2009 American Politics Thread I - My President Likes Spiderman

Okay, time for a proper Obama Administration thread, since most of the cabinet appointees have been named(the first round, at least).

We'll start things off on the right foot:

White House stops pending Bush regulations for review

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama's new administration ordered all federal agencies and departments on Tuesday to stop any pending regulations until they can be reviewed by incoming staff, halting last-minute Bush orders in their tracks.

"This afternoon, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel signed a memorandum sent to all agencies and departments to stop all pending regulations until a legal and policy review can be conducted by the Obama administration," the White House said in a statement issued just hours after Obama took office.

(...)

Controversial late rules by the outgoing Bush administration include allowing the carrying of concealed weapons in some national parks and prohibiting medical facilities from receiving federal money for discriminating against doctors and nurses who refuse to assist with abortions or dispense contraceptives based on religious grounds...

dude is straight kicking ass and all doubters must give props hesitant or no. you can rescind these props later if need be, props do not attach permanently

Too many props in a short time may prove hazardous. See your doctor if you experience painful props lasting for four hours or more.

props may cause drowsiness and/or extended priapism

sorry J0hn but Obama went deep into the Massive Public Approval skill which gives him +300% binding on all received props; this can only be countered by Economic Tsunami or White Girl Panties

or Morbs zingers.

Just the discovery of White Girl Panties?

Or, like, him drunk and wearing them on his head at a press conference?

it's my understanding that the WoW: Obama Admin build expands the White Girl Panties spell into a five-spell rogue-ops suite

"What's that, Helen? Oh, *these*? Heh heh heh. Funny story about that..."

way to bury my politics sabbatical announcement on the other thread, kingfish.

see ya in May (be)

When's the first official presser, anyway? This week? Before the State of the Union?

Do we get to publicly mock all the whiney-ass Corner-types who decry the # of standing ovations that the guy gets during the actual Address?

Right-o, see ya then.

Morbs Zingers is an emote; ineffectual and fun until it's overused, then it's KoS every time someone does it.

When a rogue gets 5 combo points on Obama, they can attempt White Girl Panties on him which will disorient him for 30 seconds. Make sure you have a shaman chain-casting Dubious Couture on Michelle otherwise he's immune.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/WorldofWarcraftPlayersforObama

http://scienceblogs.com/neuronculture/2008/12/world_of_warcraft_obama_hires.php

Oh God no, the puns are coming too quickly to type now. That being said,

So what kind of creature do you have to grind to get White Girl Panties to drop?

lvl 25 White Girls (found in Hillsbrad Foothills wandering near Southshore; they also drop an epic wine cooler)

Old but might as well repost it given the thread so far:

http://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ah121708obamabig.jpg

lol I have Hymn of Hope, must be a black thing

best thread ever

Today so far

-Went to church
-econ mtg
-chief of staff mtg
-suspended bullshit tribunal at Gitmo

Also, i like this:

But Gibbs said that most such substantive executive orders will probably wait until Thursday or later. The push on Wednesday will be to issue orders making clear Obama's intention to hold all White House staff to high ethics standards and to start delivering on the pledge of making his administration more transparent to Americans.

"Seriously, man, give us like a day to sort thru all this shit. New stuff comes tomorrow."

on the Gitmo tip

...Prosecutor Clay Trivett said all pending cases should be suspended because a review of the military commissions system may result in significant changes. Obama has said he will close Guantanamo and many expect he will scrap the special war crimes court and direct that cases be prosecuted in the U.S.

The 120-day suspension "has the practical effect of stopping the process, probably forever," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, Khadr's defense lawyer.

(....)

War crimes charges are pending against 21 men being held at Guantanamo, including the five charged with murder and other crimes in the Sept. 11 case. Before Obama became president, the U.S. had said it planned to try dozens of detainees in a system created by former President George W. Bush and Congress in 2006.

Relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, who were at the base this week to observe pretrial hearings, told reporters they oppose any halt to the trials.

"The safest place to have these trials is Guantanamo Bay. If they were to move to the homeland it would endanger all of us," said Lorraine Arias Believeau of Barnegat, New Jersey, whose brother, Adam, was killed in the attacks...

Huh? Holding criminal trials in an actual american court for actual crimes makes us less safer? how?

also for FUCKS SAKE can we finally have a moratorium on the term 'homeland'? We now longer have an Admin in power that needs to rely on bullshit fearmongering and stoking domestic paranoids. Not yet, at any rate.

In other news today, the President has chatted with the leaders of the PLA, Israel, Jordan, & Egypt.

like in AIM chatz?

With the new Administration's penchant for employing modern online communication tools, you never know.

Speaking of which, dig the re-design

gaza cio

Amazed, not just by this thread but gotta deadline...

http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0901/obama_oval_0121.jpg

Someone loan the new President a laptop or something.

URKEL CHAIR

eeeek.

Eh, they all have that one. Aeron chairs can't be as easily armored, i guess.

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/homepage/hp1-21-09l.jpg

"So I'm thinking a huge flatscreen over there in that empty patch for sports broadcasts."

Payroll freeze, and...

...Obama's new lobbying rules will not only ban aides from trying to influence the administration when they leave his staff. Those already hired will be banned from working on matters they have previously lobbied on, or to approach agencies that they once targeted.

The rules also ban lobbyists from giving gifts of any size to any member of his administration. It wasn't immediately clear whether the ban would include the traditional "previous relationships" clause, allowing gifts from friends or associates with which an employee comes in with strong ties.

The new rules also require that anyone who leaves his administration is not allowed to try to influence former friends and colleagues for at least two years. Obama is requiring all staff to attend to an ethics briefing like one he said he attended last week...

dude is having a good first day, huh

So presidents don't get personal computers, eh?

Oh they probably all drunk by now

> So presidents don't get personal computers, eh?

He has to be careful not to spend all his time lurking on /b/

Did they finally take away his blackberry by force, or did they all work something out?

He has a postracialberry now.

They went to the US equivalent of Q outta James Bond and got something worked out.

yeah really enjoying how today pretty much establishes that the whole "nothing much will change more of the same yawn" crew can basically STFU

for instance:
http://i43.tinypic.com/sne14z.jpg

change we can believe in, because who really wants to sit around all day in yer gddmn suitcoat

get this no one was allowed in the oval office w/o a jacket

yay for guys way too influenced in prep school

yeah people might lose all respect for the office and the one who holds it if he shucks his jacket while, you know, working.

i hope they had a box full of really crappy oversized jackets by the door with a huge presidential crest on them for people who didnt remember to dress up.

naw if you showed up w/o a jacket they just waterboarded u

btw thats how cheney hurt his back

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/the_inauguration_of_president.html

How long are the freepers going to put 'quotes' around President Obama?

More Meaningless Symbolism from ‘President’ Barack Hussein Obama

Best photo of all:

http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/44_01_21/4442_17682555.jpg

> How long are the freepers going to put 'quotes' around President Obama?

2016

wow @ gitmo

the contrast between their demeanors there is quite something

"read a note left for him by America’s last democratically elected President, George W. Bush." -- from More Meaningless Symbolism...

should i be infering any emphasis on "last" and/or "democratically"?

That is some industrial strength denial right there.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/nyregion/22caroline.html?_r=1&hp

I think this is a good thing.

guess paterson had decided against her

> polls showing voters preferring Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo

I'm still not big on scion-politics, but this is def. less objectionable.

Posted on January 21, 2009 6:34:15 PM EST by obamaisandrogynous

I'd be down with Obama strolling about the Oval Office singing said Placemats song.

538 made a good argument a while ago that its best to opponent a place holder whos not gonna run for reelection so that the next cycle yr general election candidate has to prove their electability in the primaries w/o the advantage of incumbency - otherwise u run the risk of appointing someone who might might lose the seat when they actually have to run

appoint a place holder

538? Is that thing still there?

i read it today!

is that nate silver's bullshit?

appoint a place holder

did the Attorney General Designate change his name overnight?

day in review

Obama and his wife also played host and hostess for a select 200 at an open house.

"Enjoy yourself, roam around," a smiling Obama told one guest.

"Don't break anything."

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/oath-is-administered-once-again/?hp

But...but...that means his executive orders to shut down Camp X-Ray are illegit! FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

What do the freepers have to say about that (someone else look)?

Yeah do not go to there.

the fox news crowd was going on about that this morning, like "wellllll, it's a technicality but SOME SAY..."

pretty absurd.

Those fuckin' guys. If they believed anything they say on TV, they'd have all moved to Belize by now for fear that the all-Dem. elected govt was going to have them locked up and eaten alive by rats.

bleurgh I hate the SOME who always SAY.

I'm still not big on scion-politics, but this is def. less objectionable.

Cuomo is vile.

he's been a pretty good state attorney general, though.

They could choose that nice Mr Spitzer oh wait.

He should nominate Judge Judy.

me, i hav always wanted to be a senator

President Obama is expected to sign executive orders Thursday directing the Central Intelligence Agency to shut what remains of its network of secret prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year, government officials said...the orders would bring to an end a Central Intelligence Agency program that kept terrorism suspects in secret custody for months or years, a practice that has brought fierce criticism from foreign governments and human rights activists. They will also prohibit the C.I.A. from using coercive interrogation methods, requiring the agency to follow the same rules used by the military in interrogating terrorism suspects, government officials said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22gitmo.html

love this fuckin guy

I don't want to act incredibly stupid but I am - what happens with the prisoners of gitmo when it closes?

They are taken to Hugh Hewitt's house so he can enlighten them in the ways of being a good American.

(Serious answer -- that's pretty much what they're figuring out now, and is why it's not being shut down right this second.)

cheers.

they're doing a 50-state "freedom tour" as the Ex-Guantanamo Inmates, whole thing's being coordinated by Jay Reatard

Banhammer I miss you

lol J0hn, it's just like "Chicago"!

