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[hellclerk]

Wow. WTF. Disrespectful to the MAX

So... you're saying that he should wait ANOTHER few years to run? I mean, I agree that Giffords should be the one who gets the nomination since she's essentially a shoo in with her recent history, but there's no reason that Prowel shouldn't run other than Giffords is gonna wipe the floor with him.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Why should she be given her seat back? If someone wants to challenge her, they have that right. Is she fit for office?

 

[TacticalFox88]

Why should she be given her seat back? If someone wants to challenge her, they have that right. Is she fit for office?

It's not that she has a right to the seat, it's just that this looks to be in bad taste.

 

[A Human Becoming]

Is she fit for office?

This is what I've been wondering. Anyone been keeping up with her recovery?

 

[Misanthropy]

It's not that she has a right to the seat, it's just that this looks to be in bad taste.

I never got the public opinion on this matter. I understand that a senator being shot in the head is very sad and it shows the state that some people go to to harm public officials but shouldn't you elect someone off of their principles and not off of what happened to them? Just because Martin Luther King Jr. forgot to say "People shouldn't be judged by the color of their skin, their religion, and whether or not they've been shot in the head" doesn't make it okay to give the pity vote to someone. Also, how does surviving being shot in the head make you a hero if you had nothing to do with surviving it and instead all the effort was done by the brave surgeons? I don't get it. It's like if I survive being shot in the head will people give me promotions and scholarships? No. They'd probably ask if I'm getting better and I'll be back to studying biochemistry but I wouldn't feel like I should deserve something for surviving something which was out of my control. idk. Can someone explain this to me?

 

[A Human Becoming]

I never got the public opinion on this matter. I understand that a senator being shot in the head is very sad and it shows the state that some people go to to harm public officials but shouldn't you elect someone off of their principles and not off of what happened to them? Just because Martin Luther King Jr. forgot to say "People shouldn't be judged by the color of their skin, their religion, and whether or not they've been shot in the head" doesn't make it okay to give the pity vote to someone. Also, how does surviving being shot in the head make you a hero if you had nothing to do with surviving it and instead all the effort was done by the brave surgeons? I don't get it. It's like if I survive being shot in the head will people give me promotions and scholarships? No. They'd probably ask if I'm getting better and I'll be back to studying biochemistry but I wouldn't feel like I should deserve something for surviving something which was out of my control. idk. Can someone explain this to me?

Misanthropy
Member
(Today, 03:36 AM)
Reply | Quote

Kidding aside, while I understand your viewpoint, people see the person as strong for pushing themselves to live or something.

 

[Misanthropy]

But they didn't push anything! They were unconscious with blood and brains spewing from their cracked skull while the EMTs and the neurosurgeons were doing all the pushing. And I fail to see how it is messed up to run against someone who survived something. Would it also be considered wrong then to run against someone who survived cancer? If so, then what if they only survived a robbery? If so, then what about surviving through college? If so, then what about surviving through the third grade spelling bee? Although this is a massive slippery slope we can't have exceptions where we give our political representatives power over some accident when they could actually be really bad at their job.

 

[hellclerk]

But they didn't push anything! They were unconscious with blood and brains spewing from their cracked skull while the EMTs and the neurosurgeons were doing all the pushing. And I fail to see how it is messed up to run against someone who survived something. Would it also be considered wrong then to run against someone who survived cancer? If so, then what if they only survived a robbery? If so, then what about surviving through college? If so, then what about surviving through the third grade spelling bee? Although this is a massive slippery slope we can't have exceptions where we give our political representatives power over some accident when they could actually be really bad at their job.

And that's where you're missing it: perception is greater than reality. Sure, the EMTs did a great job, but even that was on a hope and a prayer. And in either way, there IS a strength to returning to office after an assassination attempt. To continue public service instead of quietly resigning and retiring is a strong action.

And it's not a slippery slope either. While the qualifications for this sort of thing are mostly arbitrary, ultra-pity doesn't really go beyond a few rare incidents, like getting shot in the head, surviving something or other, etc. This doesn't tend to last. Giffords won't be able to use the "I got shot in the head" card the next time her district is up for election. this sort of thing is too limited and really very temporary. don't think too hard about it. It's just a human reaction.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

She's going to be re-elected anyway, but that's a pretty dumb choice by him.
He could easily split the Democrat votes and put a Republican in the seat...

 

[ToxicAdam]

She's going to be re-elected anyway, but that's a pretty dumb choice by him.
He could easily split the Democrat votes and put a Republican in the seat...

Hard to split the votes and let a Republican win in a Democrat primary.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Hard to split the votes and let a Republican win in a Democrat primary.

