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Mercenary Ideologists
Author: BobR    Date: 06/29/2011 11:12:49

I know I've written about this before, but perhaps it's time again. The Democrats in general (and President Obama in particular) are expected to take shots from the right-wing. That is all part of the job. What makes that job harder, though, is all the flak coming from the left. In particular, it's from the "Professional Left" who seem to have nothing better to do than inflame the emotions of liberals and progressives who wanted to see a quick turnaround from the 8 dark years of the Bush presidency.

I'd make the analogy that the ship has been slow to turn, but Obama was taking shots from the left within the first 3 months of his presidency, and it has not let up. One of his most vocal critics is Hillary Clinton supporter Jane Hamsher. She and her FireDogLake site (along with brother-in-arms Glenn Greenwald) have been harping non-stop since he's been elected.
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80 comments (Latest Comment: 06/30/2011 07:01:52 by Scoopster)

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 06/28/2011 10:33:41

Good Morning.

Today is our 3,023rd day in Iraq, and our 3,551st 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): 4466
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4327
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3607
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 238
Since Operation New Dawn: 48

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,638
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 916
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,487
Journalists - Iraq : 348
Academics Killed - Iraq: 448

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 1, 213, 127, 150, 000 .00

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33 comments (Latest Comment: 06/28/2011 20:11:12 by trojanrabbit)

Wheeling and dealing
Author: Raine    Date: 06/27/2011 13:29:42

By now you know, New York became the 5th (6th if one includes Washington DC) and largest state to recognize marriage equality. As expected, the Clergy and conservative groups have expressed dismay and outrage. The Washington Times reports:
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is pledging $2 million to “make sure that New York Republicans understand that voting for gay marriage has consequences,” said Mr. Brown, adding that NOM will also push for a constitutional amendment to allow the people of New York to vote on marriage.
While such outrage was expected, both sides fail to see that Governor Andrew Cuomo actually expected this and dealt with it before the law was passed. This is the stuff that politics are made of. A few weeks ago, Cuomo had high level members of his administration meet with a few very very rich Republican donors:
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54 comments (Latest Comment: 06/28/2011 01:36:30 by Raine)

The Candidates, Part 7
Author: velveeta jones    Date: 2011-06-26 05:47:28

Tim Pawlenty is not your average GOP candidate for President; not that he doesn’t believe in balancing a budget by reducing taxes on the rich and corporations like every other Republican, rather, he is the only candidate that has not written a book about himself. *
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6 comments (Latest Comment: 06/26/2011 18:49:01 by Raine)

Macrohard Blows
Author: TriSec    Date: 06/25/2011 13:30:41

Morning, folks.

I've been having computer issues this morning...it's taken 20 minutes to reach this place so far. I'll keep skimming for something interesting, but in the meantime...the patio is open!
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6 comments (Latest Comment: 06/26/2011 01:46:34 by velveeta jones)

Unintended Consequences
Author: BobR    Date: 06/24/2011 12:28:17

The Law of Unintended Consequences:
"...[the purposeful] actions of people — and especially of government — always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended."
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics


It's happened to all of us. We do something to accomplish a task, and something else happens that throws us for a loop. How did we not plan for that? How did we not anticipate that? Part of the science and art of Engineering is designing with a "what if?" mentality. Even trying to anticipate doesn't always work.
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44 comments (Latest Comment: 06/24/2011 22:30:56 by Mondobubba)

On a Roll
Author: Raine    Date: 06/23/2011 13:04:59

Way back in May, we found out that Osama Bin Laden was no longer on the FBI most wanted list, very early this morning Scoopster informed us that the FBI finally captured 'Whitey' Bulger. I know the New England contingent of the blog will be happy with this news. Plus there is the added bonus that there are 2 more job opening on the most wanted list! I am waiting for Mitt Romney to take credit for this one. He did, after all, force his brother out as President of UMass...

Also in this mornings news is information that the person involved with last week's security scare at the Pentagon may have been involved with shootings in Chantilly Virginia and Quantico. It appears that a much more critical situation has been averted. This pleases the Virginia contingent of the blog. Law enforcement is doing its job. Much like the alleged Times Square (almost) Bomber, this is what provides national and local security: capturing those that would harm us before they succeed in doing so. This I like to see.
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35 comments (Latest Comment: 06/23/2011 21:19:59 by livingonli)

The Ball is in Our Court
Author: BobR    Date: 06/22/2011 12:33:23

When the U.S. Constitution was crafted, the architects of our democratic republic envisioned a 3-legged stool, one that would not wobble despite one leg being shorter or longer than the others. With three branches, there would be checks and balances, and the Supreme Court would be the final arbiter of law. When we speak of redress of grievances, the court is the petitioner's last best hope. It is not meant to be a partisan institution. Unfortunately, it can still be an ideological one, depending on its members.

Those ideologies often reflect of the president who appointed them. The current court has 5 judges appointed by Republicans and 4 by Democrats. As such, the court often rules in favor of conservative ideology, often to the benefit of business and to the detriment of the individual.
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54 comments (Latest Comment: 06/23/2011 06:00:18 by Scoopster)

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 06/21/2011 10:22:33

Good Morning.

Today is our 3,016th day in Iraq, and our 3,544th day in Afghanistan.

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

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4463
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4324
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3604
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 235
Since Operation New Dawn: 45

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,623
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 911
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,487
Journalists - Iraq : 348
Academics Killed - Iraq: 448

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

$ 1, 209, 877, 500, 000 .00

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44 comments (Latest Comment: 06/21/2011 23:58:28 by Raine)

Bachmann's Stretch (re)Marks
Author: Raine    Date: 06/20/2011 13:33:36

Over the weekend, CBS' Political HotSheet asks the question : Did Michele Bachmann "Raise" 23 Children?
After her speech at the Republican Leadership Conference, I asked GOP presidential candidate and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann about her repeated claims that she has "raised" 23 foster children, a comment she reiterated in an interview with CNN following her speech.

Writing in the Daily Beast this week, Michelle Goldberg quoted Kris Harvieux, who worked as a senior social worker in the foster care system in Bachmann's county, who said at least some of Bachmann's placements were likely short term.

"Some of them you have for a week. Some of them you have for three years, some you have for six months," he said. "She makes it sound like she got them at birth and raised them to adulthood, but that's not true." ---snip---

Asked to explain her situation with her foster children, Bachmann said "we took children in as teenagers."

"Their family was facing a challenge and they weren't going to be able to be at home with their parents and so we took them in as teenagers," she continued. "And our job was to see that they graduated from high school and were successfully launched into the world."

Asked how long they lived with her, she said "it varied."

I asked Bachmann to explain the parameters of how long the children lived with her - was it as short as one week? As long as three years?

"It varied, it really varied depending on the children," Bachmann responded. "And we've never gotten into specifics about the children because we've always wanted to observe their privacy and that of their families. As I'm sure you can appreciate."


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47 comments (Latest Comment: 06/21/2011 03:37:25 by livingonli)

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