Birthers, Deathers, and the Muddled Middle: POLITICS THREAD

by **TenuredVulture** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 22:36:23

This Mike Ross selling his pharmacy to a big chain for a lot of money is getting some legs--NY Daily News has picked it up.

Just remember where you heard it first.

by **drsmooth** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 00:21:59

TenuredVulture wrote:This Mike Ross selling his pharmacy to a big chain for a lot of money is getting some legs--NY Daily News has picked it up.

Just remember where you heard it first.

You're probably right, TV - this thing will be blown up into something more than it is, despite itself.

$400 grand for a going Rx location, even in Ark, is chump change. The AP story tries to make it look like the sale price was only for the land & building, which is ridiculous. The property, even by the value the hacks pursuing Ross put on it, is around half that amount. The Rx inventory alone is probably $50-75k, if it's anything like a real pharmacy. So Ross did not make out like a bandit, much less like a lapdog of military contractors, by any stretch of the imagination.

And USA Drug, at 170 stores, is not a "big chain". It's not mom & pop, but it's not Walgreens either.

Plenty of effort will probably go into making Ross look like Duke Cunningham, when he's not even as menacing as Richie Cunningham.

by **swishnicholson** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 08:20:52

drsmooth wrote:
TenuredVulture wrote:This Mike Ross selling his pharmacy to a big chain for a lot of money is getting some legs--NY Daily News has picked it up.

Just remember where you heard it first.

You're probably right, TV - this thing will be blown up into something more than it is, despite itself.

$400 grand for a going Rx location, even in Ark, is chump change. The AP story tries to make it look like the sale price was only for the land & building, which is ridiculous. The property, even by the value the hacks pursuing Ross put on it, is around half that amount. The Rx inventory alone is probably $50-75k, if it's anything like a real pharmacy. So Ross did not make out like a bandit, much less like a lapdog of military contractors, by any stretch of the imagination.

I don't really have any interest in this story at all, but just to make the facts clear, in addition to the 400K for the property, the Rosses were also apparently paid 725K for the pharmacy's assets and Holly Ross received over 100K as part of non-compete agreement.

Associated Press

by **drsmooth** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 08:36:04

swishnicholson wrote:I don't really have any interest in this story at all, but just to make the facts clear, in addition to the 400K for the property, the Rosses were also apparently paid 725K for the pharmacy's assets and Holly Ross received over 100K as part of non-compete agreement.

Associated Press

damn, this is what I get for reading & replying to something like this after a grating phils defeat. I had obviously concluded $400k covered the works.

Hmm....the amount is still chump change, but it would appear that Ross is the chump.

by **kruker** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 09:17:57

Someone didn't like the President's speech

There's a Happy Day's reference in there for anyone who misses the Fonz.

The Iranians have made a kind of pantomime dance out of mocking dialogue with Obama. He wants to talk about their weapons-based uranium enrichment and their flouting of International Atomic Energy Agency rules. The mullahs of Tehran fall about laughing at this. They steal an election, bash, murder and rape their opponents into submission and deliberately miss Obama's solemn deadline of September for starting talks.

Obama set the September deadline partly so the Iranians could tremble before the assembled might of this week's UN General Assembly.

The Iranians said the talks would begin on October 1 and that is when they will begin. And the Iranians don't plan to talk about their uranium enrichment program. Instead they will talk about the injustice of supposed US domination of the UN.

Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, the Iranians took a couple of extra measures. They appointed a man wanted by Interpol for his part in blowing up a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires in the early 1990s as their Defence Minister. Then Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeated his sick denial of the Holocaust. If the Iranians behave at the October dialogue as they say they will, then the Americans should persist with it for about 10 minutes before moving to comprehensive sanctions against Iran as the only possible alternative to an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, possibly before Christmas.

by **TenuredVulture** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 09:31:52

drsmooth wrote:
swishnicholson wrote:I don't really have any interest in this story at all, but just to make the facts clear, in addition to the 400K for the property, the Rosses were also apparently paid 725K for the pharmacy's assets and Holly Ross received over 100K as part of non-compete agreement.