Meanwhile, also on the first day, shit was broken and decrepit and half the gear didn't work or was running Office 2000.

...Two years after launching the most technologically savvy presidential campaign in history, Obama officials ran smack into the constraints of the federal bureaucracy yesterday, encountering a jumble of disconnected phone lines, old computer software, and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts.

What does that mean in 21st-century terms? No Facebook to communicate with supporters. No outside e-mail log-ins. No instant messaging. Hard adjustments for a staff that helped sweep Obama to power through, among other things, relentless online social networking.

"It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of his new digs.

(....)

One member of the White House new-media team came to work on Tuesday, right after the swearing-in ceremony, only to discover that it was impossible to know which programs could be updated, or even which computers could be used for which purposes. The team members, accustomed to working on Macintoshes, found computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software. Laptops were scarce, assigned to only a few people in the West Wing. The team was left struggling to put closed captions on online videos...

Tombot, you should offer your services to fix this.

oh yeah, and one last bit, from the very end of the article:

...But there were no missing letters from the computer keyboards, as Bush officials had complained of during their transition in 2001.

And officials in the press office were prepared: In addition to having their own cellphones, they set up Gmail accounts, with approval from the White House counsel, so they could send information in more than one way.

Nice little mention of the missing W thing, without mentioning that it was a bullshit story in the first place that douchebags like Brit Hume and Limbaugh took and ran with.

Also I find this phrase

working on Macintoshes, found computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software.

to be so odd. Yes, it's technically the appropriate description, but there's a clunkiness(clunky-ness?) to the writing as if we're reading the observations of some alien from deep space. Computers are so everpresent that this sentence is akin to dude writing that "the senator commuted in the morning from his family house to his work office in his horseless carriage of red color."

Maybe this is just something with the WaPo style guide, I don't know. I just haven't encountered anybody who's actually refered to their Apple or Mac by just saying the entire model name.

http://www.amazon.com/Chia-Obama-Handmade-Decorative-Planter/dp/B001PKU298

wow

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RIzx1mZRL.jpg

GAH.

"Collect a botanical piece of Chia Obama!"

sorry, "historical"

...as the Joker.

Okay, here we go.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama began overhauling U.S. treatment of terror suspects Thursday, signing orders to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, review military war crimes trials and ban the harshest interrogation methods.

"We intend to win this fight. We're going to win it on our terms," Obama said as he signed three executive orders and a presidential directive in the Oval Office. Obama explained each order before he put his pen to them and occasionally solicited input from White House counsel Greg Craig to make sure he was describing them correctly...

other stuff:
-set up agroup to figure out what to do with all the guys we've been holding for 7 years

-required all U.S. personnel have to follow the Army Field Manual when interrogating, so no more CIA guys torturing folks. Manual might be altered later, tho.

-sending Justice Dept to check out case of Ali al-Marri

this guy is seriously kicking ass

yes

I am doing a little "told-ya-so" dance in my cubicle

meanwhile, the GOP is busy rebranding itself as the explicitly pro-torture, gay-hate, pro-economic-collapse party. hooray!

DP I will wolf down plate after plate of this crow and ask for more, ladle it on!

x-post -- And if only the liberal media wasn't keeping them down, their positive message would sweep the nation!

related photos:

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20090122/capt.f39562f2ac6543ed9107bde80d21e56a.obama_whcd113.jpg?x=400&y=266&q=85&sig=UyX4mf2BVBEqN.l2MmDRRQ--

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/01/22/us/22obama-600.jpg

There's only dude in this photo who's not a old, frumpy, & officious-lookin' white guy, and that's the one wielding the Mighty-Ass Pen.

Hee hee. They won't let him keep his blackberry on his desk.

"Can I, like, hide it under this big-ass phone?"

"No, Mr. President, it has to go in the drawer."

"My hope, and please understand me when I say this. I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, 'Well, I hope he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance.' Why? They didn't give Bush a chance in 2000. Before he was inaugurated, the search-and-destroy mission had begun. I'm not talking about search-and-destroy, but I've been listening to Barack Obama for a year-and-a-half. I know what his politics are. I know what his plans are, as he has stated them. I don't want them to succeed
.

"If I wanted Obama to succeed, I'd be happy the Republicans have laid down. And I would be encouraging Republicans to lay down and support him. Look, what he's talking about is the absorption of as much of the private sector by the U.S. government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all of these things. I don't want this to work. So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, 'Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.' (interruption) What are you laughing at? See, here's the point. Everybody thinks it's outrageous to say. Look, even my staff, 'Oh, you can't do that.' Why not? Why is it any different, what's new, what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what's gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here. Why do I want more of it? I don't care what the drive-by story is. I would be honored if the drive-by media headlined me all day long: 'Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails.' Somebody's gotta say it."

lol at Barney Fife in the background

country first eh motherfucker

x-post

xp wow Rush is a dumbass

Look, what he's talking about is the absorption of as much of the private sector by the U.S. government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business,

yay for idiots without a shred of self-awareness whatsoever

from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care... I don't want this to work

you don't say

;-)

what's next, the radio industry?!?!

yeah, can't wait for that fairness doctrine to destroy talk radio once and for all, what say you comrades

so not gonna happen re: fairness doctrine

where did that rumor even get started?

yeah no shit!! i've never heard anyone talking about it ever except ppl in lol talk radio. it's almost as if they have a paranoid view of american life or something.

almost as if

meanwhile in more ass-kicking news Obama limits ex-presidents' discretion on records

it's all about rallying the morans. if you cast yourself as "under siege", folks will buy into even more of your lunatic rantings.

It isn't hard to imagine that this guy used to teach ethics.

Yeah, the Fairness Doctrine thing got started around Election Time(if not earlier when they saw how bad their prospects are). They either needed a completely bullshit issue to rally around and be paranoid/persecuted/narcissistic about, or it just displays their ability to detect what issue is coming down the pike(i.e. none at all).

but there must have been some spark that set the fire, some off-hand comment from some Democrat somewhere... I mean delusional as right wing talk radio is, I doubt they'd make something up out of thin air.

i think after the 'controversy' had bubbled up in wingnut land some journo asked chuck schumer if the fairness doctrine was 'coming back' and he said something like, 'well i hope all our media will be fair and accurate' and off to the races they went

but there must have been some spark that set the fire, some off-hand comment from some Democrat somewhere

Shakey Mo OTM re: starting fires without sparks, it's damn near impossible.

As long as they're crying, why not give 'em something to cry about?

Kucinich said something in early 2007.

I love that Rush is stroking out over the Obama presidency.

I honestly wonder if he realizes he isn't some sort of fresh new contrarian voice anymore.

I don't think he cares, he's made mad bank off of his schtick.

Imagine if Rush and Ann Coulter had a little hate baby.

dude is just an opportunist/entertainer, pure and simple

where is rush parkinson's disease animated .gif

taking a bottom up view tho, there are seriously millions of ppl who dislike if not outright hate obama in symbology (hay he's a black guy) if not on 'merits' and it would be impossible to expect the usual suspects to not try to outgame each other in serving that constituency

xp i'm sure rush imagine's just that, a lot

stray apostrophe there

Imagine if Rush and Ann Coulter had a little hate baby.

Just think about what that would look like for a second.

i don't think it could happen, ann would just be barking 'can i finish' at him thru the entire process

but then what right-wing harpy does Glen Beck get to procreate with?

MICHELLE MALKIN

Imagine if Rush and Ann Coulter had a little hate baby.

Just think about what that would look like for a second.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee56/chikapappi/SamUgliestDogLulu.jpg

aw

speaking of which, just the usual tropes played again and again.

And there's your NIMBYism

ahh, Duncan Hunter, still mad as a March hare

lolz good luck with that Duncan

man, i didn't think obama could be any more awesome, but he's kicking ass and taking names all over the place already.

I gotta say, though, wasn't this all the kind of stuff he was going to do anyway? By which I mean -- all indications were that as soon as he was inaugurated he'd be getting in there on a number of levels, various statements he'd made and his support staff had made were of this nature. To me it's a little less "Whoa dude!" and more "Hey, nice."

yah im not surprised at all but at the same time it is just so sweet that these things are happening

It's one thing to state in your campaign that you're going to curtail executive power and increase its transparency, but it's another thing to do it when you're now the actual executive whose actions are being curtailed, and whose actions are being made transparent.

It is, but it's also one thing to be completely mistrustful of people in power or seeking it -- which is a good baseline, don't get me wrong -- and another to think, "Well, he's pretty well made good on what he's done so far, why would the pattern change any initially?" And so it proves. I dunno, I guess I'm less jumpy about it all.

Also, I think it's great that he thinks this is the first thing he should do now that he's in office. I like the way he's organizing his priorities so far.

in non-ass-kicking news:

President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for attorney general has endorsed an extension of the law that allows federal agents to demand Americans' library and bookstore records as part of terrorism probes, dismaying a national group of independent booksellers.

sorry to be a downer, dudes

Holder's a weird guy.

The target of the search does not have to be suspected of terrorism or any other crime.

this is some bullshit

Now Rush doesn't have to hope Obama fails!

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/01/22/torture/

but there must have been some spark that set the fire, some off-hand comment from some Democrat somewhere... I mean delusional as right wing talk radio is, I doubt they'd make something up out of thin air.

― Courtney Love's Jew Loan Officer (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, January 22, 2009 5:51 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Yeah there was

http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2008/11/20/fairness-doctrine-all-hot-air/

“It's time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “I have this old-fashioned attitude that when Americans hear both sides of the story, they're in a better position to make a decision.”

...

Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she planned to “look at the legal and constitutional aspects of” reviving the Fairness Doctrine.

“I believe very strongly that the airwaves are public and people use these airwaves for profit,” she said. “But there is a responsibility to see that both sides and not just one side of the big public questions of debate of the day are aired and are aired with some modicum of fairness.”

