Apparently it is big news that Hillary Clinton has announced she is running. I was uner the impression she announced she was running in 2000.
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.
I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.
Petty moves from a petty man.
If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.
Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!
Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.
Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.
The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.
Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.
The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.
You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.
The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.
When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.
Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.
In after Baud. Damn.
If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.
Second rate reporter says what?
Come on, man.
Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?
Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.
Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…
My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.
I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.
This chaos was totally avoidable.
Zifnab
She just needs to get Al Gore as her running mate and print out a bunch of buttons that say,
“Clinton/Gore in ’08: Remember when things didn’t suck?”
RandyH
Blah!
Pb
Yes, but that was for Senator.
The Other Steve
I was wrong. I didn’t think she’d try to run.
I don’t know what she is thinking. But when all is said and done, she’s 10 times better than any candidate the Republicans can come up with… and 100 times better than Bush.
demimondian
No, John, the big news is that Sam Brownback is running. Hillary’s been running since 1972!
RandyH
My above comment was carefully scripted, poll tested and focus-group approved, as everything related to the Hillary campaign. Where are those handlers?
RandyH
demimondian is right.
Ted Haggerdum, I mean Sam Brownback is running!Paddy O'Shea
Actually there are two big pieces of news right now. 21 American service people died in Iraq in the last 24 hours. And George W. Bush has declared tomorrow National Sanctity of Human Life Day.
RandyH
Paddy is right. We should parade flag-draped coffins in front of the White House to commemorate the big day. And fire up the marching band with the patriotic tunes! Heil to the chief!
Paddy O'Shea
21 US soldiers dead in Iraq today
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2007/01/21-us-soldiers-dead-in-iraq-today.html
I’m going for a walk.
RandyH
And “pretty-boy” Bill Richardson declared he’s running today, too. Who’s that? Oh yeah, right.
But seriously, he ain’t gonna be president but he would make and excellent Secretary of State. He’s the guy who just single-handedly negotiated a cease-fire in Darfur. That beats the hell out of all of Condi’s achievements combined, but she’s prettier and does better photo-ops.
ThymeZone
This has been today’s edition of “Damning With Faint Praise.”
ThymeZone
{ spits food onto nearby cat }
Say what?
RandyH
It ain’t hard to beat Bill Richardson in a beauty contest, ThymeZone.
ThymeZone
He’s a very handsome man.
RandyH
Who, condi?
demimondian
I think that a Clinton/Richardson ticket would be awesome. She’s got brains; he’s got diplomatic ability. Each of them has what the other lacks.
ThymeZone
Heh.
Dreggas
pretty in the has a gap between her teeth you could drive a semi through and definitely bares a striking resemblence to the pivot point of a bulldozer.
demimondian
Why do you care if Condi Rice is pretty or not? I don’t understand that at all.
ThymeZone
Here’s why the terrorists will never beat America, my friends:
We just sold a car at Barrett-Jackson for $5 million dollars, a beautiful blue handmade Carol Shelby cobra.
What a country. What a car. OMFG.
RandyH
I never said Condi is pretty. Just prettier than Bill Richardson. You know, in these televised days, you need to have a certain level of prettiness to be eleccted to a major office. Appointments are another thing altogether. Check the link on Condi’s name… Gotta love the Princess’s fine work collecting all the lovely photos.
ThymeZone
I think we should be careful about having a president prettier than Bill Richardson.
Damned careful.
demimondian
I was speaking more to Dreggas than to you, but, again…is W attractive? He doesn’t seem that way to me.
ThymeZone
Yes, if you’re a python.
RandyH
Dubya’s not attractive to me – on either physical or ideological grounds – and I’m gay. Wellll, physically, for a guy his age, if we could remove the personality, smirk and general evilness about him, he might not be SO bad. You know, a big dumb lug has its appeal, I suppose. But he sure
iswas attractive to Redneck America. Personally, I’ve always thought he was the anti-christ – and I’m an Atheist. Just – all the crazy red-state religious folks loved him so much that, no matter how much I tried to warn that he’s trouble, they just loved him all the more.I never understood the appeal.
vwcat
I wish Hillary would just crawl back under her rock.
I really dislike her and will not vote for her no matter what.
she is nothing more than Bush in a bad pantsuit.
ThymeZone
Like the haiku, but ….
The idea of Bush in a nice pantsuit is really upsetting to me.
RandyH
You got that right. She used to be real, back in the days when she took on what she called the “right-wing conspiracy.” But now that she’s joined forces with her former enemy, nobody knows who she is anymore. What does she believe in other than polls and focus groups? Does she have any principles at all?
I know she’s the favorite among many for now. I hope that’s just because they don’t know the others in the field yet. But we’ve got to stop supporting who the pundits say “has the best chance in the horserace.” They are consistently wrong. Vote with your gut-feel. In 2004 Democrats voted for Kerry in the primary, not because they liked him that much but because they were told “he has the best chance of winning.” Edwards would have done much better… And Dean would have won with flying colors if his famous “scream” weren’t played 10,000 times a day by the pundits who wanted to kill him off. He was dangerous to our Authoritarian future. Kerry was no threat, even if he won. Neither is Hillary by the way.
RandyH
Correction: Dean would have been a threat to our Authoritarian future… Kerry or Hillary wouldn’t be, so the corporate establishment would support either of them.
Prince Roy
Clinton=Disaster. The Democratic party seems intent on continuing the GOP lock on the White House. Even if she were able to win, which I strongly doubt, it can’t be good for America to have the White House controlled by just two families for 25+ years, from 1988-2012. There have to be other qualified candidates surnamed something other than Bush or Clinton.
I myself could support Hagel or Edwards, depending on how it all plays out.
CaseyL
Clinton’s not an authoritarian; she’s just too comfortable with the corporate state. That’s about the only thing I have against her, and while it’s not a trivial thing, it won’t stop me from voting for her if she’s the candidate.
Then again, I can’t think of anyone the Dems could nominate who won’t be better than whoever the GOP nominates. Hagel’s the only one on the GOP side who’s even a recognizably decent human being – and, SFAIK, he’s not running.
Jonathan
Chris “Tweety” Matthews definitely had a man crush on Dubya for a long while there. He was practically creaming his jeans over the shots of Commander Codpiece on the deck of the Abraham Lincoln.
Zifnab
If John McCain and Hillary Clinton were to run against each other, I honestly would not know who the hell to vote for. Probably Nader.
Kyle
“. . . it can’t be good for America to have the White House controlled by just two families for 25+ years . . .”
Prince Roy, change “24+” to “24” (math) and you’ve got yourself a point.
As for the rest of you . . . liberals tend to say this kind of stuff about Clintons, and Clintons tend to win elections. Whether the correlation amounts to cause and effect is beyond my reckoning. But I heard all the same complaints about Bill, and maybe I’ll spend the next 10 years hearing them about Hillary. And, all right, if that’s the price of putting a Democrat in the White House, then so be it.
Zifnab
Honestly, I’m a big fan of both Obama and Edwards. Both have a solid message, both have tried and true Dem credentials, and both came as outsiders which give them a cleaner feeling than “born-and-breed” politicians like Clinton.
