you know you've had a bad day when george will says this:
Conservatives who insist that electing McCain is crucial usually start, and increasingly end, by saying he would make excellent judicial selections. But the more one sees of his impulsive, intensely personal reactions to people and events, the less confidence one has that he would select judges by calm reflection and clear principles, having neither patience nor aptitude for either.
It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?
Posted by anthony at September 23, 2008 02:24 AMI know this is off the subject of the election, but it looks like more pictures are going to be released shortly of abusive treatment of prisoners.
The United States cannot conceal pictures of abusive treatment of detainees by its soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan by saying their release might cause enemies to hurt someone, a federal appeals court said Monday in ordering the release of 21 photographs.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a 2006 ruling by Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ordering the release of the pictures to the American Civil Liberties Union.
The color photographs were taken by servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government has opposed the release of pictures of abuse, saying they would incite violence against U.S. troops in Iraq and provoke terrorist.
The Freedom of Information Act allows restrictions when images could reasonably be expected to endanger someone's life or safety, but the appeals court said that exemption was meant for instances where threats were specific.
"It is plainly insufficient to claim that releasing documents could reasonably be expected to endanger some unspecified member of a group so vast as to encompass all United States troops, coalition forces and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan," the appeals court said.
ACLU attorney Amrit Singh called the decision "a resounding victory for the public's right to hold the government accountable."
We shall see.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/22/court-us-cannot-block-det_n_128447.html
Politico writes that "Biden criticizes Obama ad hitting McCain as technologically inept" because McCain can't use a computer to send an e-mail.
Good for Biden for criticizing this disgusting ad. McCain can't use a computer because of injuries he received from being tortured:
"McCain's severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes...he can't raise his arm above his shoulders to throw a baseball."
Worst than the same old Washington politics.
Posted by fafnir at September 23, 2008 03:22 AMfafnir, that is bs. McCain may not be great at a keyboard, but his injuries do not prevent him from typing. He has admitted that he's no good at using a computer, though he does use it a bit. He has said he's going to learn to get online. Besides, being unable to use a keyboard does not prevent you from using the computer or knowing how to get on the internet. There are other ways.
Posted by CG at September 23, 2008 04:31 AMEPA Won't Remove Rocket Fuel From Drinking Water.
There are 35 states at levels high enough to interfere with thyroid function and pose developmental health risks, particularly for babies and fetuses, according to some scientists.
The EPA document says that mandating a clean-up level for perchlorate would not result in a "meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems."
We may have more in common with China than we think.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/22/epa-wont-remove-rocket-fu_n_128460.html
Posted by Judith at September 23, 2008 04:45 AMRe the Genius Awards -- I heartily recommend Leila Josefowicz's work to all. She is an immensely talented violinist, and I sincerely hope this award raises her profile. She's earned it.
Posted by editorbob at September 23, 2008 04:48 AManthony, gotta love George Will. He does crack me up.
Did anyone see the ombudsman column in the Washington Post yesterday? There had been an article by Anne Kornblut about Palin's speech to the troops on 9/11 and how she tied Iraq to the 9/11 attacks.
Palin told Iraq-bound troops they would "defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans."
snip
So was Palin alleging that Saddam Hussein had a role in the Sept. 11 attacks, or was she referring to attacks on U.S. troops by al-Qaeda in Iraq? Some readers and the Web site of the conservative Weekly Standard said the story misrepresented what Palin said.
The confusion deserved to be cleared up right away, but it took five days for a clarification to be published last Wednesday; it quoted a Palin spokeswoman as saying Palin was referring to al-Qaeda in Iraq. Kornblut said she thought there could have been more than one interpretation of Palin's remarks, so she didn't initially object to the changes made in her story, but she now wishes she had pressed harder to delete the Saddam Hussein reference.