Feinstein said she is not yet ready to submit a formal proposal.

Democrats on the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee have also begun to focus on what they regard as a lack of diversity in talk radio, and may hold hearings later this year.

tbf that was back in June 07 so maybe its irrelevant and Rush really did just pull it out of thin air a year later.

more good stuff

Day three of life in Obama times, and there's more good news to report: today the president will lift the so-called "global gag rule" or "Mexico City Policy" that forbids NGOs that receive federal funding from providing abortion services or counseling abroad. The rule was first announced in 1984, in Mexico City at the United Nations International Conference on Population, at the height of Reagan-era social conservative fever. It meant that many international family planning and reproductive health organizations (including the International Planned Parenthood Federation) lost a heap of money from the feds, and that others that wanted or needed to keep their funding had to conform to strict policies in which advocacy, counseling or provision of abortion services was verboten. The rule was rescinded by Bill Clinton in 1993, immediately after he took office, and promptly reinstated by George Bush in 2001, days after he took office. So Obama's decision here is not surprising, but it is certainly good news for women and men around the world.

fuck yes

So in the unlikely event that a Repub wins the White House in 2012 or 2016 h/she will in turn rescind Obama's order?

Good news, everyone!

FDA approves human embryonic stem cell study

By Miriam Falco
CNN Medical News Managing Editor

(CNN) -- Federal regulators have cleared the way for the first human trials of human embryonic stem-cell research, authorizing researchers to test whether the cells are safe to use in spinal injury patients, the company behind the trials announced Friday.

[...]

President Obama is expected to loosen the restrictions, which many researchers and advocates have complained severely set back work toward curing disease such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes....

So much time lost.

Don't mourn the dead years, celebrate the catch-up ones.

(apart from all the lingering damage e.g. fucked economy)

He's even made the cover of Mad!

http://i44.tinypic.com/2s7x8p5.jpg

haha that's a great cover

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/

PolitiFact has compiled about 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the campaign and is tracking their progress on our Obameter. We rate their status as No Action, In the Works or Stalled. Once we find action is completed, we rate them Promise Kept, Compromise or Promise Broken.

lol progressive wonks are the worst

the right wing is just "we're gonna call everybody on this bus a promise keeper"

o jeez

http://i43.tinypic.com/xc27tg.jpg

I actually like the idea in principle, but the bean-counting quality of it makes it seem like it's going to end up being really pedantic and forest-for-the-trees -ish. Like frankly I could toss dozens of these promises in exchange for a few big ones that will have the most impact, personally.

Although at the same time, I guess part of the appeal of the Obama presidency is this sense that we're finally going to get to work on a whole lot of little fronts, so it's good to get a sense of how much that's happening. I guess it's the emphasis on all the ways the promise can be un-kept that makes this feel more like somebody waiting for him to fail.

web 2.0 bitches they should just let you get a free login cookie and when you visit it only shows you the promises you care about and the promises your friendees care about and then a tracker that shows the top ten promises everybody cares about

last night i dreamt that me and burt_stanton and dick cheney were watching bush's 2002 state of the union from an undisclosed location

dick_cheney

vatican upset with family planning thing, in other news earth is round.

"This deals a harsh blow not only to us Catholics but to all the people across the world who fight against the slaughter of innocents that is carried out with the abortion," another top official with the Academy for Life, Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, told the ANSA news agency.

blah blah blah condoms HIV blah

NYT:

Breaking News 7:02 PM ET:
Obama Set to Allow California and 13 Other States to Regulate Auto Emissions

:) :) :) :) :) :) :)

All last year I was bitching about this. Frustratingly, the consensus was that it would be quicker for California to just wait out the remainder of the Bush presidency than to take the EPA to court. This is a happy day.

First TV interview goes to Al-Arabiya.

Obama taped the interview with the Dubai-based network Monday as his envoy to the Middle East, former Sen. George J. Mitchell, set out for an eight-day trip to the region and elsewhere. The interview complemented the new administration's first efforts to reach out to Arab leaders in the region, who have been wary at best of U.S. efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Obama said he felt it important to "get engaged right away" in the Mideast and had directed Mitchell to talk to "all the major parties involved." His administration would craft an approach after that, he said in the interview.

"What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating," Obama told the interviewer....

Also,

issued stricted fuel-efficiency standards, sorta

...The new president also said his administration would issue new fuel-efficiency requirements to cover 2011 model year vehicles.

Obama acknowledged the worries of automakers but said urgent action was needed nonetheless. He said, "Our goal is not to further burden an already struggling industry. It is to help America's automakers prepare for the future."

He said that U.S. imports of foreign oil have continued to climb, even as previous presidents pledged to reverse the trend. No more, he said...

http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg165/Marimars/th_MyMusicThalia-BabyImInLove.jpg

change has come to Washington, I hope Karl Rove is ready for it

this is good news right? or will it mean nothing?

because they were protected by executive privilege even if obama shows no interest in going after bush admin people his signing statement and transparency pledge basically means if even a small minority of congress want to fuck w/them they can - could get interesting

oh snap

probably too early to get excited but I wonder what Morbs' reaction to this is

This is the part of the thread where I pop up and remind people NOT to play poker with Barack Obama.

Someone obviously hasn't told the Republicans.

cant believe bush didnt pardon any of these people

tho i guess u cant take the 5th then

I can believe it, if Bush blames his following of their advice for his abysmal approval ratings. The one constant about Bush's character that I can see is that he is a vindictive son of a bitch.

cant believe bush didnt pardon any of these people

He probably still believes he/they didn't do anything wrong.

Where Dan sees vindictive, I see simple.

No one said it can't be both!

simply vindictive

btw I no longer am curious as to what Morbius thinks about this in case you were wondering

I'll check that off my list.

"There's real desire in this room to figure a way back to prosperity," Inglis wrote on Twitter. "The president and Republicans here are expressing deep concern about unemployment."

"If the President carries this on it does open door for a new tone!" Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) exclaimed. (<-- this was also a twitter link)

"Sharp differences are muted," Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) Twittered.

wtf is going on here??

It means you need to get with the hip new times, daddy-o. Uh, yeah.

odd AP piece that I don't really know what to make of. A lot of unsourced quotes warning that "OH NOES THEY WILL ALL HAVE EGOS BETTER NOT TRY ANYTHING TOO UNCONVENTIONAL OR OUTSIDE THE STATUS QUO FOR THE LAST 8 YEARS MR OBAMAS"

House passes Obama stimulus bill

after House GOP douchebaggery and concessions given to them, they still didn't vote for it.

-The vote was 244-188.

-The centerpiece tax cut calls for a $500 break for single workers and $1,000 for couples, including those who don't earn enough to owe federal income taxes.

-The party's leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, said the measure "won't create many jobs, but it will create plenty of programs and projects through slow-moving government spending." A GOP alternative, comprised almost entirely of tax cuts, was defeated, 266-170, moments before the final vote.

As John Cole points out:

Considering the Republican plan when the economy was good and the coffers were full was tax cuts, and the Republican plan when the economy was lagging was tax cuts, and the Republican plan while we were fighting two wars and the deficit was rising was more tax cuts, and the Republican plan for, well, everything is tax cuts, I am going to go out on a limb and guess that the Republican plan for economic stimulus is going to be… tax cuts.

Hey, supply-side economics has worked so well so far, why not continue? Why do we always punish our best, more moral, & successful people?

also, current Drudge above-the-headline headlines:

$335,000,000 FOR STD PREVENTION IN ECONOMIC STIMULUS BILL...
244-188: House hands Obama stimulus win...
Bill Nears $900 Billion?
GOP: 'Won't stimulate anything but more government and more debt'...
Bleeding banks prompt talk of new big bailout...
FDIC May Run 'Bad Bank' in Obama Plan...
Postmaster Gen'l: Mail delivery may need to be cut...

I like the bit in the Washington Post about how everyone's going for cocktails tonight at the White House at 7:30.

haha

Will any of the House GOP show up?

"Hey, I _voted_ for the thing. Can I get a coupla drink tickets too?"

House GOP leaders were invited, my guess is they're all going to talk about the Super Bowl. (Which I just mistyped at Super Browl, which makes sense.)

AS Super etc. I need to go home.

Obama looks like he enjoys tanq and tonics.

Meanwhile, Al Gore rode the rails to the capitol today to help gather support for the bill and talk to the Senate Foreign Relations cmte.

simply vindictive

― ice cr?m, Tuesday, January 27, 2009 2:30 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark

The Coen Brothers Simply Vindictive

So if none of these House GOP dudes vote for the stimulus can we cut the tax cuts bullshit and get a stimulus bill the democrats actually want?

taking a moment for teh lulz

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012801448.html?hpid=topnews

So if none of these House GOP dudes vote for the stimulus can we cut the tax cuts bullshit and get a stimulus bill the democrats actually want?

^^ this

and now that they've effectively declared an end to the era of bipartisanship (2009-2009 rip), can democrats start treating them contemptuously like an irrelevant timewasting minority now? it would be better for the country if they did.

more to the point i'm really worried that obama believes in his 'bipartisan unity' schtick. i thought it was a cynical ploy to divide and destroy the gop (hooray!) but they appear not to be playing along. will he continue to?

I am shocked...SHOCKED! To hear that the official GOP position on 'bipartisanship' is 'you do what we say, or we take our ball and go home.'

how is the gop spinning the obama-gave-them-something-and-they-turned-up-their-nose storyline, which seems to be doing well for the democrats

because of a few blue dogs, the gop is claiming the bipartisan mantle for themselves.

besides, they don't need to spin when they've got halperin

http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200901290008?show=1

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/01/29/armey/index.html

greenwald is always right about everything

Obama-Greenwald '12.