Oh, I didn't realize it was a primary

then he's just wasting resources...

 

[Tamanon]

Hard to split the votes and let a Republican win in a Democrat primary.

Only possible in Wisconsin.

 

[gcubed]

Rick Perry Joins in the Anti-Gay Marriage pledge

i dont understand how no one publically can call out these small government nitwits on their garbage. I mean the commercials/articles/interviews write themselves. Its only small government on things they dont care about, when its things they care about its a federal monfuckingstrosity

 

[Mgoblue201]

I just realized that Barbour and Jindal are conspicuously absent from the 2012 Republican presidential field. I had happily forgotten all about them.

 

[Black Republican]

AP: U.S. Government says Al Qaeda No. 2 leader, Atiyah Abd Al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan


damn, these terrorists are really getting it to them under the obama administration,heh

 

[Diablos]

...

What an asshole.

 

[PhoenixDark]

I just realized that Barbour and Jindal are conspicuously absent from the 2012 Republican presidential field. I had happily forgotten all about them.

Barbour was on the cusp of running, but decided not to a few months ago. It was around the time a lot of governors (and Sen. Thune) were on the fence, but seemed deterred by Obama's good poll numbers at the time.

 

[tokkun]

I never got the public opinion on this matter. I understand that a senator being shot in the head is very sad and it shows the state that some people go to to harm public officials but shouldn't you elect someone off of their principles and not off of what happened to them? Just because Martin Luther King Jr. forgot to say "People shouldn't be judged by the color of their skin, their religion, and whether or not they've been shot in the head" doesn't make it okay to give the pity vote to someone. Also, how does surviving being shot in the head make you a hero if you had nothing to do with surviving it and instead all the effort was done by the brave surgeons? I don't get it. It's like if I survive being shot in the head will people give me promotions and scholarships? No. They'd probably ask if I'm getting better and I'll be back to studying biochemistry but I wouldn't feel like I should deserve something for surviving something which was out of my control. idk. Can someone explain this to me?

Well, it's not just that she got shot in the head.

She was shot while performing her duties as a senator and because she was a senator. Therefore, there is more sentiment that she should not lose her job as a senator over it.

I think there is also a legitimate concern about the potential for a sort of chilling effect that could be caused if violent attacks on politicians become common. So some may see an obligation to keep her in power as a way to prevent the attack from being viewed as a success.

 

[KingK]

AP: U.S. Government says Al Qaeda No. 2 leader, Atiyah Abd Al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan


damn, these terrorists are really getting it to them under the obama administration,heh

at least one refreshing thing about the next election is that the Republicans won't be able to run with the "Dems are weak on defense!" slogan. Obama has had a pretty damn good record on defense/foreign policy, imo. Obviously, American foreign policy is still pretty fucked up in a lot of areas, but Obama has been about as good as I could realistically hope for on that front.

edit: Other than not shutting down Guantanamo yet. He really should have, and could have, done that almost right away.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

at least one refreshing thing about the next election is that the Republicans won't be able to run with the "Dems are weak on defense!" slogan.

Oh yes they can

there's nothing the GOP can't run on, they're masters of turning nothing into a big ordeal. Just give them 5 hours a day to hammer on Fox News about how the Democrats are weak on defense, and you see how fast history is revised

 

[Invisible_Insane]

Oh yes they can

there's nothing the GOP can't run on, they're masters of turning nothing into a big ordeal. Just give them 5 hours a day to hammer on Fox News about how the Democrats are weak on defense, and you see how fast history is revised

"Obama couldn't have gotten UBL without Bush," etc.

 

[Baraka in the White House]

"Obama couldn't have gotten UBL without Bush," etc.

Pretty much. When something goes wrong, it's his fault. When something goes right, he just happened to be President when it did.

 

[Black Republican]

any thoughts on how assad will be dealt with? i dont even know if its worth helping them out, he seems 10x worse than gaddaffi

 

[Piecake]

any thoughts on how assad will be dealt with? i dont even know if its worth helping them out, he seems 10x worse than gaddaffi

economic and diplomatic sanctions and containment. We arent putting troops on the ground

 

[PhoenixDark]

any thoughts on how assad will be dealt with? i dont even know if its worth helping them out, he seems 10x worse than gaddaffi

Sanctions I guess. I doubt China would be happy about us bombing Syria.

 

[Baraka in the White House]

any thoughts on how assad will be dealt with? i dont even know if its worth helping them out, he seems 10x worse than gaddaffi

Assad has the China/Russia/Hezbollah posse at his back. Aside from sanctions the Syrian rebels are gonna be on their own unless he gets really crazy.