I’m not going to say either are saints, but Edwards in particular has done a good job about standing up against the big dawgs like Walmart and Exxon. And there’s just something appealing about seeing a Black man with Muslim roots take the White House in the face of Katrina and 9/11. I don’t know another candidate running with a history that’s crafted that well to the American story of the past 6 years.
ThymeZone
Matthews worked in the White House. He is definitely starry eyed over power. I’ve seen him drool over many a politician. He’s … embarassing.
Prince Roy
Kyle,
point taken, but part of that was an unwritten assumption that she might win re-election.
ImJohnGalt
Krista, curse you for introducing me to the Kingdom of Loathing.
BadTux
I supposed Condi is pretty… if you’re a Klingon.
As for Hillary, I just don’t “get it”. What compelling reason is there to vote for her? She’s a wonk. Wonks are good when our nation is in a good place and moving the right direction. But right now, can anybody in this room say that we as a nation are where we should be and want to be? Is there anybody here who can say that our nation is moving the right direction to make it a better place for our children and grandchildren?
What we need is a serious national discussion about what kind of nation we want to be and how we are going to get there. Wonks don’t do that. Wonks are totally focused on the here and now. But focusing on the here and now is no good if we don’t also look at the future. What kind of country do we want to be? What do we want our country to be like in ten years, twenty years, thirty years? And what kind of people running for office are going to get us there?
Because the conservatives, or rather I should say the religious conservatives, do this. They know what they want. They want the United States to be Saudi Arabia, except with the Bible rather than the Koran used as the excuse to keep women barefoot pregnant ignorant slaves, suppress dissent, put darkies in their place, and otherwise turn the country into a living hell-hole. They have a dream. They talk about that dream, in their little konklaves that have taken the place of dancing around burning crosses while wearing white hoods. Liberals and traditional conservatives, it seems to me, have become afraid to dream, afraid that someone is going to make fun of them for dreaming given the nightmares that we are fighting against. But I think people are starved for dreams that are not nightmares. Why else do the Kossites squeal like teenage girls whenever Obama burps out something that even vaguely sounds like he’s looking forward to a better America?
– Badtux the Future-lookin’ Penguin
SeesThroughIt
Who is this “Hillary Clinton” of whom you speak? I’ve never heard of her.
Dreggas
I never said she had to be pretty but she should at least look relatively decent on television rather than looking like some troll.
I mean maybe she looks alright through beer goggles.
(note this is a direct spoof of the “I voted for george bus because he looks like someone I’d have a beer with” looks don’t mean shit really but…ok she was in an acid fight without any acid…sorry she just is not very photogenic.)
srv
President Hillary Clinton
I’d have never voted for her before, but I really, really, really want to see what the wingnuts do when she starts using her Unitary Executive powers.
Rome Again
This new GOP doesn’t nominate decent human beings, they only nominate crazy schizoids.
rachel
Silly srv, don’t you know Unitary Executive powers are for Republicans?
RSA
I would almost feel a bit sorry for Jeb if he weren’t a Bush. He might as well start writing his memoirs on his political life right now.
Jonathan
Hillary: I’ll hold my nose and vote for her if she gets the nomination. I gotta admit it would be cool to see all the wingnut’s heads explode like in “Mars Attacks” if she became president. It might be worth voting for her just for that. Cue the Slim Whitman music.
Obama: Untried, untested, unknown. A real wild card. I don’t care for the rock star reception he’s getting among many Democrats. If I wanted a panderer to evangelicals I would vote for a Republican. The dude is playing it close to the vest and it’s difficult to tell just where he stands with respect to the important issues.
Rome Again
Sorry, I can’t hold my nose for Hillary, I just can’t.
scarshapedstar
Clinton/Cole 2008. You heard it here first.
The Farting Housecoat
Brownback/Rice
Isn’t Liberty nice?
Ted
Why? Margaret Thatcher did pretty well in politics…
The Farting Housecoat
Men who criticize middle-aged woman politicians for their appearances probably had some unpleasant mothering experiences as a child.
Rome Again
Fixed!
TenguPhule
I welcome our future Empress for Life and stand by to serve loyally as a torturer of Darrells in the Guantanamo
Death CampsHappy Fun Time Camps(tm).Helena Montana
clinton/cheney ’08
GOP4Me et al
You should join our clan. Talk to Krista about it!
GOP4Me et al
Darrell/GOP4Me ’08: One’s batshit crazy, one’s too young to be President, both are spoofs on a mission.
Rome Again
Mary Cheney? You can’t possibly be talking about ol’ Dick, he won’t be eligible once he’s been impeached/convicted of war crimes. Besides, he’s ripe for another heart attack, I don’t think he has a chance of getting through another term. The man is very unhealthy.
Dave
my take on Hillary running…
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Yeah, ain’t gonna happen, even though I like here.
I’ll just be glad when there isn’t a Clinton or Bush at 1600.
Dave
…and since I can’t edit my own posts, I’ll point out that “here” should be “her”
Dave
…and I for one won’t forget Hillary anointed this mess…
jake
True, but the past two presidential elections have taught us that “better” is a highly subjective term.
As for Bush II being attractive, put it this way: If I were in a bar and I saw him across the room I’d know it was time to leave. He looks like the creep who is OK looking from a distance but when he gets close you realize there’s something “off” about his eyes. His smile doesn’t synch up with the rest of his face. Everything about him spells R-U-N, but by the time he’s that close he’s right in your face and you’re sending “A little help here?” signals to your friends while you try to escape without turning your back on him.
The Farting Housecoat
Will somebody please inform Jim Rome Again that the word he is struggling with here is not spelled “facism?”
And after you do, give him a cookie. He seems sensitive and might need the comfort.
ThymeZone
Me too (either?) (neither?).
The only way I can vote for her is in the general election, against a Republican I can’t stand, such as McCain, or Brownback, or …. every GOP wannabee I’ve seen so far, actually.
But I’m hoping that Obama beats her in the primaries. And I think he can.
ThymeZone
Ah, the spelling lame, a tried and proven tactic of Usenet losers …. proven to be lame, that is.
The lame might work better if you at least had the gender of your target right.
It’s my duty to inform you that the gender lame always beats the spelling lame.
Point to me.
Paddy O'Shea
Dave – so if the elections in 2008 turn out to be a race between Hillary Clinton and let’s say Newt Gingrich (I personally do not think McCain or Giuliani will make it past the primaries for the obvious reasons), you will abet the right by not voting for the Democratic candidate?
ThymeZone
Newt? Good grief. I’d vote for my neighbor’s dog before I’d vote for Newt. He’s not just a toxic GOP ideologue, a true troglodyte, he’s the most self-interested delusional jerk in politics today, maybe behind Joe Lieberman.
Newt says he wants to help America. Okay, tell him to go live in Panama. That would help.
Rome Again
Jim? Jim who? Ain’t no Jim on this bus.
Don’t like my spelling? Sue me!
Rome Again
Speaking of Panama, maybe I’m incorrect, but I was on a mundane astrology site last night where they had the birthtime/place listed and it stated McKean was born in Panama? Was he born to diplomats out of the country? If not, how can he qualify to be President?
Rome Again
Nevermind, I should have just googled, McCain (sorry I’m spelling impaired today) was born in Panama to American parents. Sorry!
Paddy O'Shea
The Blues Brothers knew how to deal with fascists …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upzl0Dmv77U
Rome Again
Yes it duz TZ, yes it duz!