I really hope Saul Anuzis ends up the chairman of the Republican National Committee, so he can run it into the ground the way he did with the Michigan GOP.

i love how this is being treated as some kind of GOP moral victory, when, uh, the bill passed guys

like, by a lot

well there was never any doubt of that, democrats are the majority! the problem is indications for the future. obama and the congressional dems played nice and watered down the bill a bunch in an effort to lure a few over, and in the end they listened to the talk radio lizard brain/their leadership (more or less the same) and said f.u. anyway. in the meantime we got a shittier bill.

and the republicans look like assholes

"look like"

doubtless if dems decide to get rough and ram through better policy on narrower votes, rather than go through this pantomime weaken-for-a-few-gop-votes routine, we can expect a round of "revenge"/"so much for a new day in washington" memes from broder halperin et al

funny that it's this issue that makes me feel morbsy about the moment we're in. dick armey on hardball, jesus...

xp BEING ASSHOLES IS THEIR APPEAL THEY ASPIRE TO LOOKING LIKE ASSHOLES THEY NEED TO BE MAKE TO LOOK WEAK NOT ASSHOLEY christ

xposts - sure, i'd have preferred the better version of the bill, but i'm not quite sure how that's really a GOP victory - the tax cuts that were included in the bill weren't as far-reaching as the GOP wanted anyways, right?

re: obama playing nice and the GOP spitting in his face, well, i don't know how that's necessarily going to play in favor for them in the long term -- public is probably gonna see it as obama stretching out a bipartisan hand and the GOP playing petty politics in the midst of a serious crisis -- remember, the public is largely in favor of the bill

well they do look weak now, too. weak and assholey and not interested in bipartisanship. and just because 'einstein' halperin has been asleep for two days and decided to make some shit up doesnt mean thats how itll play out. lets wait a week and see.

yeah yr probably right.

the thing is, 'long term success for national gop' and 'job security for individual gop reps who survived 08' are very different, if not mutually exclusive things. (lotta ppl commenting on this today).

it seems clear to me that the rump gop is going on some 'haw haw we told that glib kumbaya motherfucker to take a hike' shit from here on out because it's a winning message to the last slice of america that's still listening to them at all.

i think the mistake here is that obama isnt doing enough to explain the stimulus package to the american public, and its going to hurt him since the gop is out there shitting on it

wait a week dude, jeez

lol

Guys, if there's one thing about Obama that is perfectly clear -- the dude plays a long game and usually wins it big.

i do wonder how surprised he is by the vote. zero is a big number, after all...

Lilly Ledbetter equal pay/wage discriminition bill was signed today. Good.

http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13045261

The lowdown on the new BarackBerry

From FoxNews, [Removed Illegal Link]

The Obama administration has asked the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff to cut the Pentagon's budget request for the fiscal year 2010 by more than 10 percent -- about $55 billion -- a senior U.S. defense official tells FOX News.

Last year's defense budget was $512 billion. Service chiefs and planners will be spending the weekend "burning the midnight oil" looking at ways to cut the budget -- looking especially at weapons programs, the defense official said...

Except they don't really mention what the expected deferense budget will be, or if it will still be more than last year's even with that deduction...

And a certain phrase is slowly being phased out

dammit:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/30/defense-official-obama-calling-defense-budget-cuts/

from FoxNews, so take it with whatever salt you want.

surely with bo's new laid-back style the 'deferense budget' won't be as high as in the bush years.

Greenwald on Daschle, Beltway slime.

http://i39.tinypic.com/bg19w.gif

btw

http://www.harvestbankmd.com/images/Michael_Steele.jpghttp://www.maniatv.com/images/content/general/0000/0523/larry-david-6.jpg

meanwhile, he's still around:

...When GOP congressional aides gather Tuesday morning for a meeting of the Conservative Working Group, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher – more commonly known as Joe the Plumber — will be their featured guest. This group is an organization of conservative Capitol Hill staffers who meet regularly to chart GOP strategy for the week.

Wurzelbacher, who became a household name during the presidential election, will be focusing his talk on the proposed stimulus package. He's apparently not a fan of the economic rescue package, according to members of the group.

If nothing else, GOP aides are using the appearance to get staffers to attend the 9 a.m meeting...

"Here is a goodbye kiss from the Republican people, Dog!"

lol @ these inside baseball motherfuckers getting lectured by the ignoramus political celebrity - they deserve each other

http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2009/02/david-duke-to-gop-racists-unit-001572.php
http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/US/Politics/Former_Louisiana_Legislature_David_Duke_Slams_Republicans_Over_MIchael_Steele__8304.asp

loooooool

lol @ Michael Steele/Larry David

Mr. Duke, curb your "white Redoubt" (who the fuck last used that phrase, Lester Maddox?)

I like how that last one is basically just "we're just going to list a bunch of ridiculous shit David Duke has done; lol racist"

where's david duke going to go NOW, then?!? or has he already become affiliated with some other, non-republican party -- i'm not up on the doings of david duke.

he is going to start a New Party, he says

David Duke's Bayou Reich

Sauerkraut 'n' jambalaya

Weekend at Dukey's

das dukey's Reich

can we start a party called "David Duke Is A Cunt"?

ok i just got the mental image of david duke riding a gator with the gator in full klan regalia i hate u all

that's an awesome mental image

yeah that's a tat waiting to happen

jail, Russia, and Iran

"I really humped the pooch on this Daschle nomination, Brian. I don't have to tell you that - you know my dickhead smells like mutt-cunt right now."

"I mean his name even rhymes with 'asshole'! Can you believe I ignored that?"

Huge chattering-class kvetching right now about the Buy American add-on.

Could Obama not spin this environmentally? Raw materials lugged 1000 miles as opposed to 10,000 and attendant fuel and emissions savings?

Not a bad idea.

I love the fact that Obama periodically sets up a Wii station in the White House.

nyt:
Representative Charlie Dent, Republican of Pennsylvania, said he was “pleasantly surprised” to be invited to the White House to watch the Super Bowl. He brought his three children — ages 14, 12 and 8 — who joined other kids at a Wii station that was set up in the East Wing.

Could Obama not spin this environmentally?

"I accepted Senator Daschle's withdrawal of his nomination in return for his volunteering to become biodegradable mulch on the South Lawn."

I'm pretty much pro-stimulus package but I find it kind of vexing to see dudes like Josh Marshall pissing themselves over passing the stimulus NOW NOW NOW when their attitude during the waning days of the Bush administration was very much 'hold on lets take some time out to look at this and do it right'.

Most political sites are incredibly disappointing these days -- the opposing sides are so beyond amped up at each other that even allowing for the obvious gravity of the situation there's a disconnect between day to day life and where they're at. The best comment I read so far is that this is all down to psychology (much like everything else) and that once something is settled then at least everyone has something to actually look at and review once in place.

jingleberries OTM

I am as pro-Obama as you could imagine but I do get the sense he's sending the message "the only patriotic thing to do is pass my stimulus package quickly" which, well...

Pundits on the 24-hr news cycle discussing the stimulus plan constantly has probably contributed to a drop in public support for the stimulus too. Like the Bush administration raising the "terror alert" to fuschia to frighten the public, the promiscuous use of clichés in the Beltway like "the worst crisis since the Great Depression" inspires a lot of yawning.

Yeah, very much. Once that becomes a baseline -- and once people find ways to live with it -- then things get murky.

I don't think people are already yawning about the financial crisis. I think a lot of people are terribly scared that to "live with it" means to get laid off. I don't know about "clichés", but I do know that a number of top-tier state universities are talking about financial exigency in fiscal year 09-10, or sooner. That will mean massive job losses in higher education. But on a "24-hr news cycle", how do you talk about this? Until an event like a big layoff or university closure happens, all you can talk about is "wow, things are *going* to be bad (though they're not yet that bad)". But I don't get the impression people are starting to think, "oh, this is crying wolf".

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2009/02/sessions_gop_in.php

"Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban," Sessions said during a meeting yesterday with Hotline editors. "And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person's entire processes. And these Taliban -- I'm not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. No, that's not what we're saying. I'm saying an example of how you go about [sic] is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with."

That agreement, as Sessions described it, involved a promise from Pelosi to preside over an "open, honest, ethical Congress." Obama, Sessions added, has pledged to diminish the political rhetoric in Washington and work in a bipartisan fashion.

"If they do not give us those options or opportunities then we will then become insurgency of a nature to where we do those things that are necessary to making sure the American public knows what we think the correct answer is," Sessions said during the 60-minute interview. "So we either work together, or we're going to find a way to get our message out."

When pressed to clarify, Sessions said he was not comparing the House Republican caucus to the Taliban, the Muslim fundamentalist group.

"I simply said one can see that there's a model out there for insurgency," Sessions said before being interrupted by an aide. The staffer said Sessions was trying to convey that the Republicans need to start thinking about how to act strategically from their perch in the minority.

"If they do not give us those options or opportunities then we will then become insurgency of a nature to where we do those things that are necessary to making sure the American public knows what we think the correct answer is," Sessions said during the 60-minute interview. "So we either work together, or we're going to find a way to get our message out."

god they even talk like palin now

wtf with the gibberish

"necessary to making"?

get one english

the Senator from Alabama is one of the more distinguished members of the body

I don't like the fact that the Yahoo frontpage now links to posts on Politico in its 'News' section, but whatevs:

At Dem retreat, a partisan love fest

Glenn Thrush, Patrick O'Connor Glenn Thrush, Patrick O'connor – Thu Feb 5, 9:41 pm ET

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — A fired-up Barack Obama ditched his TelePrompter to rally House Democrats and rip Republican opponents of his recovery package Thursday night – at one point openly mocking the GOP for failing to follow through on promises of bipartisanship.

In what was the most pointedly partisan speech of his young presidency, Obama rejected Republican arguments that massive spending in the $819 billion stimulus bill that passed the House should be replaced by a new round of massive tax cuts.

