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Thursday Stub.
Author: Raine    Date: 01/27/2011 13:30:36

We had a few power issues around here. Amazingly the power is back -- considering transformers seemed to be blowing left and right last night!

While everything is rebooting and getting Dug out, here is a stub to start the day.
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35 comments (Latest Comment: 01/28/2011 01:16:17 by wickedpam)

SOTU Recap
Author: BobR    Date: 01/26/2011 13:32:47

Last night President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union speech to Congress, the SCOTUS, and all of America. As these speeches tend to be, his was the usual rundown of accomplishments for the year, and plans for the future. As always, there was the "response", which in this case was delivered by Republican Paul Ryan, and an extra nugget of entertainment - the Tea Party response - delivered by erstewhile Republican Michelle Bachmann.
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87 comments (Latest Comment: 01/27/2011 02:15:15 by TriSec)

SOTU Open Thread
Author: BobR    Date: 01/26/2011 01:37:56

Come blog with us in the comments while watching the SOTU!

If you know any good drinking games, post them and we'll update this entry with the "rules"...
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154 comments (Latest Comment: 01/26/2011 04:26:02 by BobR)

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 01/25/2011 11:23:25

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,868th day in Iraq and our 3,397th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

Since war began (3/19/03): 4435
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4296
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3576
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 207
Since Operation New Dawn: 17

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan 1,461
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan 840
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq 1,487
Journalists - Iraq 348
Academics Killed - Iraq 448

We find this morning's Cost of War passing through:

$ 1, 142, 631, 500, 000. 00


(and in a side note, I watched for a minute today. The tally seems to be running about $5,000 a second right now.)

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54 comments (Latest Comment: 01/26/2011 01:42:03 by BobR)

The Snake Eats Its Tail
Author: BobR    Date: 01/24/2011 11:19:59

It seems to me sometimes that those of us on The Left (both the Professionals and the rank amateurs like myself) are a lot like chickens with the their heads cut off: there's a lot of frantic motion, but not much direction. As a middle-aged liberal, I've seen the waves of the political zeitgeist move back and forth, but the trend has always been forward. Perhaps it's my maturity that allows me to celebrate those small victories without getting upset that it was "one small step" rather than "one giant leap".

What I find disheartening is when I find myself at odds with people with whom I share ideologies because I am not going to get outraged over minor losses. Setbacks are normal. Long-range vision is needed, and the realization that although our contributions may not take us as far as we would like, the "progress" that progressives seem to want is the process, not the destination. Yet increasingly I find that my celebration of the small victories and the lack of outrage over the small losses brands me with epithets such as "sell-out", "Obamabot", "corporatist", "centrist", "moderate", etc., when none of these are true, and all are harmful toward achieving our goals.
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54 comments (Latest Comment: 01/24/2011 21:45:23 by livingonli)

Rolling along
Author: TriSec    Date: 01/22/2011 13:05:26

Good Morning!

It's not that early on a Saturday, but nevertheless I'm off to the Red Cross for my usual platelet donation.

On the East Coast at least, the blood supply has been greatly disrupted by the long succession of storms we've been having. If you've got the time, (and especially if you've got O-Negative blood), why don't you see what you can do?

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4 comments (Latest Comment: 01/23/2011 19:18:14 by livingonli)

Friday Stub
Author: Raine    Date: 2011-01-21 13:35:25

On the road again - I will try to put up something better later...
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18 comments (Latest Comment: 01/22/2011 02:33:11 by livingonli)

January 20,1961
Author: Raine    Date: 01/20/2011 13:48:13

It's been 50 years since President John F. Kennedy gave his first and only inauguration speech. I'll not post the speech here, but in reading it, this morning there were many more things said aside from the famous quote, [A]sk not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. This in particular jumped out for me:
So let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.

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41 comments (Latest Comment: 01/21/2011 01:14:50 by trojanrabbit)

Health Care Hijinks
Author: BobR    Date: 01/19/2011 11:43:54

Now that Congress has recovered from the Tucson shootings, it's back to business as usual. That means moving forward on their largely symbolic "Repealing the Job Folding, Spindling and Mutilating Health Care Law" act, or whatever it is they're calling it today. Speaker Boehner (R-OH) has said that the people of the country have spoken (re: the election results), and they want the law repealed.

Sadly, the people DID speak during the last election, and what they were saying is "we want jobs". It was Boehner (and the rest) that meshed that together in their imaginations their own corporate desires to revoke the health care law. Repealing the law (were it even possible) would also have a negative effect on the budget deficit, something else that voters were concerned with.
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40 comments (Latest Comment: 01/19/2011 21:46:31 by Raine)

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 01/18/2011 11:26:56

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,862nd day in Iraq and our 3,390th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4435
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4296
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3576
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 207
Since Operation New Dawn: 17

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,459
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 840
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,487
Journalists - Iraq : 348
Academics Killed - Iraq: 448

We find this morning's Cost of War passing through:

$1, 139, 324, 800, 000 . 00



It's been 20 years. On January 17, 1991, "Operation Desert Storm" began with a vengeance. I remember being glued to the TV, transfixed by the imagery, and actually wanting to hear what the first President Bush had to say about it later that evening. While I count only from the beginning of the current Gulf actions (Operation Iraqi Freedom), perhaps our true count is 7,306 days in Iraq.

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41 comments (Latest Comment: 01/19/2011 02:24:23 by clintster)

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