::winks::
jake
Panama hater!
I can’t see Newt running. His little wife-swapping problem makes him an easy target for negative campaigns.
Paddy O'Shea
Newt’s wife-swapping problem happened before he was saved by Jesus.
Rome Again
I’m not Dave, but I’ll take a shot at it. If it looks like the scenario you are setting up is about to happen, I’ll do my part. I’m not going to let them get someone like Newt or Giuliani in (Romney is the one I’m concerned about, I think he’s the new evangelist’s dream candidate). I guess I’ll have to hold my nose at that point, but I’m hoping I don’t have to.
Rome Again
Hey, if Cain was the evil son in Genesis who slew Abel, and Mc is a bastardized form of Mac which means so, does that mean “Son of Cain”? Hmmmmm!
ThymeZone
Once again, Jesus, my yard man, is out there making a difference. I think he’s the most underrated fellow in America today.
Rome Again
Gosh, I should really get some sleep, huh?
Rome Again
He’s a busy guy, TZ.
Paddy, it shouldn’t matter if he was saved after the affair or not, a president is supposed to lead a secular nation (I’m defining secular here as a nation with many non-believers), which means that is not an acceptable excuse to those who aren’t saved by TZ’s yard man.
Paddy O'Shea
Rome Again – No, it shouldn’t matter. But remember, Bush was a drunk until he was 40. And his (supposed) victory over alcoholism through his acceptance of Jesus was widely hailed in fundamentalist circles as being something of a fine and wonderful thing.
AkaDad
Actually, Barak is a Christian not a Muslim.
ThymeZone
Son of Cain?
I knew it … he’s the Antichrist.
Or, something.
Rome Again
That would explain the scar on his head (the head wound that had healed in Revelation?) Hmmmmm, making more sense all the time.
[disclaimer, I’m not a Christian, I just study their text]
Rome Again
Widely hailed in fundamentalist circles, but not anywhere else. And besides, look what THAT got us, we have precedent to protest that delusion this time, don’t we?
RSA
I wonder about that. There have been recent polls in which over half of evangelical Christians say they wouldn’t consider voting for a Mormon for President. Think they’ll reconsider their religious biases or perhaps simply hold their noses? From my perspective, I agree that Romney looks like a 95% perfect evangelical candidate, but I’m not on the inside; for some reason, that remaining 5% can be a deal-breaker for true believers, I think.
Rome Again
Well, they can vote for “Son of Cain” or the morman demon, either way they’re screwed. Guess they better get Giuliani or Brownback or someone else; although so far is seems they have a preference for demons (my money is on “Son of Cain”; it would fit with the book of Isaiah and Revelation).
ThymeZone
Yes, nothing inspires like knowing that unflinching belief in Pagan myth and superstition is all that stands between the President of the United States, and delirium tremens.
Paddy O'Shea
Bush’s fundamentalist acclaim helped to make him president. And I suspect that the revulsion many on the Xtian right feel for McCain and Giuliani will make Gingrich a desireable commodity in the GOP primaries. I think he will win his party’s nomination easily.
Obviously Gingrich will make a lousy candidate in the general election and will be easy to beat, right?
But wait, isn’t that what people said about Bush?
Rome Again
You can’t just anything these people do, they’re not right in the head.
Rome Again
So true, sad isn’t it?
Jimmy Mack
Hillary has zero chance in a general election. There’s just too many people who hate her and would never vote for her. Me, for example. I might vote for Biden or Edwards if the alternative is Romney or Brownback, but there’s no way I could vote for Hillary. There’s just too much baggage there, especially with health care.
Just my two cents.
Paddy O'Shea
Jimmy Mack – Your stance here kind of reminds me of those folks in 2000 who liked to say that there was no difference between Gore and Bush. A statement that seems rather quaint, now, right?
Yesterday’s U.S. death toll in Iraq is now at 24.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070121/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraw
ThymeZone
Good for you. Nothing turns us off to a candidate like knowing that he or she is passionate about solving the greatest single problem facing the economy, families, employers, and the health of the country’s children, elderly, and ill. I mean, who wants a person like that?
Mind you, I press this sharp stick up your keester as one who is no particular fan of Hillary Clinton at all.
But if you asked me for one reason to vote for her, health care would be it. If she promises to push this issue as president, it would go a long way toward persuading me to vote for her.
The current employer-based, overpriced, undemocratic, cruelly unfair health care system is not sustainable, and I blame Republicans for putting us in this situation. And keeping us there, for their own crass reasons.
Punchy
Big OT…but what the hell…
Citizen Cole’s FAVORITE blogger was JUST ON CNN–Dan Riehl. Can you believe this? That assclown gets his mug on Communist Newz Network!
And it gets worse–HE was actually the reasonable and articulate one, paired with some lefty named Mike Stark (?). Quite an embarrassing display, I thought. For some reason, I pictured Riehl to be some 20+ age blogger with acne and porn mags. He looks like he’s pushing 50. I guess some people do get mas stupido with age.
Rome Again
Jimmy Mack, would you vote for McCain?
Rome Again
TZ, did you see the new proposal Bush wants to talk about on the SOTU regarding healthcare? I can’t exactly explain it, it’s sort of a tax, but not a tax… I don’t have a link, sorry.
Jonathan
Romney is a Mormon and lots of evangelicals think Mormons aren’t even Christians. I’d be somewhat surprised if Mitt got the GOP nod.
McCain is not trusted by the religious right, they don’t forget his positions back in 2000 regarding them and his fairly recent conversion to fundamentalist supporter is suspect. Johnny is also on his second marriage to a younger and richer wife.
Giuliani has a lot of baggage to overcome to get the GOP nod. Here’s one piece. Another piece is his moving his mistress into the governor’s mansion. I’ve also heard rumors that his father was a mob loan shark enforcer.
Jonathan
Hillary’s health care proposal was the worst of both worlds and kept the big insurers in the loop, it would have been an expensive boondoggle if ever implemented. I didn’t like Hillarycare but it wasn’t because it was socialized medicine.
ThymeZone
I think I heard something this morning on ABC This Week with George Stephanopopopopolis. Ahem.
What I think I heard is that they want to tax the premiums paid for health insurance and use this revenue to provide revenue for insuring people who currently don’t have coverage. It’s a regressive tax scheme, if that’s what they want to do. Once again, the middle class will take it in the shorts to put money in corporate pockets. (I think health premiums now are deducted pre-tax).
However … I base this tantrum on something I just barely heard on tv while I was herding a bunch of ungrateful cats. So I might have missed something.
Rome Again
yeah, that’s the gist of what I read. You covered all the bases in that on paragraph.
Punchy
A little bit of exercise is good for her. Glad to see she took up some jogging.
Pb
Punchy,
I’m sorry to hear that–I like Mike, and Riehl’s been lying about him for some time. Is there a clip of it up anywhere yet?
Pb
Oh, those tax-and-spend Republicans, always stealing other people’s money for their regressive ponzi schemes and their wars…
ThymeZone
Whooo-eee. I grew up here and have lived here about 2/3 of my adult life. I’ve seen snow on the ground in the yard maybe five times. Could today be number six?
jake
Here’s an article on the President’s plan for health care insurance.