Associated Press

damn, this is what I get for reading & replying to something like this after a grating phils defeat. I had obviously concluded $400k covered the works.

Hmm....the amount is still chump change, but it would appear that Ross is the chump.

It's unlikely there's anything illegal going on, and Ross is probably not corrupt. As he's quickly disclosed more information, it stinks less. The problem for Ross is that he's a Blue Dog Democrat who has taken a high profile position on health care that is increasingly being seen in some quarters around here as obstructionist. He's also gutless--despite having no real opposition in the last two elections, and the fact that he's got tons of money for his re-election campaign, he can't seem to take one tough vote on behalf of his constituents--he panders to the anti-immigrant folks, the gun nut folks, and carries water for big insurance/big pharma. He claims to be a fiscal hawk, but really has not shown any political courage on that front either.

What this incident does however, is create a kind of sound bite opportunity to make at least some of that case. It probably won't cost him his seat. But word on the street was his plan was to run for governor after Beebe finished his two terms. Now, that becomes a little more difficult.

by **Bucky** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 09:34:54

kruker wrote:Someone didn't like the President's speech

There's a Happy Day's reference in there for anyone who misses the Fonz.

The Iranians have made a kind of pantomime dance out of mocking dialogue with Obama. He wants to talk about their weapons-based uranium enrichment and their flouting of International Atomic Energy Agency rules. The mullahs of Tehran fall about laughing at this. They steal an election, bash, murder and rape their opponents into submission and deliberately miss Obama's solemn deadline of September for starting talks.

Obama set the September deadline partly so the Iranians could tremble before the assembled might of this week's UN General Assembly.

The Iranians said the talks would begin on October 1 and that is when they will begin. And the Iranians don't plan to talk about their uranium enrichment program. Instead they will talk about the injustice of supposed US domination of the UN.

Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, the Iranians took a couple of extra measures. They appointed a man wanted by Interpol for his part in blowing up a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires in the early 1990s as their Defence Minister. Then Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeated his sick denial of the Holocaust. If the Iranians behave at the October dialogue as they say they will, then the Americans should persist with it for about 10 minutes before moving to comprehensive sanctions against Iran as the only possible alternative to an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, possibly before Christmas.

I remember that episode ! :!:

by **Werthless** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:26:32

http://www.wreg.com/wreg-dalai-lama,0,1603231.story (has video)

Memphis Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery broke protocol, in a good-natured way, during a visit by the Dalai Lama Tuesday.

During a welcoming ceremony in Tom Lee Park, Lowery gave the Dalai Lama a fist bump and then said, "Hello Dalai."

The Dalai Lama laughed during the moment but later said the gesture typically invokes thoughts of violence.

by **kruker** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:27:50

Only in college would people be so forgiving as to dismiss Iran's talk of wiping Israel off the map as being posturing and then go on to say that the only reason Iran wants nuclear capabilities is for peaceable means. Yea, I seriously doubt Iran would ever launch a strike, but they've got little brother Hezbollah for this very situation, to carry out their dirty work while not being directly culpable.

23 people in the class and, I shit you not, I'm the only one on the discussion board who thinks that Iran shouldn't be allowed to go nuclear and that we should take a hard line stance against them in this round of negotiations.

by **kruker** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:29:44

Werthless wrote:http://www.wreg.com/wreg-dalai-lama,0,1603231.story (has video)

Memphis Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery broke protocol, in a good-natured way, during a visit by the Dalai Lama Tuesday.

During a welcoming ceremony in Tom Lee Park, Lowery gave the Dalai Lama a fist bump and then said, "Hello Dalai."

The Dalai Lama laughed during the moment but later said the gesture typically invokes thoughts of violence.

Stay classy, Memphis.

by **allentown** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:07:03

kruker wrote:Only in college would people be so forgiving as to dismiss Iran's talk of wiping Israel off the map as being posturing and then go on to say that the only reason Iran wants nuclear capabilities is for peaceable means. Yea, I seriously doubt Iran would ever launch a strike, but they've got little brother Hezbollah for this very situation, to carry out their dirty work while not being directly culpable.