How does believing the spokeswoman's lie clear it up? Palin was obviously referring to 9/11. She was speaking on 9/11. She referred to "the innocent", which does not normally refer to soldiers, and she spoke in the past tense, not about attacks currently being carried out by al qaeda in Iraq. The spokeswoman's statement was a spin after Palin screwed up. There was nothing to clarify except that Palin is too stupid to be vp (if she believed what she said) or too big a liar and manipulator to be vp (if she didnt'.)
Posted by CG at September 23, 2008 04:55 AMYeah, poor McCain. Well, I bet those war injuries keeps him from having morals, integrity and honesty too. fafnir, go peddle elsewhere.
Posted by Judith at September 23, 2008 05:11 AMIn light of the ginormous financial problems facing the financial markets...is anyone else still getting daily pre approved credit card and/or home equity loans and/or upping of current credit line offerings? You know considering that credit lines are allegedly drying up and all and "clogging the system"....just got a couple more yesterday and easily get one a day at my address. I just found that odd in light of the situation that's been unfolding for many weeks and what we've been told is the reason why the taxpayers need to pony up 700 billion to another Bush appointee. Also, I'm still hearing ads on the radio pretty much saying, we've got plenty of money to loan despite what people are telling you (heard that this morning).
Lastly if this truly is such the "crisis" why does a Bushie come essentially begging congress (and taxpayers) to give him unfettered access to raid the treasury and spend the money as he sees fit, yet then balks and stomps his feet when people actually say there will be some accountability/oversight strings attatched to conditions deal before the money is handed over. Seems to me if it's that serious and imminent of a crisis (and I do think it is somewhat),that those doing the begging wouldn't be the ones demanding the terms of the deal. (I know I know, this is Bush reality "Bizarro" world we're livin in where up is down and black is white and where the media presents it as such and scoffs when people use any logic and ask questions like this)...but still hello Dems and anyone with a thinking brain.Beggars can't be choosers....Just sayin...
And very lastly, and why are we even trusting what anyone from this administration is telling us anymore and why do we think they can be the ones to "fix" the problem?
No deal congress...no deal...don't get played again.
Posted by emal at September 23, 2008 05:32 AMi want mc cain for christmas... he's the gift that keeps on giving...
from the huff post:
Candidates spend a lot of time talking, and they all misspeak sometimes. But did anyone else notice this, from Wednesday's much-covered McCain-Palin Town Hall event in Grand Rapids, Mich., where Palin answered questions from people in the audience? McCain said this near the end of the clip below, as he's talking up Palin's foreign policy/national security credentials:
"I also know, if I might remind you, that she is commander of the Alaska National Guard. In fact, you may know that on Sept. 11 a large contingent of the Alaska Guard deployed to Iraq and her son happened to be one of them. So I think she understands our national security challenges..."
The ceremony Palin attended at Fort Wainwright last week didn't involve the Alaska National Guard. Palin's son is in the Army, and his unit - 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division - deployed to Iraq.
jonny mac doesn't know that his vp's son is in the army???
btw: what exactly are the decisions she made concerning the ak nat guard?
Posted by anthony at September 23, 2008 05:34 AM"or too big a liar and manipulator"
CG, Palin is very cunning. She knew exactly what she was saying. Remember, evil comes in disguise.
Posted by Judith at September 23, 2008 05:41 AMIt's a shame none of our genius award winners can figure out how to rid the country of wingnuts. They could then be awarded the Medal of Freedom....
What's especially interesting is that the one bailout "add on" that gets NO mention whatever is a new financial transactions tax (a tiny amount levied on every securities transaction). This would actually be a way to have the people who actually "use" the financial markets and the companies that caused the disaster to pay for their bailout over decades, but it is absolutely never considered.
Nope, we no longer have the slightest idea how to raise actual revenue for the government, we just borrow everything. Great thinking.
Dems are fools if they approve this bailout without demanding that Paulson and Bernanke step to the well in a joint session of Congress and tell the nation EXACTLY what they told the Congress in their little secret meeting last Thursday, the one that supposedly chilled everyone's blood.
This lets the people know what the story was, what the supposed risk is, and why the Dems thought it was so necessary to wreck the currency and budget for decades. And it might make it a wee bit more difficult for McShit and his conservative "Country Fist!" shitheads to blithely rail against the bailout and run against the Big Gub'mint Dems.