The article seems to paint this as something the Democrats will go for since they’re gung ho for health care reform. Perhaps the WH thinks they’ve got something they can hold up to prove the Democrats are hypocrites. Sure guys, just like you “proved” Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Just like you proved the Democratic Party is the abode of terrorist coddling sex maniacs.
Fixing health care will take a bit more than changing the tax code. Insurance providers will have to change the way they do business (either voluntarily or because they are forced to by law). No more denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. No more dropping people when they have the gall to get sick or injured. If I were entirely cynical I’d say this is Bush’s attempt to try to fix (or at least say he’ll try to fix) a major problem without annoying a major industry.
Maybe, after six years of SOP the pressures of being so unpopular will force Bush to squeeze out a diamond instead of another big stinking turd. Maybe Cheney will dance the lead in Swan Lake.
We’ll see.
ThymeZone
Very optimistic. You pretty much have to start with single payer and work backward from there to get a model that works and is sustainable. Therefore, BigHMO as know it today has to go away. It’s too bound to the problem and can’t be part of a solution. And, it will fight reform with aggressive and deeply funded opposition, tooth and nail, every step of the way. The path to a solution can’t run through BigHMO. Any more than the path to energy independence can run through BigOIL.
Jimmy Mack
Yeah, I would. I don’t agree with him everywhere, but he’s got a lot more guts than most politicians and he’s a lot more likely to tell is like it is (or at least how he sees it). I’d be voting more for the man than the positions — he’s kind of too much of a crusader for me. Anyone who thinks political speech needs to be regulated and that the government needs to get involved in ruling about steroids in baseball, that person is not really a conservative. But I’d still probably vote for him.
ThymeZone
Okay, that conlcudes our spoof testing for today.
McCain is a lying, self-interested weasel, a whore, a guy who will literally say anything, and by that I mean anything, to advance his political interests.
I find it embarassing to be in Arizona and be represented by two of the worst senators, the most god-awful examples of what politicians can turn into …. and McCain is, in more ways than one, the senior in this sorry pair.
He’s a walking, talking course in what politics can turn people into. He’s a cautionary tale.
Paddy O'Shea
He’s also older than shit. The last thing this country needs now is some tired old hack with Bush butt on his lips.
ThymeZone
By that, of course, you mean much much older than I am.
Heh.
Heh heh.
Heh?
Kirk Spencer
I believe the Kansas Syndrome will come to play, with the result being the GOP candidate will be watching someone else take the oath in 2009.
Kansas Syndrome is my name for it, though it’s played out in several other places – and the Democratic party’s gone through it a time or two as well. It happens when the people who lose decide the reason they lost was they weren’t true to their philosophy. As a result they kick out all the “in name only’s”, and they select the candidate who is “truest of the true.” A large number of the people kicked out vote the other side – vengeance, or an inability to tolerate that much extremism, or both – and surprise, the true party loses again. Sometimes it takes once to break this, and sometimes (like some areas of California) the process can continue for decades.
I truly doubt the winner of the GOP side will be McCain, Romney or Giulianni. Gingrich is possible, as is Brownback. My personal suspicion is that Huckabee will get the nod. The thing is, in the process of “cleaning their party” they’ll push the votes to the other side. I expect the next president to be Democratic not because of how good he or she is, but in rejection of the GOP choice.
FWIW, I don’t think Clinton will win the nomination. She’ll do well, but not well enough.
OCSteve
OK – Heh :)
CaseyL
Kirk, how do you see the early Democratic primaries playing out?
My own take is that the so-far Big Three – Obama, Clinton, Edwards – are each in for the long haul, and won’t drop out even if they don’t do well in the early going. Clinton, because she has the money and the stubbornness to overcome any less-than-stellar early results; Edwards because he’s on a crusade; and Obama because he is so far riding a high tide of popularity/novelty. (My prognostication has nothing to do with my personal feelings for those candidates; just what I perceive to be their individual commitment to running.)
I think the top tier candidates will eat up all the money and attention, and therefore votes, and that everyone else – Kerry, Vilsack, Dodd – will have to do something amazing in order to last past the first round.
I have no idea whether Richardson will be a first- or second-tier candidate. He has an outstanding resume and a built-in appeal to Hispanic/Latino voters, but lacks national name recognition, doesn’t seem to have done NM Democratic candidates any good in the last election, and might have personal issues. It’s a shame, because he really, really does have excellent qualifications.
As for my feelings: I like Richardson for what he’s accomplished, and Edwards for what he says he wants to accomplish. Obama’s got my attention, but I’m waiting to see what his ideas and/or vision is. Clinton doesn’t excite me at all, but I don’t hate her: I won’t vote for her in a primary, but will if she’s the nominee. None of the others are on my radar at all.
ThymeZone
Speaking of me being over the hill ….
Have we done a membership drive lately?
Lefties, and wannabee lefties …. My email address can be divined at my url today. Drop me a line if you are interested in the BJ Lefty Mailing List.
See the first text on the first “album” and follow the easy instructions.
Lefties and lefty admirers …. world domination is within our grasp. Unite, you have nothing to lose but your reputations.
Kirk Spencer
CaseyL,
First – Richardson will stay second-tier. He’s carrying a couple of nasty pieces of baggage that will prevent him from getting the nod. You’ll see a lot of press about his womanizing. You may or may not read of his more-than-once blowing through stopsigns and telling the officer “You can’t arrest me, I’m the governor.” And so on and so forth… basically, a habit of acting like a number of Republicans who recently lost office. Added to this is a reminder – this was the man in charge of the DoE when all the spy stuff about the Chinese getting stuff from the DoE happened.
I, like you, see this running all the way before a final candidate is selected. Most of the present pack can’t stay that long without making sacrifices I don’t think they’re prepared to make.
I have a short list of probables for the long haul. Clinton and Edwards are there. Obama is doubtful – while charismatic as all get out, he’s got no steak to go with the sizzle. Nor does he have a ton of money to keep the sizzle going despite that lack. He’s failed to commit to anything (for or against) and that slipperiness is going to work against him in the long run. Clark is a dark horse on my list – he’s been doing a lot of smart things but has had some very bad timing issues. (Timing by others who have upstaged him.) However, none of the other frontrunners seem to have grabbed the “New Progressive” mantle that Dean created, and I think Clark’s got the opportunity. So I see the end being Clinton v Edwards with at most one spoiler, more likely Clark than Obama.
All that goes out the window if the elephant in the room speaks up. I’m speaking of Gore. I know some paper claimed Gore’d said he’s not running, but further reading shows they’re referencing his statements of six months ago, when he had a lot of “for now” clauses. The thing is, Gore can wait till almost Thanksgiving of this year to announce and still be a major candidate. Which saves him almost 10 months of expenses the current crowd has to spend. Gore’s “global warming” enthusiasm gives him the strong link to the new progressives, he’s discovered that being human in public is a GOOD thing (no longer a woodenhead in public), and there are a LOT of democrats who believe he should have been the president for the past couple of terms and “Justice is GOOD.”
If Gore enters I give him the edge. And his main competitor will be whichever of the other three (Clinton, Edwards, and Osama/Clark) successfully copes with no longer being the one representing that part of the party.
And it still goes to the end.
OCSteve
Dude. You’re killing me.
