we have RINOs, so why not CINOs?
Raffi
Re: Tulsa
HA! There’s NOWHERE in Oklahoma that is REMOTELY liberal. I was born and raised there, and spent nearly 20 years of my life there. Well, I guess there ARE a couple of liberal areas/neighborhoods in OKC and Tulsa…but…BARELY…wait I’m thinking more that there are a couple of liberal PEOPLE there. :)
As for Flagstaff, it IS pretty damned liberal from my experience. F*ck the politics, the *atmosphere* of the place, the general sense one gets while strolling the neighborhoods or streets or shops or diners/cafes…is liberal. At least it was to me and one of my best friends who lived there for a few years…same with his roomie, who was FROM there and decidedly NOT a hippie.
University does not equal liberal town, BUT college towns are *generally* a bit more ‘liberal’ and open simply due to the large influx of different young people from different places with different ideas.
Funny thing is, Arizona is a very conservative state, by nature, and yet it is full of hippies, new agers, free spirits, and phreaks! :D yay!
PEACE