“I welcome this debate, but we are not going to get relief by turning back to the same policies that for the last eight years doubled the national debt and threw our economy into a tailspin,” said President Obama – sounding more like Candidate Obama than at any time since he took the oath of office less than a month ago.

Obama, speaking to about 200 House Democrats at their annual retreat at the Kingsmill Resort and Spa, dismissed Republican attacks against the massive spending in the stimulus.

"What do you think a stimulus is?" Obama asked incredulously. "It’s spending — that's the whole point! Seriously.”

Stabbing hard at Republicans who once aligned themselves with his predecessor, Obama made it clear that the problems he seeks to address with his recovery plan weren’t ones of his making.

“When you start hearing arguments, on the cable chatter, just understand a couple of things,” he said. “No. 1, when they say, ‘Well, why are we spending $800 billion (when) we’ve got this huge deficit?’ – first of all, I found this deficit when I showed up, No. 1.

“I found this national debt, doubled, wrapped in a big bow waiting for me as I stepped into the Oval Office.”

After his remarks, Obama, clearly caught up in the moment, made the party get-together feel even more like a campaign rally with his signature call-and-response chant.

“Fired up?” he asked the Democratic lawmakers. “Ready to go!” a group of them shouted back...

This was at a Democratic congresscritter retreat where they were addressed by the head of their party and the douchebag Politicos decry this as "most partisian"?! It's a fucking party meeting, what the fuck do you expect?

At any rate, I like this bit:

Rhode Island Rep. Jim Langevin, who hasn't been able to walk since he was 16, asked Obama if he would remove the executive ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Yes, Obama replied, but only after he and congressional leaders figure out a way to prevent opponents from overturning it.

This sentiment can lead down dark alleys into cult-of-personality land, but GOTdamn do i enjoy it when he starts talking like Dwayne Johnson to bust on people and actually has reality to back him up.

i enjoy it when he starts talking like Dwayne Johnson

can u smell what barack is cookin, amiright

can u smell what barack is cookin, amiright

He actually did say this on tape during the campaign, sans the amirite bit

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/21/obama-and-clinton-to-face_n_97819.html

I have to laugh:

Broadcasters are bracing themselves for the likelihood of three prime-time interruptions in three weeks, totaling at least three hours of prime time -- and ad breaks -- yanked.

"His economic stimulus package apparently does not extend to the TV networks," one network exec noted.

Obama's reps have alerted broadcasters that the president will hold a news conference Monday, according to network execs. It's expected to eat up the first hour of prime time; that alone could cost broadcasters more than $9 million in lost ad revenue.

Obama's also mulling a shorter prime-time appearance Feb. 16 tied to the economic stimulus package. And White House officials have said that on Feb. 24, Obama will address a joint session of Congress to give the equivalent of a two-hour State of the Union speech. Traditionally, the address to the joint houses of Congress given by the newly elected president is not called the SOTU; that'll be next year's speech.

That one, the broadcast networks were expecting; they budget for a State of the Union/Whatev address to preempt two hours of prime time every year around this time.

Sweet, so we DO get a SOTU address this year.

An unfortunate headline:

In the stimulus battle, Barack Obama uncorks his secret weapon: himself

"His economic stimulus package apparently does not extend to the TV networks," one network exec noted.

Obama's reps have alerted broadcasters that the president will hold a news conference Monday, according to network execs. It's expected to eat up the first hour of prime time; that alone could cost broadcasters more than $9 million in lost ad revenue.

irate house fans gonna protest the stimulus package?!?

They are angry people.

Pathetic.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/obama-administr.html

after his earlier FISA reversal, this was a foregone conclusion in my book. ive come to very unhappy terms with this aspect of obama. hes a politician.

i just sent him another 'youll get no more $ or help from me until you fix this' email. lolz

Meanwhile Blumenthal crunches the numbers: Obama still very, very popular. Nobody outside the Beltway gives a shit about the partisan wrangling over the stimulus bill.

hes a politician.

WHAT?

irate house fans gonna protest the stimulus package?!?

Sheesh they have put up with football AND American Idol cutting out months of broadcasting, one more week won't hurt!

microhouse fans would protest but they are too small, no one would notice

That's adorable!

"Littlest protestors make biggest difference"

yup, the 'state secrets' thing is some bullshit

xps

Is this the beltway everyone is referring to?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_495_(Capital_Beltway)

I thought for a long time people were talking about states that border the Mississippi River.

o_O

oh, abbottpaws ... :-)

The Mississippi River: America's Belt!

^^^ snorg tee

That's why I thought that. It's like a belt....?

Srsly tho how is someone who's never been within 3,000 miles of a particular road supposed to know the unremarkable name of that road indicates the interior, incestuous hubbub of political types divorced from everyday Americans? (Besides using google.) It's not especially intuitive.

context?

pretty sure that's how I figured "the Beltway" out

sorry, I'm being a dick

...

My definitåI figured out my definition from context. ;_;

yeah, see, i didn't know that "the beltway" referred to a road. i just lumped it in w/sun belt, rust belt, iron range, etc etc

oh look they responded to me even though i cussed at them and called o's actions abhorent

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting Organizing for America, the grassroots movement built by millions of Americans during President Obama's campaign. This movement has always been about you, and your input will always drive this organization.

oh look you got a form letter from a massive organization like you would from any other on earth jesus get over yourself

The Mississippi River could be America's zipper maybe, but belt?

Greenwald justifiably goes the fuck in

jesus get over yourself at ilx lol

ha u didn't deserve that dude, i was feelin salty. sry

all good thx

another possible disappointment ...

henry paulson is dead, long live henry paulson

BUT HE LIKES SPIDERMAN

the article isn't all bad -- it points out that there are folks w/n the Obama administration (including some pretty high-placed folks such as David Axelrod) who were willing to stand up to Geithner and argued for tighter restrictions on TARP money (though, apparently, stopping short of nationalization). which may mean that these folks may win the argument at some later point (and that the Obama administration isn't just the Hosannah Choir that the Bush administration was). obviously, the bad news is the new Treasury boss thinks troublingly too much like his fuck-up predecessor (which some folks here and elsewhere predicted).

I think that's part of the point, though -- it's not that I think Geithner's being given enough rope to hang himself with (he's done that to himself enough already), more that if it goes wrong...well, what a perfect scapegoat.

I think that's part of the point, though -- it's not that I think Geithner's being given enough rope to hang himself with (he's done that to himself enough already), more that if it goes wrong...well, what a perfect scapegoat.

true dat (and an interesting thought esp. since in last night's speech Obama deferred answering questions about TARP to Geithner today). i wish it wasn't connected to policies with as high stakes as these, but that's politics i guess.

? this is strange to me - Geithner is their guy, just appointed, they knew precisely what were the first tasks at hand and what he'd advocate as a course of action when they appointed him. They can't make the guy take the fall for unsuccessful policies, since they were the one who just hired him - it'd be the administration's fault for not picking the right person for the job. It's just a strange article - do some of the top political people already think it's time to CYA if this doesn't work?

it'd be the administration's fault for not picking the right person for the job

I don't necessarily think *he's* the fall guy but I actually do think there's a bit of long term 'okay, you wanted less interference, you got it' planning at work -- idea being that if it ends up spooking out Wall Street etc that might give license to do something more drastic and probably more effective. As Eisbaer notes, high stakes but I've seen odder.

I'm with Daria on this one.

Yeah, I'm not following the logic here. Geithner's part of the administration, and the bailout was just announced -- why would the White House start undermining it already?

It makes more sense if the plan's already a failure. At the moment you're daring the stock market to crash and burn with more leaks like these.

It's already been lost to history a bit but when Geithner was first announced a lot -- a *lot* -- of the 'argh we're doomed' crowd actually said "Hooray, a sane person in charge" or near to it. Krugman, Brad deLong, Calculated Risk, etc. -- I think even Roubini said positive things (they might have worked together at one point?). Not all did, by any means, and it's entirely possible that the belief was that Geithner would be more of a clear break than has so far been proven to be the case -- but then again given his own history, why would that have been assumed in that first place?

daria: well, it IS just speculating that geithner might be set up as a fall guy if TARP II doesn't do very well. (though why else publicize internal dissent if that isn't a possibility?) and yes, geithner wasn't exactly a mystery now or then (except maybe for his tax problems). still, i think that at least a few people hoped that he'd be smart enough to not blatantly repeat past mistakes or cook up something new that looks like it won't work and/or be another no-strings-attached bailout of the banks. henry paulson v. 2.0 would be a political (and economic) dud, and what geithner proposed today doesn't look any better than TARP 1.0. also, i don't think that it's unreasonable to assume that SOME of the public's hesitation on the stimulus and bank bailout is because the first attempt didn't really improve the economy (in fact, it made things worse).

on the other hand, krugman isn't blowing a complete gasket over geithner's plan right now ... though he's quick to add that he isn't really sure about just HOW the plan will be implemented if a bank goes tits' up. make of that what you will.

"An old joke from my younger days: What do you get when you cross a Godfather with a deconstructionist? Someone who makes you an offer you can’t understand."

Yes... you WOULD find that funny Paul Krugman.

the version of THAT joke that i'd heard was much less politically correct ...

tell! tell!

Does it involve the term "guinea" or "wop"?

it involves YOUR people, JtM ...

Mods?

Americans?

American Heroes?

Jimmies?

well, roger daltrey WASN'T all that intelligible on those early Who songs what with all that stuttering and shit, now was he?

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/02/considered_in_light_of_the.php

a few more anonymous quotes and outside expert reaction about the 'state secrets' problem

wow, what total bullshit this reversal is

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/02/11/state_secrets/

Greenwald just eviscerating (a deserving) Ambinder.

yes this whole thing is unbelievably disappointing.

i like glen greenwald more than marc ambinder and think hes mostly right on this shit but as you read every word of that post remember if it was up to him we'd be talking about the actions of president ron paul

lol

uh

lol i didn't know that

anyway my only hope is that this thing is a favor to the last few arab friends we have.