ThymeZone
Join up, the list is a good group.
Everything we send you will arrive in a plain, brown wrapper.
jake
Reform a major industry? While Bush is in office? It is to laugh. As I said, that’s what would need to happen to give a solution to our health insurance problem any teeth. Ergo my money is on his “solution,” being an equal mixture of whitewash and bullshit. The Democrats will point out all of the holes in his “plan” and he’ll whinge: “See? I tried to help and the mean ol’ democrat party wouldn’t let me.” I’ll even go so far as to say any modification of the tax code wouldn’t end with changes designed to make health insurance more widely available.
How many days until 2009?
CaseyL
Thanks, Kirk.
I was aware of the rumors about Richardson’s private life, but have tried not to pay too much attention to them. Unfortunately, the rest of the country – and esp, the MSM – has no such compunction.
The Chinese stuff – I’m not sure how much impact that would have, since the charges never went anywhere, and seem to have been baseless; just more GOP smears against anyone in the Clinton Administration.
The you-can’t-arrest-me attitude troubles me more, esp. over an actual safety issue rather than just lead-footedness (being a chronic lead-foot myself!) though it’s not a make or break for me. I’d need to know more; like, does he do that all the time? Does he retaliate against troopers who ticket him anyway? Etc.
ThymeZone
Um, what was the outcome? Wasn’t it “never mind” after putting the “Chinese” (actually, American) guy through several layers of hell for the fun of it?
From Amazon’s review of this book about the case:
OCSteve
Oh man. My mailman seems to have an issue with those. They tend to just ‘fall off’. He’s looking for porn but that would really shock him :)
ThymeZone
An apparently righty mailman ….. looking for porn.
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm.
Tsk. Another American family, ruined by the gay/pervert agenda?
The Farting Housecoat
Kirk Spencer: There are a lot of people in denial here about Sam Brownback’s candidacy. Personally I found his announcement to be a huge relief. Up until that moment it appeared that nobody except democrat were running for the GOP nomination. That has now changed.
Gingrich has yet to announce. But I could personally get behind his candidacy as well.
Richard 23
So you like his ass?
Krista
Not to mention much of your available inbox space during some of our more interesting discussions…
ThymeZone
I couldn’t ask for anything better than for the GOP to nominate the insane and obnoxious Gingrich. We’d set the stage for a Dem hegemony for the next 30 years.
You’d be better off rooting for Bill O’Reilly to win the GOP nod.
The Other Steve
It looks like i was wrong about Huckabee. He’s got real skeletons in his closet, and there’s no way he’s going to run.
This is a lovely story…
This guy Wayne Dumond was accused of raping a 17 year old cousin of Bill Clinton’s back when he was Governor.
So anyway, back in the 1990s… The Right wing was all in a tizzy about how unfairly this guy had been treated. He was FRAMED! SETUP! A Good Christian soul who had been unfairly trampled by the “Clinton Machine!”. Damn that Bill Clinton!
Apparently Bill had refused the recommendation of the parole board to let him go, and so too did Jim Guy Tucker. In fact there was some accusations of politics played pushing this guys release back further and further.
Anyway, along comes 1996 and Jim Guy Tucker is convicted in Whitewater… Mike Huckabee becomes Governor in July of that year. In September of 1996 he says he’s going to commute Dumonds sentence to time served. The parole board later meets and at the urging of Huckabee’s aides votes to parole him. January 1997, the guy’s out of jail.
Part of the guys release terms was to leave the state. He moved to Missouri where he married a woman who had been part of a church group convinced of his innocence(not to mention how evil Bill Clinton was).
By 2001 he was charged with the murder of Sue Shields, and was a target in an investigation into the murder of Sara Andrasek… both of Missouri.
Here’s where it gets even more interesting. In all those 1990 screeds against Clinton by the Republicans, they never mentioned that Dumond had a history. In 1972 arrested for the beating death of a man in Oklahoma and in 1973 arrested for the molestation of a teen aged girl in Oregon.
Anyway, Dumond died in prison back in 2005.
Murray Waas article reprinted in Arkansas Times.
Wow
Jimmy Mack
I think that’s going to hurt him a lot. Really, they’re better off without him in the race, because his presence serves as a reminder of the many Clinton-era security breaches. Hate to being 911 into it, but if the Clintons had run things differently, perhaps that could have been avoided. I know, I know…
The Farting Housecoat
Richard 23: It must be odd living in your head. But out of a morbid curiosity, what is it about Newt Gingrich’s ass that makes you think about sex?
ThymeZone
So, you came here to do your lame spoofapalooza because …. your mother lives here? Your car broke down? TimF is your brother-in-law? You are going alphabetically through the blogrolls and are only up to the B’s?
ThymeZone
What is it about Gingrich that makes you think the world has forgotten what a fat crazy fuck he is?
Jimmy Mack
What is it with you? You have to call everyone you disagree with a loser and a spoof? I’ll admit the 911 was a low blow — I doubt either president could have prevented it.
The Farting Housecoat
ThymeZone: You seem offended about people bringing up the age issue, but there you are talking about Newt’s weight problem.
Your indignation seems limited to your own condition.
ThymeZone
No, just the obvious losers and spoofs, really. Maybe you should try upgrading your act and rolling it out under a different name? I don’t think you are fooling anybody here.
Aren’t you the guy who called McCain a guy with “guts?” McCain? The big hero who sat like a deer in the headlights in Carolina in 2000 while the drunken little rich guy gave him a wedgie?
Give me a fucking break.
Jimmy Mack
Hey, did you guys see the article about if Jeb were president instead of George?
Link
It’s interesting…GWB could be more competent, it’s true.
ThymeZone
I do? I bring it up myself and laugh at it all the time, you stupid idiot. What are you talking about?
Jimmy Mack
Just to humor you…what are you talking about here? What’s the story there?
ThymeZone
Duh. That’s like saying Jeffrey Dahmer could have had a better diet.
Lamest spoof act in town today, you are.
ThymeZone
The question is only allowed if you aren’t the only person here who doesn’t know the answer.
ThymeZone
The lame-ass spoof tries talking all chummy to “you guys” so as to dress up his rotten material and make it look genuine.
Might work, if the material were any good. But, as you see ….
Jonathan
Here is a really good rant about why Hillary is unelectable, with links to some fairly juicy stuff.
Jonathan
Anatomy of a smear campaign.
Jimmy Mack
Can it be proven that that guy, Richard Hand, started that rumor? Has anything happened to him? That’s nasty, scummy tactics.
Jonathan
Ever heard of the term “long pig”?
Jimmy Mack
And, okay, humor me: what should McCain have done, in your opinion? Obviously, he shouldn’t have let that stand, but what would have been a good way to fight back? Do you think they’ll hit him with this stuff again? I could see Romney or Brownback doing it. I don’t think Giulani would.
Jonathan
CNN interviewed Hand and he didn’t deny it.
Nasty, scummy tactics indeed and yet today we have this.
Do you really want to vote for someone who will embrace the man who treated him like Bush treated McCain?
ThymeZone
Yawn. It’s 2007. Wake up and smell the fucking coffee.
McCain basically rolled over and played dead to the Bush onslaught. McCain has now rolled over to the GOP right wing. He hugs the piece of crap that fucked him over in 2000, and makes a deal with him to back his fucked up war in return for the keys to the machine. He tried to be the friend of Charles Keating, a guy who stole money from little old ladies to build himself a financial empire.