 

[Piecake]

Sanctions I guess. I doubt China would be happy about us bombing Syria.

Neither would I. Its not our place to try to make the world a better place by starting wars and bombing people. If Syria gets a viable resistance force against Assad then I would have no problem with supporting it, but bombing or starting a war never seems to work out as planned and costs a crap ton of money

 

[tokkun]

Oh yes they can

there's nothing the GOP can't run on, they're masters of turning nothing into a big ordeal. Just give them 5 hours a day to hammer on Fox News about how the Democrats are weak on defense, and you see how fast history is revised

It may be more of a question of "will they" rather than "can they". The new Tea Party types seem to be less hawkish than the old-guard conservatives. Even isolationist in some cases.

 

[Baraka in the White House]

Neither would I. Its not our place to try to make the world a better place by starting wars and bombing people. If Syria gets a viable resistance force against Assad then I would have no problem with supporting it, but bombing or starting a war never seems to work out as planned and costs a crap ton of money

In hindsight we played it pretty smart in Libya. I expect the administration will want to see a serious push from the Syrian rebels and, more importantly, an explicit request for assistance before we do anything.

 

[gcubed]

It may be more of a question of "will they" rather than "can they". The new Tea Party types seem to be less hawkish than the old-guard conservatives. Even isolationist in some cases.

cant get more hawkish then Perry, but not sure if he is considered tea party

 

[Black Republican]

best ending to the Libya saga?

Gaddaffi killed?
Surrenders? (lolz)
Suicide?
Captured?

i'd prefer suicide but captured is fine too

 

[Incognito]

Does anyone at MSNBC show up for work anymore? Joe Scarborough normally shows up for work only half of the time, and often misses the first hour of his show anyway. But now after an eon of Joe's absence his literal third-string co-host Willie Geist had to be replaced today. Chris Cillizza has replaced Chuck Todd for a while. Chris Matthews hasn't hosted a show at any time this month that I've tuned in, and is again absent today. I guess the network has given everyone the month off for vacation.

they're all prepping for the election season. believe me, come this time next year, you're gonna wish these jokers were on vacation again.

 

[Piecake]

they're all prepping for the election season. believe me, come this time next year, you're gonna wish these jokers were on vacation again.

I would be thrilled if all cable/radio pundits took a permanent vacation

 

[Jackson50]

Seriously. I think some people should lean back for a second and realize the election is still 15 months away, and that much can happen until then. Some are already 100% sure of Obama's failure or re-election, and are hyperbolic, fatalistic or cynic about it.

I concur. Polls have infinitesimal predictive value this early; i.e., they are meaningless. A more accurate method would be to examine the fundamentals. And even those could change dramatically in the intervening 14 months. Thus, I always qualify my predictions regarding the general election. It is premature to extrapolate anything substantive at this juncture.

any thoughts on how assad will be dealt with? i dont even know if its worth helping them out, he seems 10x worse than gaddaffi

The U.S. and EU have already imposed unilateral economic sanctions. Subsequently, they are pursuing multilateral economic sanctions at the UN. Thereafter, nothing. Military sanctions are improbable. The UNSC will not authorize military sanctions. Primarily, Russia, and to a lesser extent, China will inhibit that. Nevertheless, I think Assad will eventually be replaced. But he will not be deposed by a popular uprising. Eventually, he will become expendable. He will be deposed by an element within the regime. Granted, I suppose that would be attributable to the uprising.

 

[Invisible_Insane]

10 points if you can guess what country we found Al-Qaeda's #2 in.

 

[tokkun]

10 points if you can guess what country we found Al-Qaeda's #2 in.

Weird that the Times gives the "Mr." title to everyone but Bin Laden. Is that supposed to be some sort of slight?

 

[XMonkey]

edit: Other than not shutting down Guantanamo yet. He really should have, and could have, done that almost right away.

I thought he couldn't do this solely with executive power and needed the cooperation of Congress?

 

[Byakuya769]

But they didn't push anything! They were unconscious with blood and brains spewing from their cracked skull while the EMTs and the neurosurgeons were doing all the pushing. And I fail to see how it is messed up to run against someone who survived something. Would it also be considered wrong then to run against someone who survived cancer? If so, then what if they only survived a robbery? If so, then what about surviving through college? If so, then what about surviving through the third grade spelling bee? Although this is a massive slippery slope we can't have exceptions where we give our political representatives power over some accident when they could actually be really bad at their job.

Well, McCain's made a career out of being tortured.