I don't know what ethan meant.

posted on the "shitbin" thread, but it can go here too ...

Rep. Cantor’s Office Responds (to a recent pro-stimulus commercial sponsored by AFSCME): Video Depicting AFSCME Members As Goons

presumably that greenwald was a paultard, which i didn't know.

xp

another xp: yeah i was gonna post that, only cos that video was posted to one of the lol threads a while ago, so funny. worlds colliding!

only it's less funny when eric cantor thinks it's funny.

"unbelievably disappointing."

http://www.usdoj.gov/contact-us.html

presumably that greenwald was a paultard, which i didn't know.

he wasn't!

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/11/06/paul/

While Barack Obama toys with the rhetoric of challenging conventional wisdom, Paul's campaign -- for better or worse -- actually does so, and does so in an extremely serious, thoughtful and coherent way.

whether it's funny or not (i think that it's at sub-sopranos level at best), it's more interesting (and depressing) that this was sent out under the aegis of the house of representatives' Republican whip.

i dunno how you could read that and not come away with "greenwald wanted ron paul to be president"

in 2007!

and?

uh yah the fake afscme ad is clearly an inside-baseball joke that afscme members (public clerical employees mostly, heavily pink collar i believe) are shitkicking teamsters, and cantor is sending it around like "LOL UNIONS amirite"

As I recall he said explicitly on several occassions that he did NOT support Paul, he was just making the point that unlike most of the candidates Paul was actually challenging the status quo in a major way.

my name is ron paul and i'm here to say

he was just making the point that unlike most of the candidates Paul was actually challenging the status quo in a major way.

Greenwald probably likes flashmobs as well.

email to DOJ sent.

You ppl deserve this.

and you don't?

dude look how glowing he is in that post! "The YouTube video which I'm posting below makes, I think, as strong and compelling a case for Paul's candidacy" srsly dude? david duke would actually challenge the status quo in a major way too i dont see greenwald slobbing his knob

"extremely serious, thoughtful and coherent way" re: Ron Paul's campaign = epic fail

lolllllllllllllllll ross perot challenged the status quo, too, didn't he? don't all 3rd party candidiates challenge the status quo

Regardless of one's ideology, there is simply no denying certain attributes of Paul's campaign which are highly laudable. There have been few serious campaigns that are more substantive -- just purely focused on analyzing and solving the most vital political issues. There have been few candidates who more steadfastly avoid superficial gimmicks, cynical stunts, and manipulative tactics. There have been few candidates who espouse a more coherent, thoughtful, consistent ideology of politics, grounded in genuine convictions and crystal clear political values. Here is what Jon Stewart said to Paul on The Daily Show:

You appear to have consistent principled integrity. Americans don't usually go for that.

There is never a doubt that Paul actually believes what he is saying, nor is there any doubt that what he believes is the by-product of critical and rational thought grounded in genuine political passion.

Perhaps most importantly, Paul is the only serious candidate aggressively challenging America's addiction to ruling the world through superior military force and acting as an empire -- not by contesting specific policies (such as the Iraq War) but by calling into question the unexamined root premises of these policies, the ideology that is defining our role in the world. By itself, the ability of Paul's campaign to compel a desperately needed debate over the devastation which America's imperial rule wreaks on every level -- economic, moral, security, liberty -- makes his success worth applauding.

not real sure whether greenwald's general awesomeness is really germane here

but as red herrings go, it's A++

also note that greenwald does NOT say that he agrees with ron paul's view of the constitution -- and even notes that there are other, strong constitutional arguments opposed to paul's positions -- only that paul's views are constitutional in nature and not results-orientated.

and he was pretty clear about preferring Obama to McCain, even during primary season.

I want to clarify what I think is one critically important point in response to some of the comments. Paul's opposition to having the Federal Government involved in things such as education and health care is constitutional in nature. His argument is that the Constitution only permits the Federal Government to exercise explicitly enumerated powers in Articles I and II and, pursuant to the Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution . . . are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Thus, his argument, at least on this level, has nothing to do with whether there would be good or bad results from having the Federal Government exercise powers in these areas. His argument is that the Constitution does not allow the Federal Government to do so, regardless of whether it's desirable. If one wants the Federal Government to exercise specific powers which the Constitution prohibits, then the solution is to amend the Constitution, not to violate it because of the good results it produces.

^^ interesting argument in a meta-democratic sense, but given how much harder it is to amend the US constitution compared to other countries (who do it all the goddam time!) this is essentially the same as saying "we will not do anything about the problems in this country ever." all the solutions are illegal! which is just how a huge slice of paultarddom wants it.

i think i found a new site for darn1elle and morbz to post on

http://rightwingnews.com/mt331/2009/02/misc_commentary_on_the_stimulu.php

"This stimulus bill is huge, so disastrous, and so harmful to our country that even though Obama has been in office for less than a month, I think it's already fair to label him as one of the worst Presidents in American history."

cept at least one of us thinks it too small, asshole

You ppl deserve this.

― Dr Morbius, Wednesday, February 11, 2009 6:53 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

step 1: stand up.
step 2: reach around, remove own dick from ass.

email to DOJ sent.

ethan perhaps you have me confused with somebody who's said anything at all about the stimulus bill

if you got nothin for the state secrets garbage man up & say so

email to DOJ sent.

You ppl deserve this.

lol, does this scan to anyone else as if Morbs is asking DOJ to lock up everyone on this thread

yesssss hahahaha

i meant the "worst president of all time" part, but yeah

yeah it's not like a week ago I was on this thread saying "dude is straight kicking ass"

"i meant the "worst president of all time" part, but yeah"

Yeah I recall exactly no one saying that on this site. Strange.

gregg out.

what the hell was that about anyway

Never trust a man named Judd.

a double double-letter, even, yikes

“Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President’s agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart”.

don't think this guy is gonna be voting with us much in the next 2 years.

fuck that guy imo

...in the eye with a rusty screwdriver imo

Stakes is high. I'd love to have real bipartisanship, but it takes two to tango and what we got right now is some high-level dickheaded obstructionism at the worst possible time. If they get steamrolled in the course of trying to prevent the right and necessary thing from happening, I'll cry no tears.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18794.html

maybe I take that back? gregg is hard to read

"It dawned on him that it was a bad call on his part," a GOP aide said. "(Gregg) came to the conclusion that he would have a bigger impact as a senator than as a Cabinet officer."

he's coming across...sad??? about the whole deal. which is pretty wtf cause I thought there was no sad in GOP politics.

plz nobody post the santorum kid pic

- who are the guys who don't stand up
- mccain is lookin' pretty old
- stop clapping he is trying to talk

-republicans
-duh!
-easier said than done

He's murdering it out there. Bobby Jindal has the worst job in the world right now.

a lot of people are kinda just falling asleep, but it's nice seeing some senators buoyed by what he's saying

"...with the deficit we inherited..."

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

loooool

It's weird that the networks (or is it just ABC) are so careful about only showing the portions of the audience that are clapping for particular points.

instead of the times when the republican half is just sitting there looking salty

it has this nice historical vibe, too; i don't know if it's the boardy cheers or the confident declarative sentence, maybe the flag, it looks like a historical recreation or something, like founding fathers robots in a museum.

xp ha ha, yeah deficit line and knew we could find some consensus were pretty great. i like the light comic interludes. then biden has to straighten out his grin as it gets serious again.

The last time I saw so much bipartisan applause was Reagan in the mid eighties.

you don't mess with joe!

also guys obama kind of makes me feel like we can cure cancer tomorrow.

I'm more excited about preventive care, but hey.

I'm immune to inspirational boilerplate, but not to Orrin Hatch sending text messages.

...as CBS showed

It's weird that the networks (or is it just ABC) are so careful about only showing the portions of the audience that are clapping for particular points.

― Dan I., Tuesday, 24 February 2009 21:53 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I think WACA (sp.) and C-SPAN pick the shots for this.

It's one feed in any case.

OK, I gasped when he said, unequivocally, that Americans do not torture -- to GOP applause.

The last time I saw so much bipartisan applause was Reagan in the mid eighties.

Seriously? I can't watch it live, but if this is so, I've got to catch it on YouTube/CNN.com later.

watching it on hulu right now

Been wondering who the kid is.

all the high school/community service stuff ten minutes back sounded like BONUS YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL FOR EVERYONE

yeh it's funny watching what the repubs grace w/ their applause

xxxpost

hardly surprising tho

can i watch it from the beginning on hulu?

hmmm not sure. i'm currently watching it via a live Fox feed on there

you don't mess with joe!

― horseshoe, Tuesday, February 24, 2009 8:55 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark

this was fuckin awesome

If he tries to eliminate "agridollars" or whatever he called it, he'll effectively end agriculture in this country as we know it.

Meanwhile Jindal sounds like a Walt Disney World tour guide.

hearing just the audio on this sounds like just fucking kenneth giving a tour of 30 rock

xp!

uh, strike that second "just"

I would say "Reading Rainbow" host, but yeah.

Oh the schadenfruede

ha ha i was just gonna say he sounds like a tour guide

WELCOME TO AMERICA

there is no way we can go from being talked to as adults for the first time in years to being talked to like a father explaining a divorce in friendly terms to a five year old.

xp kenneth hahahahaha

IM YR HOST BOBBY JINDAL

obama brought his A game.

jindal is bringing ... the passion and conviction of a local mattress commercial.

If he tries to eliminate "agridollars" or whatever he called it, he'll effectively end agriculture in this country as we know it.

― The Screaming Lobster of Challops (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:24 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

explain yrself (i didn't hear the speech)

omg. jindal is using katrina as an example of why not to trust the federal government.