John McCain is a piece of shit.
“Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father.” — John McCain
BTW, have you seen Chelsea Clinton lately? If there is a smarter, more poised, better spoken, more beautiful young woman out there in celebrity land, I haven’t seen her. On the other hand, McCain looks like a badly carved pumpkin. so there you are.
McCain, a guy with “guts?” Yeah, anybody as low and as lacking in integrity as he is has a lot of guts trying to run for president … I’ll give him that.
Jonathan
Giuliani has some baggage.
Giuliani is not a nice man, he would have no problem swift boating McCain or anyone else.
Rome Again
While I was asleep, a lot of very interesting things happened here. ::rubs eyes while shaking head::
Jonathan
Jimmy Mack:
How old are you?
You seem either very young, very naive or just haven’t been paying attention to politics very long.
Krista
Blame GOP4Me et al for that one, chum. He lured me in, that smooth bastard. Send a msg. to RedKitten (#1010519) — and I’ll greenlight you into our clan. You get access to stuff that boosts your stats, extra dosh, and can borrow and donate to the clan stash.
jake
Chernobyl could’ve been worse, it’s true.
ThymeZone
John McCain, Feb 07 Vanity Fair
There you have the gutsy, gutsy leadership of John Fucking McCain.
Jimmy Mack
The McCain Cheslea joke: classless. Not his finest moment. It was a joke, but still…
The Giuliani story: come on, it’s a divorce, what does that prove?
Jonathan
Here’s a good article about some of Gingrich’s baggage and other assorted dirt on Republicans.
Rome Again
Look at it this way, BushCo never gets anything right. We all know that even a stopped clock is right twice a day (aren’t they due to get something right?), so perhaps something happens to make it look like the surge works (or at least its presented that way in MSM). Being that it’s McCain’s strategy to surge, that gives him credibility in the eyes of the far right-wingers. So, then they go on to elect “Son of Cain” as POTUS (and Jimmy Mack, et al. will vote for him “because of the man he is”). It could happen.
Jonathan
Err.. What part of “he wanted to move his mistress into the mayor’s mansion with his wife and kids and had to be take to court to stop it” don’t you get?
Rome Again
::raises hand:: “I know, I know…. It’s okay if you’re a Republican?”
Jonathan
I take it your’e not a parent?
Any parent who would say such a thing in public about the child of another parent is a unempathetic scumbag.
That “joke” was in 1998 when Chelsea was 18. Can you even imagine how that made her feel?
Can you imagine how it made her parents feel?
Rome Again
TZ, I concur!
Richard 23
Character. He does that to someone he married? What would he do to you?
It also conveniently demonstrates his infallibility to the “family values” crowd.
Like Newt who’d have his wife sign divorce papers while sick in the hospital so he could marry an aide he was cheating on her with.
Krista
I don’t care how old or young she was. It’s bad enough when kids get dragged into the spotlight via their parents’ political ambitions. They shouldn’t have to put up with nasty comments from people who are definitely old enough to know better than that.
If you want to make fun of a politician, fine. They signed up for that life, and have to take some lumps. But their kids should be perpetually off-limits. (At least until they launch their own political careers…)
Chuck Butcher
Keeeripes. Hillary Clinton = GWB – Stupidity
I’m a hard working member of DPO (Dem P of OR) and if it goes that way, I’ll cast a vote for her, and that’s all I’ll damn well do. I have made some significant effects in DPO, so it’s not a minor loss.
So far the Republicans haven’t come up with somebody I like better than Hillary and it’s damn unlikely but Hillary could single handedly undo in one election all the good work done in the west for Democratic candidates.
TenguPhule
Either Farting Housecoat is a spoof, or the Darrells have found a new champion in the art of stupidity.
demimondian
C’mon, OC — we don’t bite. If difficult to do electronically, after all.
And, if you need extra space in your inbox, several of us can end you invitations to GMail…
TenguPhule
McCain supporters, the New Naderites.
Proving that there is nothing Republicans fuckup that they won’t find someone even worse to finish the job.
Jonathan
Neither do I, I was just pointing out that Chelsea was still a teenager and at a very vulnerable point in her life at the time.
Not that there haven’t been lots of snarky comments on the left about the Bush twins, but I haven’t heard any public comments from well known politicians.
ThymeZone
Rules for being 70: Urge, or purge. But never surge. McCain needs to act his age.
ThymeZone
To which she replied …. “Me too!”
Just made that up.
Jonathan
Oh yeah, Limbaugh called Chelsea “the White House Dog” on the air.
Rome Again
Too late, sorry!
Jonathan
And then Bush called Limbaugh a National Treasure.
Jeebus, what a bunch of maggots these folks are.
ThymeZone
Yes, I saw him do it at the time, on his tv show.
That was the moment at which I knew that Limbaugh was a piece of crap, and the people who listen to him and follow his advice are just trash. I’ve never regretted coming to that conclusion, it’s proven itself true over and over again.
Jonathan
TZ:
I guess Newtie had a man crush on the Decider.
TenguPhule
The Bush twins make their own jokes.
Rome Again
George Bush, Sr. melts around him too, they’re BFF!
Rome Again
The Bush twins ARE jokes, just ask Argentina.
ThymeZone
Jeff Goldblum resembles that remark.
ThymeZone
Just the bare facts, please. So to speak.
Jonathan
Oops,
I meant Newtie had a man crush on the Clenis.
ThymeZone
An unfortunate picture is forming ….
ThymeZone
Okay, great game by the Colts, but according to the owner:
“We give all the glory to God.”
In which case I say, fuck you, and GO BEARS.
Glory to God, my baby-smooth ass. Anyone who thinks God gives a flying pigshit about a football game deserves to be crushed by THE BEARSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
All glory to George Halas.
CaseyL
TZ, he’s just the owner. Owners are not the team. In fact, I don’t think there’s ever been an owner who wasn’t a major embarrassment to the team.
ThymeZone
Da Bearsss.
Paddy O'Shea
Football is a bore. I’d rather juggle rats that sit through 4 quarters of that crap.
Punchy
Fixed.
Paddy O'Shea
So let’s see, the Super Bowl is going to feature God’s team versus the Secular Humanist team? Is that it?
Just when you think the game couldn’t get any dumber ..
ThymeZone
It’s a kind of performance art, Paddy.
Paddy O'Shea
Performance art properly done only has one witness.
ThymeZone
Uh ……
Jonathan
Me too.
Paddy O'Shea
Yeah yeah, I know what performance art is. And I still say two dogs on a hot afternoon can out on a better show than all those knuckleheads cited on Winkypedia.
Paddy O'Shea
Yeah yeah. I know what performance art is. And I still think two dogs on a hot afternoon can put on a better show than all those mooks cited on Winkypedia.
ThymeZone
No, the Potato Famine was not performance art, Paddy.
Sorry.
Paddy O'Shea
TZ: I know this is hardly news, but you’re a bit of an ass.
ThymeZone
Fuck you, Paddy. I’m an ass for not bowing before your shitty attempts at humor and dissing football here?
