Woody wrote:Hey guess what? We're headed towards financial ruin!

The Comptroller General of the United States proclaims that our current standard of living is unsustainable unless drastic action is taken. He warns that funding shortfalls for the Medicare program is five times worse than Social Security, and it will take $8 TRILLION to pay for what is promised today to beneficiaries, of which we have ZERO!

This unrealistic "promise" is fiscally irresponsible and is mortgaging the futures of our children and grandchildren.

(YouTubes)

Just wait 'till China calls in its markers for the Iraq war

What does that even mean, PiP? Go ahead China, wreck our economy. Wait, what? You mean if we're ruined you won't be able to sell your products to your biggest market? The heck you say. Oh, and all of your savings, tied up in US treasuries, won't be worth jack squat? Get out of town.

There's a reason it's called the nuclear option. It's not to say it will never happen, but it's also most definitely not something the Chinese would just get up one day and decide it'd be awfully funny to "call in their marker". They're stuck with us.

Rob Andrews thinking about taking a run at Old Man Lautenberg.

Andrews will be somebody some day, whether it's US Senator or Governor. Just a matter of time and positioning (being from S. Jersey is a liability).

jeff2sf wrote:What does that even mean, PiP? Go ahead China, wreck our economy. Wait, what? You mean if we're ruined you won't be able to sell your products to your biggest market? The heck you say. Oh, and all of your savings, tied up in US treasuries, won't be worth jack squat? Get out of town.

There's a reason it's called the nuclear option. It's not to say it will never happen, but it's also most definitely not something the Chinese would just get up one day and decide it'd be awfully funny to "call in their marker". They're stuck with us.

And like the nuclear option, it's in some ways more powerful as a threat than an actuality. There's an old saying that it's bad form to criticize your banker's manners. Upset about Tibet? Pirating of copyrighted goods? Pollution? General disdain for human rights? Don't make Hu Jintao go nuclear on your broke ass...

dajafi wrote:C'mon, Kid. Let's just enjoy the decline of our civilization in quietude and focus on our customized opiates of the masses: baseball, television, modern rock, beer that thinks it's better than me...

Well, there is something to be said ... I have a motto (i have many as most of you have discovered) "I'm neither a martry nor an escapist" -- I'm not leading the revolution but I won't be last to join, and I'm not going to live in a tree-house in the Yukon hoping to stay totally out of the fray.

I take on the grim news in doses. I check-in and check-out. I've begun to try to trade-in the opiates like food, drink, tv (i was never a modern rock man, way too eclectic and avante garde for that) but now trying to focus on the spiritual growth -- without becoming a frou-frou crunchy berry (birkenstock wearing ) "green poser".

I find the best I feel is after a great Yoga class. I try to enjoy the little moments that are universal about being a self-aware sentient being and individual that is sitll 'alive'. But yes, I turn more to friends, family, love, music, art and things that provide some beauty and richness. I find actually that while sober, I'm less cynical and more optimistic as I age. I think brutal angst and existential crisis is a younger man's game. When you begin to really process your finiteness here on Planet Earth, you have an opportunity to embrace.

But yeah -- the problem with "civilization" as we project it, that a lot of it was in bad-faith. Either manufactured as a belief system and not real for the vast majority -- or, it was simply built on shoddy foundation. In denial about its perversions and inequitites. You know the old adage, "no justice, no peace" -- has "moder civilization" been a just paradigm for the majority?

But I'd happily crack a Corona, at a Phillies game with you bruthah... and maybe I can introduce you to some alternate tune-age?!

VoxOrion wrote:Andrews will be somebody some day, whether it's US Senator or Governor. Just a matter of time and positioning (being from S. Jersey is a liability).

Andrews huffs and puffs all the time. He's clearly very ambitious. I think this would be a bad race for him to pull the trigger on though. He'll only be 56 the next time Lautenberg's seat comes around, and will be a year younger than that when Corzine's second term is up. Plus, maybe Menendez will be in jail before the end of his term (I can dream). Just keep raising gobs of money and have an absurd war chest for when the first opening comes. NJ's Democratic delegation is full of ambitious folks. Andrews, Pallone, Rothman. If Adler wins Saxton's open seat, he'll move right onto that list. It'll be a hell of a primary whenever there's an open Senate seat. Menendez's war chest (which I believe was the largest of any House member in the country) was the only reason there wasn't one after Corzine appointed him.

jerseyhoya wrote:

Disco Stu wrote:1077 is right, I am shocked I said that, but the elctoral college does give too much power to small states.

This is true, but it's also completely irrelevant to the election in 2004. As philliesphhan points out, Bush won by three million votes. Wyoming's disproportionate weight in the Electoral College didn't have much to do with how it turned out.

And, as Iv'e said over and over, I believe that there was massive corrpution distorting the tally. The evidence is ubiqitous now, just not on the corporate propogana media outlets like NYT, CNN, Fox etc...

jeff2sf wrote:What does that even mean, PiP? Go ahead China, wreck our economy. Wait, what? You mean if we're ruined you won't be able to sell your products to your biggest market? The heck you say. Oh, and all of your savings, tied up in US treasuries, won't be worth jack squat? Get out of town.