Agriculture since the thirties has depended on mass helpings of government subsidies.

Jindal: SHERIFF THAT'S RIDICULOUS

what the fuck is this guy talking about

wtf is this shit?!?

i am not a political expert but i think it is possibly A LITTLE TOO SOON for republicans to use katrina as an anti-government talking point.

does jindal have some kind of giuliaini 9/11 credential with new orleans? i don't know his story.

can not believe he's talking like this.

I have never before heard Jindal "orate." Is this really the best the GOP's got? It's like being condescended to by Mr Rogers.

Agriculture since the thirties has depended on mass helpings of government subsidies.

― The Screaming Lobster of Challops (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:28 PM (11 seconds ago) Bookmark

....yeah, i know. still not sure why we need to prop up failing ranches in MT

VOLCANO MONITORING??? WHAT THE HELL IS *THAT*

Jindal's (endless) speech before Hurricane Whatever hit last August was impressively sober, without the gee-willickers bullshit he's using tonight.

funny thing is, during katrina, jindal was part of the federal government. um.

jindal = mr. raj-ers

And Now... Storytime, with Bobby Jindal

guys...I can feel little starbursts of light radiating off the screen, watching this rising young supernova.

ow, xxp

Bullet train to Disneyland! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

volcano/eruption of spending wins in both semantic zinger terms and anti-planetarium simplification logic. this speech should be illustrated with sock puppets.

jindal = mr. raj-ers

lol

some Dem should have a press conference tomorrow with one of those grade-school eruption models to explain to jindal what a "volcano" is

"private or parochial schools of their choice"

AT ANY GIVEN TIME LOUISIANA WAS UNDER WATER

without the gee-willickers bullshit he's using tonight

i swear to god he said "WE believe Amer'cans can do ANYTHING" and gave a little Marv Levy "yes!" fistbump right when you posted this!

omg he just did it again

AND AGAIN!

maybe we should get rid of hurricane monitoring

We need to prevent further trillion dollar recovery bills!

to feed our enemies?!?

haha I mean Marv Albert... xpost jeez i'm tired

The Republican's attempts to reinvent themselves in the face of BARACK using Bobby Jindal and Michael "hip-hop makeover" Steele are laughable. I will enjoy the next four years immensely - play on GOP, play on.

I also love how Jindal refused to mention that his parents were from India, rather from a land far away.

fact: bobby jindal is the first presidential hopeful who is younger than me.

that little dipsy doo in his voice is just...wonderful

I'm really shocked *shocked* that this is the best the GOP could do.

never forget: republicans are also amercans

"we have THE MOST brazilian economy"

Jindal's (endless) speech before Hurricane Whatever hit last August was impressively sober, without the gee-willickers bullshit he's using tonight.

Being in the GOP limelight seems to have this effect on people.

Now I'm dying to watch both speeches, one after the other. Watching it in segments on CNN.com is horrible, tho.

omg Rachel Maddow is at a loss for words.

you can take the old white men out of the GOP, but you can't get the old white men out of the GOP's soul.

david brooks is very disappointed

http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/photo/2009-02/45250818-24192542.jpg

"And if you could hear me over the applause..."

david brooks is very disappointed

In Obama or Jindal?

Krauthammer: Jindal didn't have a chance, he followed Obama

Jindal

xpost

David B is disappointed in Bobby J

yeah how do i watch now online?

should appear on hulu shortly.

jim lehrer on the jindal speech: "now david, how do things like that happen?"

nice lib Dem racist jibe stylee there, getbent, do you know Alexandra Pelosi?

The smirk on David Axelrod's face right now is great.

And another classic "Yeah, I'm Joe Biden!" shot:

http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/photo/2009-02/45251028-24193915.jpg

nice lib Dem racist jibe stylee there, getbent, do you know Alexandra Pelosi?

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:40 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

r u fucking kidding

thatsracist.gif

no gbx. many of you ppl are Republicans with better drugs.

what do you mean, "you people"?

Re: Jindal [Ramesh Ponnuru]
I thought his delivery was weak. The content will play well with the party base but seems unlikely to expand it. . . . That said, it is hard for anybody to come out well from responding to a presidential speech to a joint session of Congress.

02/24 10:43 PM

Jindal [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
does exude a practical hope, rooted in things that work. And he forces the point that politics should be about ideas — competing ideas — and that the best ones should win.

You can tell, though, that he's used to just speaking (because he can) and not delivering prepared speeches.

UPDATE: The MSNBC commentators look very unhappy and Rachel Maddow was speechless.

02/24 10:36 PM

ok

UPDATE: The MSNBC commentators look very unhappy and Rachel Maddow was speechless.

02/24 10:36 PM

i almost can't read the corner anymore. it seems cruel.

You get the feeling that K.Lo is like the Other Mother from Coraline, minus the ability to connive.

LOLs for days

haha I agree with Kathryn Jean Teasdale! Please please please let Bobby J continue to force that point.

"we have THE MOST brazilian economy"

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, February 25, 2009 3:37 AM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark

lol

re: re: Jindal [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
E-mails I'm getting are from disappointed conservatives. They wanted a full-throated response to Obama and expected and/or wanted more. I wonder how many watched the response as if Bobby Jindal were the single alternative to what we've got now. Of course, if Jindal were to run in four our eight years, he'd have more experience and more national speeches under his belt by then.

02/24 10:52 PM

SOBS.

I wonder how many watched the response as if Bobby Jindal were the single alternative to what we've got now.

I wonder.

The amount of comments *all over the place* equating Jindal with Kenneth from 30 Rock will mean mashups for life.

And again, I say that the GOP has been hyping Jindal as the Great Non-White Hope and it failed miserably. Who are his handlers? How could they not improve on his speaking style?

Also, Jindal protesting against volcano monitoring will sadden Jonah Goldberg, well-known enthusiast for volcano lancing. (Scary thing is I'm not entirely sure Goldberg is kidding about that.)

you made me do it...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/coralinelopez.jpg

"there is no way we can go from being talked to as adults for the first time in years to being talked to like a father explaining a divorce in friendly terms to a five year old."

I was thinking this. Also did anyone get matthews going "oh jesus" as Mr Raj-ers was walking out w/ his manchurian smile?

The amount of comments *all over the place* equating Jindal with Kenneth from 30 Rock will mean mashups for life.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:56 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

:D

...what is volcano lancing?

Tipsy, you are a good person.

...what is volcano lancing?

Jonah's random obsession. Here are two recent invocations:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=N2JlMDA1MjI4YzdiZWJhOTRiNmIwNTFjZDdjMWU1YWM=

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NjhkYzIyYzYzMjdjMDhiMTcxNmY2ZWZjMmNhNzUyOGM=

There are others.

I was thinking this. Also did anyone get matthews going "oh jesus" as Mr Raj-ers was walking out w/ his manchurian smile?

it was so fleeting that i wasn't sure whether the voice was coming from matthews or olbermann, but i heard it.

Sully:

Close your eyes and think of Kenneth from 30 Rock. I can barely count the number of emails making that observation.

Stylistically, he got better as he went along but there was, alas, a slightly high-school debate team feel to the beginning. And there was a patronizing feel to it as well - as if he were talking to kindergartners - that made Obama's adult approach so much more striking. And I'm not sure that the best example for private enterprise is responding to a natural calamity that even Ron Paul believes is a responsibility for the federal government. And really: does a Republican seriously want to bring up Katrina? As for the biography, it felt like Obama-lite. With far less political skill.

Jindal's Lame Response.

Anyone know where I can watch the entire Jindal response?

No doubt it'll be all over the You Tubes tomorrow.

re: re: Jindal [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

E-mails I'm getting are from disappointed conservatives. They wanted a full-throated response to Obama and expected and/or wanted more. I wonder how many watched the response as if Bobby Jindal were the single alternative to what we've got now. Of course, if Jindal were to run in four our eight years, he'd have more experience and more national speeches under his belt by then.

UPDATE: Other e-mails:

My husband and I thought Jindal's speech was very good. Simple - direct- very personable.

and

Jindal seems to be getting rave reviews from the focus groups - perhaps their opinions matter more than political geeks like us. The word coming from them is that he was "positive"

This bitch could find life on Mars.

Hey Alfred, did you see Sullivan updated a bit of his first paragraph:

I'm told Olbermann's open mic got it right: Jindal's entrance reminded one of Mr Burns gamboling toward a table of ointments.

Watching the repeat on Cspan. Fun to watch Joe & Nancy Pelosi reading along to the speech.

This bitch could find life on Mars.

With no apologies to David Bowie:

It's a Cornerite's lame affair
That K.Lo with the mousy hair
But Nancy P. is yelling "No"
And Obama has told her to go
But Palin is nowhere to be seen
Now she walks through her Repug dream
To the blog with the clearest view
And she's hooked to the YouTube screen
But Limbaugh is a saddening bore
And we've lived it ten times or more
So she spits in a cup and drools
As they ask her to focus on

WIIIIINGNUTS! tweeting in the dance hall
Oh god! Look at those morons go
It's the GOP's low
Take a look at B. JIIIIINDAL
Bringing up Katrina
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the worst-selling show
Is there life on Mars?

Found it. Paused Jindal after the first thirty seconds to say: He is awful.

hearing just the audio on this sounds like just fucking kenneth giving a tour of 30 rock

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:25 PM (52 minutes ago) Bookmark

tpm ran kenneth's picture alongside their liveblog of jindal's speech

daily show should have fun with this

Loves it Mr. Raggett.

I like how Obama's official speechifying voice(a setting away from his crowd rallying one) seems based in his professor voice, only with a helluva lot less "uhms"

The crowd cheers need parliament-style cane thumps.

Jindal acts like he's auditioning for an SNL parody skit.