What the fuck is your problem? You post pictures of a leprechaun’s butt every six hours because people don’t bow before your bullshit, and you are going to try to call me an ass? I don’t think so, you Irish dicklicker.
Rome Again
I might add Skydiving to that list (yeah, I was once that crazy… oops, make that 10 times.)
Paddy O'Shea
TZ: Take tour meds, pop.
Mrs Zone? He’s going crazy again. Call the paramedics.
Krista
Nope. I’ve never understood the need to vacate a perfectly functioning aircraft. Maybe I’m just weird. Then again, I’ve also never understood the appeal of football. All that starting and stopping — just play the damn game already!
At the risk of feeding into the stereotype — now hockey, THAT’S a sport! I don’t really watch any sports on TV, but a live hockey game is exhilarating.
jake
OT:
What does it take to trigger a visit from the Secret Service?
Not much.
Not much at all.
jake
One more. Here is the letter as published:
demimondian
The letter as written shouldn’t have triggered a visit. However, given that the gentleman in question also wrote a letter a couple of years ago advocating a civil war to unseat the pres, there is a little more back-story than it appears on the basis of the letter itself.
The law restricting the right to threaten the president has always struck me as a poor law, violating both the freedom of speech and the equal protection clauses, on the one hand, and not providing any real protection, on the other. Can somebody explain it to me?
ThymeZone
The baroque formality of it, and the time necessary to plan strategy, are part of the game. It’s a game of field position. There is a lot of activity between the snaps of the ball, and much of that activity is part of the game. The structure of the rules require that formalities are observed before, during, and after the snap. That stuff IS the game. Otherwise, you just get rugby. Which is fine, but that’s a different kind of game.
Americans like their rulebooks where both sides are equal. I think we fought the Crown over that once …..
ThymeZone
Sure. First, you’re wrong, it does add “real” protection, and second, the president is not just an ordinary citizen and doesn’t just get ordinary equal protection.
Paddy O'Shea
The reason a televised football game seemingly lasts forever is that enormous sums of money are made by both the television networks and owners through the sale of advertising.
The cash raised through the peddling of lousy beer, Viagra and 8 cylinder pickup trucks lines a lot of corporate pockets. All done while the players themselves idle on the field or talk to their agents on their cellphones.
ThymeZone
Other than that, though, Demi, I pretty much agree with the letter writer except for the hanging part. That line was a dumb rhetorical move, and weakens the letter’s message, which is really about the war, and pretty much correct.
But I totally agree with the law and its bubble of concern for conspiratorial talk about harming the president. I think all officials should get that bubble of protection, including judges and lawmakers.
Freedom of speech does not include freedom to conspire to harm officials, or overthrow the government.
ThymeZone
Gee, that’s just awful. Isn’t there a law or something?
ThymeZone
God Bless America, pal.
Zifnab
There’s a thin line between “freedom of speech” and “conspiracy to committ murder” when you start writing things like “I’m going to stab the President in the eye with a stapler next week”. If your next door neighbor started writing you letters telling you how he was going to shot you as you drove into your drive-way, and you brought said letters to the police, and they merely replied “That’s his freedom of speech” without so much as a follow-up phone-call to the neighbor, I imagine you’d feel somewhat disturbed.
Of course, if the police kicked down the guy’s door, threw him in handcuffs, and dragged him off to Gitmo, that would be another story entirely.
If you don’t want Secret Service agents showing up at your front door to see if you’re a serious threat, don’t write threatening letters to the President. You wouldn’t tolerate it from your next door neighbor, why should a public offical tolerate it from you?
Jonathan
Superpathogen has evolved in US military hospitals in Europe and is spreading elsewhere.
Paddy O'Shea
TZ: Judging by your bizarre behavior last night I’d say the advertising of lousy beer works on some people.
ThymeZone
That’s right, Paddy, making fun of you is “bizarre behavior.”
I can’t figure out why you aren’t a Republican, you would fit right in.
Tell us some more about how football is no damned good. Seriously, it’s just riveting material.
ThymeZone
Hey Paddy, there’s a great bargain over at Amazon today.
You can get a copy of “The Wisdom of the Irish” for $0.01.
I kid you not.
At that price, you should get several copies and give them as gifts.
Don’t say I never did anything for ya, buddy.
Rome Again
LMAO, I’m not even going to ask how you got that information… oh what the hell, yes I am. Did you just find that link now or have you been holding that for just this particular moment? That was hilarious.
Jake
The problem of course is with the interpretation of “threat.” If you think “I still think they hanged the wrong guy,” in a letter to the editor = Sending threatening letters to the president … Well, at least it will keep the SS busy.
What struck me about the letter was how similar it was in wording and content to stuff I read in blogs every day. Is a call for Reid or Pelosi to kick the president’s arse a threat? Suggesting Bush should be sent to Iraq to fight? What about a sincere wish for Cheney to have another heart attack?
These could be seen as threats, but I don’t think a reasonable person would see it as anything but random rantings. Unfortunately, reasonable people aren’t in charge these days.
ThymeZone
Well, Rome, Paddy has what you might call a history here. Some of us have been around the Paddy-O furniture before with the guy.
Paddy is chagrined that I said “fuck you” to him last night. Which puts me on what might be the least exclusive list at Balloon-Juice, I think. He might be the only guy who has ever stirred up unanimous objection to being on our Lefty Mailing List.
Let’s just say, based on this, the Irish people should think twice before lecturing anybody on their behavior.
They’re within reach of being seen as being as crazy as the Arabs, at this point.
Pb
The Secret Service will follow up on practically anything someone thinks might be a threat, but to date, I’ve only heard about the people they didn’t bring in. Here’s one I remember from 2001, not long after 9/11–hypothetical scenario = Secret Service visit.
Rome Again
Well, I have my own theories about all that (which I won’t share, I’d only make your head spin, and trust me, you don’t want to know – let’s just say Christianity itself is the problem) but, Paddy is American, right?
I know lots of American Irish who are really cool people who are not directly involved in what goes on in Ireland itself. Sure, they’re temperamental people (so are you, and I like that about you) but I can’t see holding the religious war of the Irish against Paddy personally.
Now, about the fight between you two, completely understandable, you both are individuals with strong points of view, and I personally see that as healthy.
I was merely asking about the “Wisdom of the Irish” link, trying to figure where you came up with that.
By the way, about this mailing list, how come I was never invited?
Rome Again
You know, I used to think it was cool to have a cousin in the Secret Service, now I’m not so sure it would be of any help.
Paddy O'Shea
Thyme Zone is just all het up because I called him an old fart and parboiled desert trailer trash. He rants all sorts of anti-Irish bigotry because basically he’s a hateful old man, but also because he cribbed most of it from GOP4Me.
And as far as the mailing list, I get spammed enough as it is.
Rome Again
I’m not really in the mood for “Let’s you and him fight”, okay?
Paddy O'Shea
Then tell him to put a sock on it. I’m only responding to the stupid bigot’s racial smears.
demimondian
Hey, Rome, ya gotta ask. Follow the link in Thyme Zone’s name, and send him a mail.
Rome Again
No Paddy, YOU tell him, I believe I just said:
Rome Again
Cool Demi, thanks! I’ll do that :)
Rome Again
ROFLMAO, so I go to TZ’s site, and what do I find?
Ain’t it my luck!