 

[Piecake]

Weird that the Times gives the "Mr." title to everyone but Bin Laden. Is that supposed to be some sort of slight?

I doubt it. The reason for it is probably that his name has appeared so much like that, without any Mr., that it would look weird reading Mr. Bin Laden in an article. That, and the right-wing fundies would probably say that that is proof that the NY times is a terrorist, left wing american hating sympathizer

 

[Misanthropy]

I thought he couldn't do this solely with executive power and needed the cooperation of Congress?

When he came into office the very first thing he did was sign an executive order stating the closure of Guantanamo bay. Then.............it didn't close cause he's turned into a coward

Spoiler

pussy

who wants to look like the great compromiser when he doesn't realize
A. He's compromising with a party whose members are currently legally retarded.
B. In a time when his country is in the shit the people want a "semi"-dictator (like a philosopher king) who's able to fix things quick and bypass the slow system that is only supposed to be implemented when the country isn't in crisis.

 

[Oblivion]

Did anybody see Sean Hannity's interview with Austin Goolsbee?

 

[tokkun]

I doubt it. The reason for it is probably that his name has appeared so much like that, without any Mr., that it would look weird reading Mr. Bin Laden in an article.

That is unlikely. This stuff follows an editorial policy at news outlets. When discussing President Obama, for example, you will note that the NYT's first reference will always be "President Obama" and ensuing references will be "Mr. Obama". For private citizens, it is the full name or name with title for the first reference, then Mr./Ms. for further references. They must have a specific exception for Bin Laden.

That, and the right-wing fundies would probably say that that is proof that the NY times is a terrorist, left wing american hating sympathizer

Maybe. I don't know if that is a better motivation, though.

 

[Incognito]

Did anybody see Sean Hannity's interview with Austin Goolsbee?

yea, i saw it. props to hannity for having goolsbee on and props to goolsbee for entertaining hannity's ridiculous questions.

 

[Oblivion]

yea, i saw it. props to hannity for having goolsbee on and props to goolsbee for entertaining hannity's ridiculous questions.

Is it worth watching? Any good ownages?

 

[XMonkey]

When he came into office the very first thing he did was sign an executive order stating the closure of Guantanamo bay. Then.............it didn't close cause he's turned into a coward

Spoiler

pussy

who wants to look like the great compromiser when he doesn't realize
A. He's compromising with a party whose members are currently legally retarded.
B. In a time when his country is in the shit the people want a "semi"-dictator (like a philosopher king) who's able to fix things quick and bypass the slow system that is only supposed to be implemented when the country isn't in crisis.

Uh, I'm pretty sure Congress shut him down on this. Granted, he probably shouldn't have made that claim on the campaign trail if he wasn't positive he could do it, but I don't think he expected to get rebuffed by even Democrats in Congress over it.

 

[Zabka]

Uh, I'm pretty sure Congress shut him down on this. Granted, he probably shouldn't have made that claim on the campaign trail if he wasn't positive he could do it, but I don't think he expected to get rebuffed by even Democrats in Congress over it.

There was also a big issue with where the prisoners would be moved to. Lots of states balked at federal money and jobs because they feared what would happen. For some reason people think the Guantanamo prisoners have a passive area of effect radicalization aura. In reality it's a cone-based active ability that requires line of sight.

 

[RustyNails]

any thoughts on how assad will be dealt with? i dont even know if its worth helping them out, he seems 10x worse than gaddaffi

What should happen in Syria but not will is Saudi Arabia taking charge against Syria. KSA can very easily form an alliance with Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain (lulz, I know). It can form an uneasy alliance with Turkey, the biggest military player south of Europe. I would want the Syrian situation to be resolved by the regional powers. US/NATO stepping into Syria would be like putting your dick inside a wasp nest. It's an extremely complicated geo-political landscape with shadow alliances, paramilitaries, sectarian differences and ethnic make up. Only the neighborhood can fix it's house. Now what type of charge I want KSA to take? Not necessarily militaristic, but more of a political and diplomatic through isolation and power playing with Iran. But when push comes to shove, I can see KSA threatening Syria. It's way too far fetched to assume an all out war between KSA and Syria/Iran, but even having this discussion shows how much the world has gone crazy.

I still can't believe all of this is happening because one pissed off dude lit himself on fire somewhere in Tunisia.