Geez, when do you guys ever learn? "Delivery was weak"? Jindal gave a clear-eyed annunciation of conservative principles boiled down in a simple, stark message: government should have faith in Americans (and not vice versa) to solve this crisis. "Americans can do anything!" His delivery, if that is so important, started off shaky but got markedly better as the speech went on. Even more importantly, the whole speech was replete with bedrock conservatism couched in a conversational and simplified structure. In that respect (and probably the most important respect, mind you), it was truly Reaganesque.

And yet I feel so empty.

No way. Reagan commanded respect. Jindal is begging for it.

Geez, when do you guys ever learn? "Delivery was weak"? Jindal gave a clear-eyed annunciation of conservative principles boiled down in a simple, stark message: government should have faith in Americans (and not vice versa) to solve this crisis. "Americans can do anything!" His delivery, if that is so important, started off shaky but got markedly better as the speech went on. Even more importantly, the whole speech was replete with bedrock conservatism couched in a conversational and simplified structure. In that respect (and probably the most important respect, mind you), it was truly Reaganesque.

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Tuesday, February 24, 2009 11:26 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

http://forums.randi.org/imagehosting/1428745e6cc5d8e3c3.gif

If we can have Fred Armisien doing Obama we can have Jack McBrayer doing Jindal

top marks raggett

http://forums.randi.org/imagehosting/1428745e6cc5d8e3c3.gif

Plus, the GOP's principles are fine (I don't agree with them, but whatevs.), but a lukewarm rehash of those broad themes -- with virtually no specifics and no citation to evidence -- sounds horribly empty at this stage of the game.

538:

10:29 EST (Nate): If it sounds like Jindal is targeting his speech to a room full of fourth graders, that's because he is. They might be the next people to actually vote for Republicans again.

the republican party is grasping at straws as it attempts desperately to wake up from its post-GWB catatonic state

So how much you wanna bet Michael Gerson wishes he could take this back?

The double laugh line was great, from "can get some consensus"(which everybody cheered) to "deficit we inherited"(which the democrats immediately cheered for louder)

Jindal has the ability to overwhelm any topic with facts and thoughtful arguments

HA! The Amen Corner is perking up, and getting caught on mic, right when he talks about ending the tax breaks, you hear a lady yell "Yeahh!"

the volcano thing is prob another example of intellectually dishonest talking points, in which GOP strategists look for $$$ in the stimulus bill that would be given to a certain agency, then look through any and all possible projects have been proposed under the rubric of that agency, and then accuse the dems of creating an earmark for that specific project that sounds suitably ridiculous. this is how money for the transportation department becomes, in Jindal's speech, money to build a rail line from Vegas to Disneyland. I think Jindal artfully said projects "such as" a rail line to Disneyland so as to not technically tell a blatant lie..

So . . . no rail line from Vegas to Disney?

Even if there is a fucking light rail line between Disneyland and The Palms, it's economically stimulative. Both to build, and then to generate $$$. Why the GOP thinks this is a winning argument is beyond me.

Because only anti-Americans would like mass transit, Johnny! I mean come on now.

I will travel by litter or not at all!

bunch of info on rail funding in the bill:
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=818C04CE-18FE-70B2-A8E73DEB70CA0F58

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1751/mccain.jpg

grump grump grump GRUMP grump grump

feh

should be me up there

grump grump

hehe, those three. probably kind of pissed abt the Dems cutting deals with Snowe/Collins instead..

our babysitter is going to las vegas this weekend. i'm glad there's no supertrain from there to l.a., next thing you know she'd be waiting tables in santa monica and passing out her headshot, and we'd need a new nanny. bobby jindal's right, the democrats are a menace.

I'm selfish, I just want a train there so I can go eat at Lotus of Siam whenever I want.

heh. even the cspan cameraguys have suits on

i hope the high-speed rail funding doesn't specifically go to a vegas train. yeah vegas has been growing over the past decade in terms of new development and businesses looking for cheap land to overexpand on, but it also seems like it'd be hit particularly hard by foreclosures and layoffs. so we need to give it some time and see if vegas turns out to be the big 21st century boomtown or just a bigger wasteland than it was before.

oh... I think we know already...

i'm very bullish on LA <-> SF though! that would be very practical.

http://4.media.tumblr.com/7gSB5gka1kcxnvqfmB2QgMm2o1_400.jpg
http://4.media.tumblr.com/7gSB5gka1kcxnvqfmB2QgMm2o1_400.jpg
http://4.media.tumblr.com/7gSB5gka1kcxnvqfmB2QgMm2o1_400.jpg

it's like biden just did a magic trick at a cocktail party that no one found funny except for his slightly drunk wife, nancy pelosi

jooooooooooooooooooe the biden, went to a bar

2009 American Politics Thread II - My President Has a Goofy Sidekick

lols

i'm very bullish on LA <-> SF though!

cannot happen soon enough - LA craigslist has all the good amps!

inspiration requires daria to start it.

xp

2009 American Politics Thread II - My President Has a Goofy Sidekick

Watching Jindal's response again, and it's even dumber the second time.

This should be online for like 4 seconds, but enjoy. It's Keith O's "...oh God" caught on mic when Jindal wanders out.

Maddow:

just watching this... holy shit

I love that Maddow lady's response!

b...bababa !

Hugs!

http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/345,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090225%2Fcapt.b7ca0682106241a0927b7388d27cb9e7.obama_speech_dcrl155.jpg?v=2

http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/345,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Frids%2F20090225%2Fi%2Fr3016332832.jpg?v=2

Meanwhile, CPAC starts tomorrow! CMJ/SXSW/Comic Con got nuthin' on this!

There's a bunch of shit happening, so let's see the choice bits on the menu:

12:10
The Key to Victory? Listen to Conservatives
Regency Ballroom
Michael Barone, U.S. News and World Report
Rep. Aaron Schock (IL)
Rep. Peter Roskam (IL)*
Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC)*
Saul Anuzis, Michigan Republican Party

Moderator: Al Cardenas, American Conservative Union Board of Directors

-

2:30
Al Franken and ACORN: How Liberals are Destroying the American Election System
Ambassador Ballroom
Hans von Spakovsky, The Heritage Foundation
Heather Heidelbaugh, Republican National Lawyers Association
Mark Braden, former RNC chief counsel

Moderator: Cleta Mitchell, American Conservative Union Foundation

-

2:45
Protecting the Secret Ballot
Regency Ballroom
Hon. Ernest Istook, Save Our Secret Ballot
Mark Mix, National Right to Work
Sue Hensley, National Restaurant Association*

Moderator: Dennis Whitfield, American Conservative Union

-

Presentation of the Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award
Presenter: David A. Keene, American Conservative Union
Recipient: TBD

SPEAKERS:
Rep. Roy Blunt (MO)
Rep. John Shadegg (AZ)
Hon. Michael Steele

ENTERTAINMENT: Wrenn Mangum
--

10:00
What the Government Doesn't Want You to Know, and How You Can Find Out
Putting the Freedom of Information Act to Work for You
Diplomat Ballroom
Sponsored by Judicial Watch
Speakers: Chris Farrell and Investigations and Tegan Millspaw
Beverages Served
Open to all CPAC attendees

--

10:45
Will Congress Take Your Guns?
Regency Ballroom
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX)*
Rep. Connie Mack (FL)

Moderator: Chuck Cunningham, National Rifle Association-ILA

---

11:30
Health Care: The Train Wreck Ahead
Regency Ballroom
Rep. Michael Burgess (TX)*
Grace-Marie Turner, Galen Institute

Moderator: Mike Tanner, Cato Institute

--

2:00
Kevin McCullough
Exhibit Hall
Book Signing – The Kind of Man Every Man Should Be: Taking a Stand for True Masculinity

--

2:00
Stephen Baldwin
Exhibit Hall
Book Signing – The Death and Life of Gabriel Phillips

--

Presentation of Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick Academic Freedom Award
Sponsored by The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
Presenter: Michael Grebe, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
Recipient: Stephen H. Balch, National Association of Scholars

--

9:00
Hon. Rick Santorum
Regency Ballroom
Introduction: Tim Goeglein, Focus on the Family

--

3:00
The True Cost Of Global Warming Hysteria
Regency Ballroom
Ann McElhinney, Not Evil, Just Wrong
Phelim McAleer, Not Evil, Just Wrong

Moderator: Andrew Breitbart, Breitbart.com's Big Hollywood

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2:00
Conservatism 2.0 Conference
Diplomat Ballroom
Sponsored by Pajamas Television
The conservative answer to The View hosted by Kellyanne Conway, Mary Anne Marsh, Michelle Malkin and Jeri Thompson

Panelists: John P. Avlon, Alfonzo Rachel, Glenn Reynolds,and Scott Ott

Complimentary lunch served
Open to all CPAC attendees

It's Keith O's "...oh God" caught on mic when Jindal wanders out.

it was Matthews

asking hans von spakovsky to talk about election integrity is a little like holding a talk on home fire safety and inviting an old dry christmas tree

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3953/b8965cd4a29d5e2c4789c98.jpg

ok Chris Matthews just went up a lot in my esteem

Saul Anuzis

wild

omg wait did not pick up the implications of "outsourcing" comment first time around

subtext wrt 'outsourcing' is unfortunate but the concept is still valid.

day one and they've struck gold already!

tpm's coverage of that has been awes

In addition to the speakers and seminars, there's a giant exhibition area where different conservative outfits are peddling their wares. My favorite bumper sitcker for sale was "Obama Bin Lyin'. Impeach Him Now." I picked up an "It's OK to be Ex Gay" button. There are rows and rows of conservative talk show hosts broadcasting from here and a bloggers row. There are pro life groups and pro gun groups and anti global warming groups. I was handed an ice cream sandwich by a woman dressed as a polar bear. When I asked her what she was advocating she lifted her mask and cheerfully told me that the polar bears were fine and that conservative principles would do more for the environment than government.

y'know, that's just chilling.