Instead, they'll let the extreme rightists off the hook, and get a mouthful of brass knuckles for their trouble. Fools. Absolute fools. They simply have no ability to play politics at even a high school level.
Posted by euzoius at September 23, 2008 05:53 AMeuzoius,
The more I listen and hear how this is unfolding and what the punditry are saying, the more firm I get in my convictions that this is another scam brought forth by this administration and the corporate aristocrats to drown us in that bathtub.
And I'm with those that are thinking/worried that McKeatingFive is going to turn around and then use this "crisis" politically and end up running against Dems if they should attempt to clean up this mess and do anything.
You're 100% right...absolute transparency is a must and Congress should be demanding nothing less and should be on the record sharing the conversation that took place in the meeting last week that spooked them so. Yup, anything less and they'll be chumps and it'll backfire on them hugely.
Btw...does anyone know what McKeatingFive's proposal is on this issue right now? Does he have one? What is he sayin about it ... how is he leading on this issue? Dems need to get him on the record...now! If he wants to be prez...I wanna know how he'd manage/handle/solve it today and why he'd do it that way...Demand it from him NOW! He's a Senator too...I want answers/proposals from him today and not after it's been voted on and he can measure the political winds/fallout... because he's proven he'll do and say anything to win at all cost.
Posted by emal at September 23, 2008 06:18 AMemal, as far as I can tell McShit is equivocating and talking out of both sides of his mouth on his "position".
The country isn't going to "like" the Bushco Bailout no matter what, Bush is beyond despised at this point, and the bailout will have its own massive problems---deficits, currency destruction, etc. And McShit is getting his usual pass......
Posted by euzoius at September 23, 2008 07:27 AMIn light of the genius awards, here we have a man running for president in the 21st century who doesn't know how to get online. Can't send an email. Sucks at typing.
Not because of injuries -- because he's an old man.
Computer illiteracy would disqualify him for any job I've ever had, including working in a video store. It's absurd to think this guy is qualified to be president.
But I suppose we'll get to pay the salaries of his special assistants who know how to handle that new-fangled technology.
As long as we're paying for EVERYTHING ELSE.
Posted by MaskedVigilante at September 23, 2008 08:56 AMI'm listening to the hearing right now.
Paulson does not want this 700 Billion in order to bailout the failing institutions. No. Not at all.
This is why we cannot bail out institution by institution - just before they fail.
He wants this money - to use as HE sees fit - to purchase 'bad paper' from a whole number of institutions. He just wants to throw money towards whoever he wants to throw money at (of course it will likely include only those corporations who are friendly with the Republican Party).
This is an infusion of cash into the entire economy - not a bailout of particular failing institutions.
Get it.
There is no cash out there.
This is why "people cannot lend."
If there was actual money out there would not the commodity markets be going up substantially? Are they?
They need to infuse the entire economy with cash because all of the corporation's books are cooked with profits that do not really exist. Bad paper was sold everywhere. Corporations inflated their value and their profits and individual CEOs and stockholders walked away with trillions and now these corps have no real assets.
What they are asking for is very curious.
The more that I think about it, the more strange and terrifying it is.
They will not accept anything less than the 700 Billion.
They will not accept individual bailouts.
They will not allow for regulation or oversight.
They will not accept an insurance type of program instead of a bailout.
They say that they need all of the money right now in order to "restore market confidence."
Posted by Anjha at September 23, 2008 09:18 AMI would like to see the Dems change this to a bailout by bailout plan. Examining each request individually as it comes in. Not just a blank check.
I would also like to see each individual piece of legislation, for each bailout, to start with a whereas clause:
"Whereas the Republican philosophy of unfettered, unregulated capitalism has proved an abject failure"
I would like this clause at the beginning of every piece of legislation and make these dumb asses vote for it. Want the money, admit the failure. Period.
Posted by Anjha at September 23, 2008 09:23 AM