tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post5656510965048725123..comments2024-03-28T14:52:13.218-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: World War GOPJim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-13366819503476084732013-10-30T07:27:22.225-05:002013-10-30T07:27:22.225-05:00Where'd he go? I know it's too early for t...Where'd he go? I know it's too early for the Iditarod. Kenneth Headhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059569430098216658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-1114763233351189792013-10-27T10:33:16.511-05:002013-10-27T10:33:16.511-05:00Many states have adopted a primary system whereby ...Many states have adopted a primary system whereby the top two vote getters --no matter which party-- get to appear on the general election ballot. It takes just a little while to sort out, but the result has been an upset of a lot of entrenched incumbents AND-- a moderation of the kinds of people elected to office. Most polling shows the vast bulk of Americans describe themselves as moderates/centrists and would prefer a more collegial process in Congress to just get things accomplished. The PriUShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02990485441786433092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-34065009846329834442013-10-27T10:10:37.255-05:002013-10-27T10:10:37.255-05:00I think a factor in Texas and many other states sw...I think a factor in Texas and many other states swinging into a far right mode of extremism is the relentless drum of talk radio. Many locally owned stations in small towns are the only radio available. The collective effect of these thousands of small stations carrying syndicated programs spewing complete nonsense changed a lot of people from merely conservative to fearful and irrational. There was a time when we insisted on a thoughtful dialogue on our airwaves. That is gone. The pushback also has to be in terms of message. The PriUShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02990485441786433092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-40010910240279450642013-10-26T08:47:14.049-05:002013-10-26T08:47:14.049-05:00Rafael Cruz is in for way more than another 5 year...Rafael Cruz is in for way more than another 5 years if he chooses to remain a Senator. Keep in mind our Gov. Perry won't be reelected to a 3rd (4th? 5th?) term only because he chooses not to run. Texas R's love Cruz. One thing I'll give him credit for is he's making our other Senator, Cornyn, appear relatively sane, and making Senator Kay Hutchinson look positively liberal, in retrospect. <br /><br />This is nothing new, we've had a long and storied history of nutter politicians...they just used to be conservative Democrats. Don in Waconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-37004450773387065562013-10-26T08:35:16.931-05:002013-10-26T08:35:16.931-05:00I like your distillation analogy, especially as th...I like your distillation analogy, especially as the specifications for conservative purity become more and more prevalently narrowed. Don in Waconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-37552328565893560102013-10-24T11:45:05.854-05:002013-10-24T11:45:05.854-05:00Maybe that will turn out to be the case, and I'...Maybe that will turn out to be the case, and I'll be happy for her. Problem is, though, that for extremely religious people, psychiatry is SATAN!SATAN!SATAN! because it holds that The Original Zombie in which they believe unconditionally is merely a chemical imbalance, or misfiring neurons, or whatever those heathen scientists are always babbling about when they should be groveling before His graven image ... Meanie-meanie, tickle a personhttp://www.fakeassurl.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-74935795318535199322013-10-24T09:10:54.739-05:002013-10-24T09:10:54.739-05:00Romney had multiple problems and it was a combin...Romney had multiple problems and it was a combination of things I think - the Mormon factor, his previous freshly recanted previous "Left"~wards positions on healthcare and accepting climate science, and also his wooden, uncharismatic, arrogant and boring personality in general. Strapping his dog to the car roof and taking it for a long shitty ride didn't help him much either.StevoRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02506855815096149912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-7779430092150752322013-10-22T17:07:21.176-05:002013-10-22T17:07:21.176-05:00Great post! I laughed, I cried. The GOP may by dyi...Great post! I laughed, I cried. The GOP may by dying and if a third party emerges it will up end the "balance" we've had...I mean that if that happens then the Dems will win and win and that will become a one party rule. We need discourse and compromise to get some things done. Can they come to their senses?Larcanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10109743909244156390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-52189005179783596832013-10-22T02:06:27.026-05:002013-10-22T02:06:27.026-05:00"It's a dynamic similar to the one which ..."It's a dynamic similar to the one which led to the rise of fascism in 1930s Europe"<br /><br />Raven, thank you for the link. I was having the exact same thought earlier today, and had attempted some research for parallels with 1920's & '30's Germany. Your links here dropped the info right into my lap(top). <br /><br />c.c.thomasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-86152688813823056032013-10-22T02:05:43.916-05:002013-10-22T02:05:43.916-05:00As another Texas liberal (born here) I have to tel...As another Texas liberal (born here) I have to tell you, we need more liberals to move here, as fast as possible! Tell all your friends! This state has a lot of electoral votes, it is well worth swinging back to blue. Texas hasn't always been this crazy, it has historically had more Democratic governors than Repug ones. It started going downhill when Reagan was elected, and when King Bush the Moronic was elected governor here, we became the land of insanity you see before you now. We are pushing back, but it is going to take a lot of work.D.I. Newtonhttps://www.facebook.com/diana.newton.357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-28730895616999845162013-10-21T20:25:25.736-05:002013-10-21T20:25:25.736-05:00ULOL
(Uncontrollable Laughing...)