23 people in the class and, I $#@! you not, I'm the only one on the discussion board who thinks that Iran shouldn't be allowed to go nuclear and that we should take a hard line stance against them in this round of negotiations.

This is one of those cases where what we want and what we can get are very far apart. There probably is very little that can be done to stop Iran from going nuclear. I have no doubt that the Bush administration had a burning desire to abort the Iranian program. Despite a lot of harsh rhetoric, they did nothing. Just as they did nothing with N. Korea. This is pretty strong evidence to me that their is not a lot that can be meaningfully done. The Iraq war has immensely strengthened Iran, changing its most bitter and powerful foe in Saddam Hussein into its best ally in the current Iraqi government. The final realization of Iraqi independence will only strengthen this bond, while the increased capability of the Iraqi army and police and the eventual departure of US troops, will make Iraq a much more helpful ally.

I still believe Iran's true target is Saudi Arabia and its holy sites and oil, rather than Israel.

by **kruker** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:23:47

I'm not sure that much can be done either, but that doesn't equate to giving them carte blanche as is being suggested in this class discussion. I say make it hell, do what you've got to do to cut their ties with Venezuela. Get Russia and China aboard for sanctions. Take their threats seriously and not dismiss them as "Iran being Iran".

by **jerseyhoya** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:46:25

kruker wrote:I'm not sure that much can be done either, but that doesn't equate to giving them carte blanche as is being suggested in this class discussion. I say make it hell, do what you've got to do to cut their ties with Venezuela. Get Russia and China aboard for sanctions. Take their threats seriously and not dismiss them as "Iran being Iran".

50 game suspension for using WMDs, but they can start rehab games 10 days before the suspension ends.

by **Werthless** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:04:55

What do you do when Iran refuses to negotiate? Naval blockade? Economic sanctions? Pre-emptive precision strike? I'm not surprised many of your classmates are hesitant to take a hard-line stance when the situation is eerily similar to Iraq.

by **dajafi** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:13:44

It's not a particularly satisfying answer, but the best approach with respect to Iran is patience and selective pressure. That's not a popular regime, and its repressive actions during the election probably ensured its eventual fall... unless we do something to drive the public back into the arms of the mullahs. Like bomb them.

by **jerseyhoya** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:16:54

I think us bombing them would be counterproductive, but if I lived in Israel, I'd probably be all about a preemptive aerial bombing attack.

by **dajafi** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:19:12

jerseyhoya wrote:I think us bombing them would be counterproductive, but if I lived in Israel, I'd probably be all about a preemptive aerial bombing attack.

I might feel the same way. But from the perspective of closing the gap between the public and the regime, Israel bombing them would be pretty much the same as us doing it.

Barak (not Barack) noted recently that Iran getting the Bomb wouldn't pose an existential threat to Israel. If that guy--basically the most badass Israeli who's ever lived--feels that way, we probably should defer to his judgment.

by **kruker** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:22:09

Glenn Beck threw a frog into a boiling pot of water on tv. Glenn Beck threw a frog into a boiling pot of water on tv.

For fuck's sake, what's wrong with people?

by **dajafi** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:29:13

kruker wrote:Glenn Beck threw a frog into a boiling pot of water on tv. Glenn Beck threw a frog into a boiling pot of water on tv.

For $#@!'s sake, what's wrong with people?

He's truly a sick fuck.

There's been a series on Salon.com about him this week. The guy has a very different background than I'd (unknowingly) assumed: came out of moronic morning radio, years and years of substance abuse, severe family dysfunction/tragedy, suicidal ideation, then he comes out of it in his 30s as this incoherent fanatic... almost reminiscent of Gregg Stilson from "The Dead Zone" rather than the Limbaugh-lite story you might have expected.

by **jerseyhoya** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 13:01:50

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Birthers, Deathers, and the Muddled Middle: POLITICS THREAD