Zifnab
True enough. I was more refering to the “I’m gonna blow up a government building” style threats more than the “I wish Bush would fall of a cliff into a bear trap covered in herpes” crowd.
I mean, it seems like this guy has his name on a list somewhere. The SS showed up, looked around, gave him as polite a warning as one could ask for, then left. If there’d been harassment involved or he’d lost his job or Navy Seals proceeded to egg his house, we’d have a problem. But this just looks like a case of agents being overly cautious. The very fact that the SS encouraged him to “keep writing” makes this about as big a non-Free Speech issue as you could make it.
Rome Again
Well, according to the piece I read earlier, this wasn’t the first time he was visited by SS, but something drew them to him previously.
Rome Again
Oops, nevermind, that info was right there too.
Krista
Rome, you can send me the email.
redkitten1975 at yahoo dot ca
ThymeZone
Sorry, Rome, I’ll put the addy back up for today.
I keep it down to discourage certain kinds of vandalism.
But send me an email and sign up for our Lefty Mailing List. It’s a good group. Even if Paddy joined, it would still be a good group. Yes, it’s that good :-)
ThymeZone
Says the guy who posts a picture of a butt-naked leprechaun multiple times a day.
Now we know …. it’s a self-portrait, right Paddy?
ThymeZone
Nah, don’t puff yourself up, Paddy. It’s just you I don’t like.
No offense, of course.
ThymeZone
Okay, so you got ONE THING right.
BFD.
ThymeZone
I was looking for some Irish humor and came accross the book reference. When I saw the price at a penny, I knew what I had to do …. too funny to pass up.
You are definitely invited. Everyone here is invited.
We’d probably get more members if people knew that I don’t run the thing. I just try to recruit. The list is as democratic (small d) as we can make it.
Rome Again
Thanks Krista, TZ’s got my email in his box. Appreciate the help though.
Krista
Oh, and Rome, there is definitely some good political discussion amongst us on the list, but hell, we’ll talk about pretty much anything. It’s not all serious and long-faced. Sometimes it’s nice to just be able to continue a chat that started on a thread which had since been Darrelled.
Rome Again
So you found it this morning? I was under the impression you had that sitting in a link file. Oh, now I’m less impressed. ::ducks::
Rome Again
Well, now I know where you all go when you disappear. This site gets going hot and heavy, I jump on and everyone disappears and I’m like flipping through my tv channels trying to figure out what the hell I’m missing because you all disappear at the same time. (I kid you not!)
Rome Again
Or maybe I’m just paranoid!
Krista
Not so much — I tend to do the emails and the Balloon-Juice comments pretty much simultaneously. If I disappear, it’s usually because I have to go do real-life stuff. So no, if a thread dies, it isn’t ’cause we’ve all taken off in order to email each other.
Rome Again
Well, it’s pretty strange that everyone seems to disappear right at the same time (no biggie, but for a while there, I figured I didn’t use enough deodorant or something).
ThymeZone
Yes, call it a Flame of Opportunity.
Clearly, the gods made it so. “Widsom of the Irish” on sale at Amazon for a penny? I couldn’t have made it up better!
(Actually, I think the price is a little steep, but ….)
ThymeZone
I’ve noticed that too. I tried once to correlate it to things like work, meals and sleep in various time zones and I couldn’t come up with anything.
It’s a mystery of the sea.
Rome Again
It’s a mystery of the sea.
I think you’re right. I haven’t been able to correlate it to anything either. You should have seen me switching channels on my tee-vee saying “something’s gotta be happening, where the hell is it?”
Krista
Believe me, you don’t know “disappeared” until you’re a Canadian looking for conversation on an American blog over the American Thanksgiving….you can practically see the tumbleweeds.
ThymeZone
We’re the Stepford Commenters.
Rome Again
Well Krista (interesting name you got there on that list by the way, I can’t quite picture it, am I missing something?)
I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving (or any other holiday) so I’ll be around, okay? As long as we’re not all sitting in gulags due to BushCo dreams of world domination.
Krista
There is a reason for that, actually. I created that email address solely to correspond with people from here, and didn’t feel comfortable putting in my full name when registering. So, I used my dog’s nickname. After incessant teasing about it, I figured out how to change it, but it made demi and Pooh sad. So, just to humour them, I changed it back.
Now that’s intriguing.
ThymeZone
Now I am going to be laughing all day over that line.
Thank you.
That just might be the funniest line I have ever seen in here.
Rome Again
So Krista, do you normally call the critter MB or just M or just B? How about when you’re mad?
Rome Again
Not really. I believe in God, but I think a lot of the truth was lost, and so I decided it’s better to just not celebrate anything at all. I’ll try to not get too deeply involved in my beliefs though (I do not proselytize) because they would probably drive you (and everyone) crazy.
ThymeZone
I would find it interesting.
But, as you are finding out, most of us are already a little crazy …..
{ face twitches }
Krista
TZ – you know, you can stop laughing at me any time now.
RA – well, the poor little guy has since passed on, so the question isn’t really applicable.
And TZ’s right — we are all a little nutso. Some of us more than others, as you can see.
Rome Again
Ah, you get those too, huh?
By the way TZ, who is the moderator? I’ve never wanted to be a troll so much in my entire life (seems awfully strange saying that).
Rome Again
Oh Gosh Krista, I’m so sorry… I have a cat named Stormy (found and named him just a few days before I met the other Stormy here LMAO). I was a newspaper carrier working during a hurricane and he was left outside (poor pitiful thing, crying, begging me to take him out of that messy weather) so I figured anyone who left him out in that didn’t deserve him and I took him home.
ThymeZone
The list? We have no moderator. We just sort of all get along, in the spirit of Rodney King. I mean, Rodney Dangerfield. I can’t speak for the others, but in my case, I like and respect everyone on the list enough to sort of mind my manners most of the time. I think everyone sort of does the same.
Not like here.
{ John and Tim are falling out of their chairs now … }
Rome Again
well, someone make me a troll dammit, what do I have to do, beg?
Krista
Not to worry. It happened several months ago. He was quite old, and had had a really full, adventurous life. I miss him sorely, but it was his time to go.
Wacky.
If you want to be a troll, then you are a troll. It’s all very Zen-like, you see.
ThymeZone
We used to do some organized trolling but it’s gotten a little quiet lately.
DougJ is the Godfather of Trolling. I don’t know if you know the story behind him, he’s something of a legend here.
Anyway, we need to stir him up and have him lead us on some trolling expeditions. Somewhere there is a blog or a comments section that needs our services.
As for “being a troll,” well, that’s like asking Jesus (my yard man) into your heart. You just chant the words and it happens.
Rome Again
TZ, you’re not suffering from Alzheimers, are you? Of course I know DougJ. He hasn’t been around lately though, where has he been?
I’ll be back later, I gotta go do some dishes and laundry before the hunter gets home. BBL
ThymeZone
How would I know?
Ha ha, anyway, no. I couldn’t remember how long you have been posting here. DougJ faded off into other activities last year. Couple years ago, he was trolling and spoofing up a storm here and fooled me so many times, I used to joke that he had a metal band fastened around my leg like a bird specimen. Once a week he’d catch me and then throw me back.
Rome Again
I remember, confused me too.
jake
How about an IMmoderator? That would be tres amusant.