Excellent comp...ULOL <br />(Uncontrollable Laughing...)<br /><br />Excellent comparison, although the Baron may feel insulted to be compared to such heinous scoundrels.<br /><br /><br />Hagar the Horriblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835631471335088847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-64469147791831215162013-10-21T12:26:36.049-05:002013-10-21T12:26:36.049-05:00I find your comment offensive and obnoxious, Anony...I find your comment offensive and obnoxious, Anonymous, and I wonder if you're not a Poe simply looking to start a fight. <br /><br />Overrated or not, freedom of speech, the right to assemble, the right to petition the government for redress of wrongs (i.e. the basic elements of protest) are fundamental to liberty, especially our version of it. The government may have a legitimate reason for closing certain public facilities, but that isn't a reason for suspending the First Amendment. Jailing people solely for voicing protest is counter to everything this country stands for and everything that veterans like myself fought for. I no more support that idea than I do the call for sedition from the likes of Larry Klayman. <br /><br />The protest in question, i.e. The Million Veteran March, was <i>not</i> illegal. <br /><br />Removing barriers and accessing closed public facilities may have been illegal, but it's certainly <i>not</i> sedition, it's a misdemeanor at the very worst. Those protesters who engaged in such activity might face civil penalties (though I suspect you'd have a hard time proving your case when members of the government were among the crowd helping to facilitate the action), but lets do try to keep it in perspective - especially since there are no reports of significant injuries or damage to public property as a result. <br /><br />Whether or not the veterans who participated should be ashamed, those who stood by while others displayed the symbols of treason and spoke of sedition, is a matter of opinion (and perhaps one that I share as described in the post). <i>However</i> jailing veterans or civilians for listening to such dreck is unconstitutional and unamerican and is cut from the same cloth of intolerant extremism that leads men like Larry Klayman to call President Obama a Muslim and demand that he surrender to some kind of People's Court for trial and execution. <br /><br />Extremism is extremism, no matter which side of the political aisle you stand on.Jim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-29714717576745121772013-10-21T11:16:13.744-05:002013-10-21T11:16:13.744-05:00The right to protest is overrated and should be de...The right to protest is overrated and should be denied to anyone who dare circumvent the legitimate denial by our elected government to access any memorial, private or public for whatever reason. Sedition is all over this illegal protest and those veterans who engaged in this act against should be ashamed and jailed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-7361312278591139272013-10-21T11:08:09.851-05:002013-10-21T11:08:09.851-05:00It used to be that we liberals were the ones infig...It used to be that we liberals were the ones infighting and destroying our friends rather than our enemies. Pamelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14984600539171463313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-73864469614220746762013-10-21T09:52:43.079-05:002013-10-21T09:52:43.079-05:00It is remarkably telling about the current state o...It is remarkably telling about the current state of our nation's government that the stenographer for the HoR can break down into an absolutely unhinged, stark raving mad screech, and nobody so much as bats an eye. She literally just started screaming nonsense, and not a single person was phased -- and in fact most media outlets simply haven't even reported it.<br /><br />We get all the government we deserve.GunstarGreennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-65896029872522595812013-10-21T00:35:56.561-05:002013-10-21T00:35:56.561-05:00I'm a little late to this segment of the comme...I'm a little late to this segment of the comments, but the GOP-led House of Representatives is only in session 23 days between now and December 31, 2013. Considering how little they've gotten done since January 2011, I don't hold out much hope that either immigration reform or a bipartisan budget gets out of committee before the 113th Congress ends, and aren't we right up against the debt ceiling deadline again in January?KaJohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11043005602676549904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-47665121956480312442013-10-20T23:51:20.702-05:002013-10-20T23:51:20.702-05:00I haven't enjoyed a diatribe so much since Hun...I haven't enjoyed a diatribe so much since Hunter Thomson died. Great stuff!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-19404031729852736192013-10-20T23:10:52.555-05:002013-10-20T23:10:52.555-05:00Anonymous ThinkingWoman,