There's a reason it's called the nuclear option. It's not to say it will never happen, but it's also most definitely not something the Chinese would just get up one day and decide it'd be awfully funny to "call in their marker". They're stuck with us.

Uh, it was a joke (hence the )

9/11 Conspiracy Theories 'Ridiculous," Al Qaeda Says

Video from the Onion. Hilarious.

They're happily out of the news now, relatively speaking, and I'm trying to get over it. But all too often, the past and present Loyal Bushies remind me just why I loathe this administration so much:

DoJ's Goodling fired lawyer over rumored lesbianism

Feith: only a-holes worry about torture

As I look around the lefty blogs, I see a lot of efforts to characterize McCain as "McBush." As discussed at nauseating length, I'm not voting for McCain under any foreseeable circumstances. But not only don't I buy this partisan conflation, it actually annoys me. I think the reason why is because I can't imagine McCain tolerating, much less actively recruiting, detestable and inept individuals like Goodling and Feith.

jerseyhoya wrote:9/11 Conspiracy Theories 'Ridiculous," Al Qaeda Says

Video from the Onion. Hilarious.

Only from a Giants fan...

:=)

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-13/120720091911340.xml&coll=1

Rob Andrews decided to jump in against Lautenberg. The state elected Democratic establishment is behind the incumbent. Some important behind the scenes guys (Steve Adubato in Newark, George Norcross in SJ) have lined up behind Andrews. I'm not sure how Andrews plans on winning this, and I hope he fails because the seat would be his for 30 years. But it could make for good theater.

It's not every day that a Member of the world's greatest deliberative body stops by to chat about his plans "to close the Senate down." Especially if his name is Arlen Specter. But the Pennsylvania Republican tells us he's concluded that this is the only way to prod Democrats to vote on, or even hold confirmation hearings on, President Bush's appeals-court nominees.

Arlen Specter?! threatening to shut down the Senate over judicial nominees. If he goes through with this, I'll be shocked. But it's funny to watch the collective jaws of the Right drop in amazement that it's Specter of all people stepping up to the plate on this.

If you have any interest in NJ politics, read these two articles on the Lautenberg-Andrews thing.

http://www.observer.com/2008/momentary-threat-frank-lautenberg

http://www.observer.com/2008/lautenberg-not-so-safe-after-all

Steve Konracki is awesome.

Oh brother

California Congressman Darrell Issa, during a joint hearing of two House Judiciary subcommittees on Tuesday about legislation to extend Ground Zero first responder benefits, described the attacks on the World Trade Center as...

"a fire that had no dirty bomb in it, it had no chemical munitions in it. It simply was an aircraft, residue of two aircraft and residue of the material used to build this building."

Issa, on why he's against additional compensation money, continued...

"I can't see why it would be appropriate to do this every single time a similar situation happens which, quite frankly, includes any urban terrorist. It doesn't have to be somebody from al-Qaida. It can be somebody who decides they don't like animal testing at one of our pharmaceutical facilities."

Sooo, loons blowing up a pharm facility = 9/11.

One poll isn't much evidence of anything but some of the results here are eyepopping. And not a little incoherent. Forty-two percent want a bigger government, yet most Americans blame the government for the current economic malaise.

jerseyhoya wrote:

It's not every day that a Member of the world's greatest deliberative body stops by to chat about his plans "to close the Senate down." Especially if his name is Arlen Specter. But the Pennsylvania Republican tells us he's concluded that this is the only way to prod Democrats to vote on, or even hold confirmation hearings on, President Bush's appeals-court nominees.

Arlen Specter?! threatening to shut down the Senate over judicial nominees. If he goes through with this, I'll be shocked. But it's funny to watch the collective jaws of the Right drop in amazement that it's Specter of all people stepping up to the plate on this.

That caught me by surprise as well. I was real worried when Specter took over Judiciay (now just the ranking member) but he really fought for the two Bush S.C. nominees. A pleasent surprise.

jerseyhoya wrote:http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-13/120720091911340.xml&coll=1

Rob Andrews decided to jump in against Lautenberg. The state elected Democratic establishment is behind the incumbent. Some important behind the scenes guys (Steve Adubato in Newark, George Norcross in SJ) have lined up behind Andrews. I'm not sure how Andrews plans on winning this, and I hope he fails because the seat would be his for 30 years. But it could make for good theater.

If Andrews somehow takes the lead, NJ Democrats can always pull a late ballot switch like they did in 2002 against the law.

Phan In Phlorida wrote:Oh brother

California Congressman Darrell Issa, during a joint hearing of two House Judiciary subcommittees on Tuesday about legislation to extend Ground Zero first responder benefits, described the attacks on the World Trade Center as...

"a fire that had no dirty bomb in it, it had no chemical munitions in it. It simply was an aircraft, residue of two aircraft and residue of the material used to build this building."

Issa, on why he's against additional compensation money, continued...

"I can't see why it would be appropriate to do this every single time a similar situation happens which, quite frankly, includes any urban terrorist. It doesn't have to be somebody from al-Qaida. It can be somebody who decides they don't like animal testing at one of our pharmaceutical facilities."

Sooo, loons blowing up a pharm facility = 9/11.

Issa is wrong. The truth is out there.