7/1/09

[identity profile] badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com
Food for thought, especially since we haven't even seen Obama take office officially yet.

The chief argument during the campaign regarding Ayers, Wright et al was the judgment issue - Obama lacking the judgment to competently select those he associates with. Now we see:

* Rahm Emanuel (Freddie Mac, Blago)
* Three Constitutionally invalid appointments in Clinton, Salazar, and Solis.
* Bill Richardson. (Under investigation)
* Sonal Shah (Alignment with militant Hindu group)
* Sanjay Gupta (who's next, Jim Kramer at Commerce?)
* Leon Panetta (zero experience in area he was appointed to)
* Possibly RFK Jr. (anti-science

That's 8 choices right away that are problematic, and you and I both know there will be more coming down the pike. Worse, we're not talking partisan complaints, either - all the names on this list have issues surrounding them that have nothing to do with party or ideology.

This doesn't even approach more partisan issues with folks like Rick Warren (convocation evangelical), Timothy Geithner (former Bush official who Obama said wasn't doing his job regulating the financial industry) or Robert Gates (current Bush Sec of Defense).

Doesn't this suggest that judgment as an issue was pretty spot-on? Can we expect it to get better?
[identity profile] paft.livejournal.com
Whether or not Ann Coulter’s career is going to survive is open to question. Her effect on political discussion, unfortunately, is not. She helped to popularize among right-wingers the notion of irrationality as reason, of ham-handed viciousness as Swiftian satire. Her schtick has been to set the bar for “wit” so low that any attempt to hold her accountable for her rhetoric is depicted as humorlessness.

So, after almost a decade, the mainstream venues that have been helping her promote her books are getting restive. Not restive enough to stop having her as a guest, of course, but enough for the hosts to start vainly trying to explain to her that she’s making an ass of herself. It’s a pleasure to watch Harry King being resolutely uncharmed by Coulter on CBS the other day. Matt Lauer is less acerbic, but still gently insistent on getting her to understand the manner in which she undermines her own “points.”

I think these guys are beginning to come to the rather horrible realization that, in fact, there are no “points” to Coulter’s screeds – just malice.


Watch CBS Videos Online



It’s a pity it had to get to this point. Watching some news hosts with Ann Coulter recently is like watching people who’ve been egging on a pretty blonde drunk, applauding and roaring with laughter as she yelled obscenities, danced on tables, and threw drinks at other restaurant customers. Suddenly they're looking nervously at the angry faces all around them and are now trying to get her to calm down, sit still and eat something.
[identity profile] kinvore.livejournal.com
Porn industry seeks federal bailout

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis said Wednesday they will request that Congress allocate $5 billion for a bailout of the adult entertainment industry.

OMFG they're right! What would we do without porn? That could have a ripple effect on the economy as tissue and lotion sales plummet as a result. Oh, the humanity.
[identity profile] kinvore.livejournal.com
So, any possible solutions to the current mess in Gaza? Do you think a UN peacekeeping force deployed into Gaza to prevent more rocket attacks would do any good, as long as Israel withdraws and ends their blockade?

I'm sure some of you would prefer much more from Israel but I'm asking for realistic solutions, if there is any such thing for this clusterfuck.
[identity profile] madali.livejournal.com
Notice this:

Israel has lost six soldiers, four of whom died in friendly-fire incidents.

So basically, Hamas killed 2, and Israel killed 4. Maybe Israel should bomb Tel Aviv now?
Watching this "war" is just...sad. Its really like a big gang beating up a 12 year old boy. Yeah, not a nice, cute 12 year old, but an annoying brat, but still, 12 year old.

In all fairness, the above quotation is not the total soldiers died. The next line says,
Four other Israelis have been killed by rocket fire since the current round of fighting began on Dec. 27.

The total is then probably 6 killed by Hamas and 4 by Israel army. Now it seems Hamas is a bit more scary, just edging out the IDF.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza8-2009jan08,0,6979205.story

Other things to put in context. From 2001 to before the end of the cease-fire, approximately 13-23 (depending on the source) Israelis were killed by Hamas rockets. 13-23 In 7 years. And in two weeks more than 670 palestanians have died. Look at that again. A dozen or two in 7years and more than 670 in two weeks. In just the attack on the UN school, more than 30 people died (some sources say more than 40).

This source says that 1/3rd of all the people killed have been children.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20090107-182021/Children-make-up-third-of-Gaza-dead

Also, people always talk about the Arab league and whatever, but they don't really WANT to get involved.

Saudi's response to Iran's suggestion of using oil as a pressure tool:
"The oil producers who need their income ... are not going to do that," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told reporters at a news conference.
"How can you do that? You stop producing oil in order to put pressure on people and you suffer as much as anybody else suffers," Prince Saud noted.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN0737919420090107?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

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