Yes. One of the key fact...Anonymous ThinkingWoman,<br /><br />Yes. One of the key factors that moved Orange County from the proud home of "B-1 Bob" Dornan to a more liberal voting record was the demographic change--i.e., the increase in the number of non-white voters. I understand a similar demographic shift is happening in Texas ... but it has further to go.Nick formerly from the O.C.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-29445076685468516542013-10-20T23:09:02.412-05:002013-10-20T23:09:02.412-05:00I agree. To many African Americans and maybe other...I agree. To many African Americans and maybe others the stars and bars IS the same as the swastika. It's a symbol of terrorism - lynching, burning, raping, castrating and ripping families apart.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-18590754977524631312013-10-20T23:00:36.760-05:002013-10-20T23:00:36.760-05:00Magnificent! You have totally captured the insanit...Magnificent! You have totally captured the insanity of the Tea Party. Anyone not living this would think this whole sorry affair with these conservatives is a horrid "twilight sleep" phenomenon from which one can not awakeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-73375084157277439612013-10-20T21:03:32.299-05:002013-10-20T21:03:32.299-05:00I'm a bit late to the commenting game here (an...I'm a bit late to the commenting game here (and I haven't commented in a while, but please don't mistake me for the other crazy MK that I believe ended up banned...?).<br />I am worried. I too feel like celebrating because surely the average adult in the U.S. has now seen enough and knows just how crazy the Koch brothers' Tea Party politicians have become. <br />We must not allow the Koch brothers to slide under the radar. They have been supporters of Scott Walker here in Wisconsin, the governor that has put into motion a grand plan to dismember public education in our state (oh, but we all get $14-$31 property tax relief this year!) and has stomped on our state's reputation. Walker has been campaigning for the Presidential nomination for the past year and did a fairly good job of avoiding going down with the Romney/Ryan ship. He is a typical mouth piece for the Koch brothers and those of similar ilk (shit tons of money that you too could have if only you worked harder....what is the saying? "Born on third, but convinced they hit a triple"....?)...although, he didn't finish college. That's right folks, the governor of my state couldn't even be bothered to finish his degree, and now he is in control of education policy. Yeah. Walker campaigns on being a conservative that reaches across the aisle and in doing so has saved our state and brought us all together and made WI "Open For Business". I can feel the bile in the back of my throat just typing it... My point is this, we must watch the other "less crazy" politicians that the Koch's support. They have their bases covered. <br />Another mention/side track (as to how far and wide the crazy has spread and going along with the planned demise of Public Education), our Common Core Standards for History are likely to take longer to be agreed upon than the standards for Science. Why? Because apparently revisionist history has some major pull and is now deemed just as important as fighting evolutionary science. <br />I am so glad we avoided falling off the cliff, but feel as though we may end up backing off the opposite side. <br />Thanks all for reminding me that sanity does still exist, and for the interesting side lesson on stenographers....well and the bunny sex. MKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-9802040477026487712013-10-20T19:15:37.138-05:002013-10-20T19:15:37.138-05:00I put those people who fly the stars and bars in t...I put those people who fly the stars and bars in the same category as those who fly the swastika. I don't give a damn what sort of heritage you claim to be supporting, you are waving a symbol of an enemy of the United States - a flag flown in support of terror and bigotryArakasinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-64961879919736400552013-10-20T17:37:20.813-05:002013-10-20T17:37:20.813-05:00Putting on the 'tinfoil hat': Its the Mer...Putting on the 'tinfoil hat': Its the Mercury. Coal plant emissions, fish, etc. The prolonged lifespan in 'Murica enables more to accumulate= more crazy 'Bunny Sex'. We're F'd.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-66441579118581414292013-10-20T14:08:11.508-05:002013-10-20T14:08:11.508-05:00Ah, but the "bunny sex" phenomena also g...Ah, but the "bunny sex" phenomena also gives rise to a population of the Arctic Fox, Wolves, and various and sundry Owls and Raptors. Heh.bearsensehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000858896207125033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-81387372494251261652013-10-20T13:11:37.028-05:002013-10-20T13:11:37.028-05:00From salon.com today. Worth passing on.....
Now ...From salon.com today. Worth passing on.....<br /><br />Now consider: Gerrymandering lumps birds-of-a-feather till each district is “owned” by one party or another. Democratic voters in a Republican-owned district – or Republicans in a Democratic-owned district – will never cast a vote of legislature in the only election that matters: the majority party’s primary.<br /><br />Unless…<br /><br />…unless you hold your nose and re-register with whatever party owns your district. This holds, whether you’re a Democrat in a Republican district, or vice versa.<br /><br />If your district is gerried to contain mostly Republicans, then it should be represented by a conservative person. But, as someone living in the district, you deserve to have some say in which conservative it will be! A Tea Party radical? Or a genteel negotiator, like Goldwater or Buckley?<br /><br />Conservative radicals will scream that Democrats who attempt this kind of judo must be aimimg to sabotage the Republican primary! But any large numbers who switch will have one goal: to recover a meaningful say in a district that had disenfranchised them. They want to vote for candidates they disagree with less; this isa reasonable criterion.<br /><br />Does a label change a voter’s principles? Remember Republicans of yore Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower — and sign the card! Then, next spring, you’ll vote when it matters, in the primary between Republican candidates.<br /><br />The same advice applies to Republicans in Democratic-owned districts! In fact, this tactic has precedence — generations of Republicans registered as Democrats in the old-time “solid South.” They can hardly complain now.<br /><br />Old Navy Comm OAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com