“Evidently low approval ratings can be contracted by saliva.”
—Steven Colbert on Joe Lieberman’s primary challenge
Category: religion and politics
Church and State should be separate in the body politic, but never in individuals.
A typical response
“Five ropes, five robes, five trees.
Some assembly required.”
—Mischa, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, on what to do about half of the Supreme Court ruling
Democratization and Imperialism
“The democratization claims were a lie, an attempt to paint naked imperialism with an idealistic face.”
—emptywheel, “Weakness and Lies”
Lieberman’s problem
“Lieberman’s ultimate problem isn’t fanatical bloggers, any more than Lyndon Johnson’s was crazy, antiwar Democrats. His problem is that Bush, and the war that both he and Bush have championed, is speeding the ongoing realignment of the Northeast. His problem, dear colleagues, is Connecticut.”
—Harold Meyerson, “Lieberman’s Real Problem”
A decisive victory…
Concerning the recent Hamden v. Rumsefeld decision:
“I’ve got to say that this decision is a decisive victory in the war to spark ridiculous right wing commentary.”
—Andrew, from a comment “Guantanamo Treatment Illegal, Says SCOTUS”
Buffett and the estate tax
There was some discussion via e-mail about Warren Buffett’s recent donation to the William and Melinda Gates foundation. I don’t want to concentrate on that, except to state the inevitability of a man like him donating money on the sure-bet charity created by one of his favorite bridge buddies. Oh yeah, before we go all Nora Ephron on Buffett and Gates, how come nobody has mentioned the Walton family? Certainly the poster family of what I want to talk about:
“It a very equitable tax. It’s in keeping with the idea of equality of opportunity in this country, not giving incredible head starts to certain people who were very selective about the womb from which they emerged.”
—Warren Buffett, on the estate tax
As is widely known but was denied by some, Warren Buffet comes down again on the side of keeping the estate tax.Continue reading
Blame the troops
What could be more stereotypical “Republican” than this? When things start going wrong, don’t blame the strategy, blame the troops.
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CA-50 and immigration ping
I‘m trying really hard to avoid blogging about politics, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to gloat a bit.
In light of the primary election results, I thought I’d ping two of my previous political threads: CA-50 is dead to me and Immigrants are the new gay.
Here is a quote taken from a discussion on the Swing State Project (emphasis mine):
There are even those who postulate that the Republicans could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat this November by putting a greater distance between themselves and Bush on immigration, like [the Republican candidate] did… I think we should all be a little more cautious of our expectations for this November. The GOP has thrown a huge monkey wrench in the form of Immigration into the Democrats’ 2006 strategy, and it’s unclear yet how the Democrats plan to manage the issue.
It’s nice to be so blatantly manipulated by the Republicans, huh?Continue reading
A 2006 polemic
“Election 2006: For Whom the Bell Tollsâ€.
An excellent mix of righteous anger.Continue reading
Apology and responsibility
John Cole finds an apology in the latest admissions.
In this case, it is apologizing on the presentation of the war instead of the actual actions of war. Such a strange admission is understandable—they must be giving a sideways glance at Nuremberg every time they open their mouth. I still find the whole thing ironic since the presentation of the war seemed to be the one area in which the administration made no mistakes.
I glossed over this article because the parts I read seem to follow into the same mold: passive voice. Along the lines of: “mistakes were made†or “I know we’ve made tactical errors—thousands of them.â€
Continue reading