 

[Invisible_Insane]

What should happen in Syria but not will is Saudi Arabia taking charge against Syria. KSA can very easily form an alliance with Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain (lulz, I know). It can form an uneasy alliance with Turkey, the biggest military player south of Europe. I would want the Syrian situation to be resolved by the regional powers. US/NATO stepping into Syria would be like putting your dick inside a wasp nest. It's an extremely complicated geo-political landscape with shadow alliances, paramilitaries, sectarian differences and ethnic make up. Only the neighborhood can fix it's house. Now what type of charge I want KSA to take? Not necessarily militaristic, but more of a political and diplomatic through isolation and power playing with Iran. But when push comes to shove, I can see KSA threatening Syria. It's way too far fetched to assume an all out war between KSA and Syria/Iran, but even having this discussion shows how much the world has gone crazy.

I still can't believe all of this is happening because one pissed off dude lit himself on fire somewhere in Tunisia.

Because a woman slapped him in the face. That's the funnier part.

 

[elrechazado]

AP: U.S. Government says Al Qaeda No. 2 leader, Atiyah Abd Al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan


damn, these terrorists are really getting it to them under the obama administration,heh

al qaeda has more number 2's than a porta potty. It seems like we kill one once a month for like the last 8-9 years or so.

 

[smokeandmirrors]

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/08/27/do-really-need-national-weather-service/

Do We Really Need a National Weather Service?
By Iain Murray and David Bier
Published August 27, 2011
| FoxNews.com

As Hurricane Irene bears down on the East Coast, news stations bombard our televisions with constant updates from the National Hurricane Center.

While Americans ought to prepare for the coming storm, federal dollars need not subsidize their preparations. Although it might sound outrageous, the truth is that the National Hurricane Center and its parent agency, the National Weather Service, are relics from America’s past that have actually outlived their usefulness.

The National Weather Service (NWS) was founded in 1870. Originally, the NWS was not a public information agency. It was a national security agency and placed under the Department of War. The Service’s national security function has long since disappeared, but as agencies often do, however, it stuck around and managed to increase its budget.

Today the NWS justifies itself on public interest grounds. It issues severe weather advisories and hijacks local radio and television stations to get the message out. It presumes that citizens do not pay attention to the weather and so it must force important, perhaps lifesaving, information upon them. A few seconds’ thought reveals how silly this is. The weather might be the subject people care most about on a daily basis. There is a very successful private TV channel dedicated to it, 24 hours a day, as well as any number of phone and PC apps. Americans need not be forced to turn over part of their earnings to support weather reporting.

The NWS claims that it supports industries like aviation and shipping, but if they provide a valuable contribution to business, it stands to reason business would willingly support their services. If that is the case, the Service is just corporate welfare. If they would not, it is just a waste.

As for hurricanes, the insurance industry has a compelling interest in understanding them. In a world without a National Weather Service, the insurance industry would probably have sponsored something very like the National Hurricane Center at one or more universities. Those replacements would also not be exploited for political purposes.

As it stands today, the public is forced to pay more than $1 billion per year for the NWS. With the federal deficit exceeding a trillion dollars, the NWS is easily overlooked, but it shouldn’t be. It may actually be dangerous.

Relying on inaccurate government reports can endanger lives. Last year the Service failed to predict major flooding in Nashville because it miscalculated the rate at which water was releasing from dams there. The NWS continued to rely on bad information, even after forecasters knew the data were inaccurate. The flooding resulted in 22 deaths.

Private weather services do exist, and unsurprisingly, they are better than the NWS. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the National Weather Service was twelve hours behind AccuWeather in predicting that New Orleans would be affected. Unlike the NWS, AccuWeather provides precise hour-by-hour storm predictions, one of the reasons private industry supports them.

It is not just random mistakes in crises either. Forecast Watch has found that the National Weather Service predictions of snow and rain have an error rate 20 percent higher than their private alternatives. “All private forecasting companies did much better than the National Weather Service,” their report concludes. In 2008, they found that the NWS’s temperature predictions were worse than every private-sector competitor including the Weather Channel, Intellicast, and Weather Underground. Even NWS’s online ZIP code search for weather reports is in some cases totally inaccurate, giving reports for areas hundreds of miles away.

NWS claims to spread information, but when the topic of budget cuts came up earlier this year, all they spread was fear. “There is a very heightened risk for loss of life if these cuts go through,” NWS forecasters said, “The inability for warnings to be disseminated to the public, whether due to staffing inadequacies, radar maintenance problems or weather radio transmitter difficulties, would be disastrous.”

Disastrous? The $126 million in cuts would still have left the Service with a larger budget than it had a decade ago. The massive bloat in government should not get a pass just because it’s wrapped in good-of-the-community clothing. NWS services can and are better provided by the private sector. Americans will invest in weather forecasting because if there is one thing we can be certain of, people will want to protect their property and their lives.

....

I guess there's no point in saying anything about anything fox news related anymore...