Balta1701

"Ok everyone put down your cell phones, Ivana Tinkle!"

You guys'll love this one.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 5, 2009 -> 09:50 AM) Its always a continuum. I agree that particular case, that was a huge olive branch, and the GOP decided to ignore it. Not very bright really, since basically this means they'll use the parliamentary trick and pass it anyway WITHOUT the comprimise. I was talking about his adminsitration thus far anyway, not just that instance. I can make the same point on a number of other topics though. The stimulus package, for example. Obama weakened the thing significantly to try to get Republican votes. Cut back $100 billion out of it, included the AMT reform that would have been done anyway, made something like 50% of it tax cuts, included originally $20 billion in republican-loved business tax cuts. Out of that, he got 0 votes. Basically, the Republicans objected to the concept of a stimulus package that involved any spending at all, despite getting something like 40-50% of the bill written as tax cuts. He watered down the bill significantly to get 0 votes, and then the same people who voted against it went back to their districts and bragged about all the wonderful new spending they'd brought home. What more can you do to compromise in that case, where the other side is so far away that they're not willing to accept things that they want?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 5, 2009 -> 09:34 AM) Obama hasn't done great at the bi-partisanship. But I think its pretty obvious the Republicans, to their own detriment, are far more stubborn right now that the administration is. They are so bull-headed that their party is continuing to become a regional player at best. Here's my admittedly partisan lens response...what more can you do to be bipartisan than put a sacred cow that supposedly benefits one of your party's interest groups on the table as something you're willing to negotiate? How do you be more bi-partisan than that?

Roubini and Richardson have a stress-test related op-ed in the WSJ this morning. I'll excerpt a good portion of the interesting bits.

If true, this is a fascinating anecdote looking at how the 2 parties are working right now.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ May 5, 2009 -> 09:20 AM) yeah, cause AC/DC is much better than Tesla Not over long distances.

The unofficial, formerly official people in the party, and some of the unions, are openly applying primary pressure threats to Specter. I think the message there is starting to become pretty clear, he's in trouble on this side if he doesn't do something to make the Unions happy.

By the way...watching the Lakers struggle against a solid defense last night was quite enjoyable, esp. at the end.

Find your groove today gavy.

God I hate starting off here and seeing threads like this.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 5, 2009 -> 07:17 AM) So how many coaches will dwindle Ty's playing time before we start to realize that Ty just isn't going to realize his potential? I posted this a page ago and I'll post it again in reply. It's not just him not playing to his potential, it's the fact that taking him out so predictably makes the Bulls a worse team.

QUOTE (G&T @ May 5, 2009 -> 08:39 AM) I think it was an April fool's joke. This, however, is not.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 5, 2009 -> 07:41 AM) Who needs alternating current! So you ARE Thomas Edison.

At least Nix got another hit.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 4, 2009 -> 05:26 PM) I heard this on MSNBC today and then got to thinking... Hello Mr SecTreas., you know, the guy out of the New York Fed bank... Why hasn't he been mentioned in any of this, because this is who GS was dealing with. At least he made wall street happy. That's all that's really important in the end, you know?

If that winds up being it for Richard for the night, his ERA has dropped from 6 to 4.80 in 3 innings.

So far since switching, Specter has opposed one of Obama's appointees and supported a filibuster attempt, voted against Obama's budget, indicated he's against the President's health care reform, and basically shown no indications that he means anything substantial in terms of his party switch other than he wants to stay in the Senate. Joe Sestak,Democratic Congressman from PA and retired navy Admiral, is making noises about a primary challenge of Specter from the left if Specter doesn't change. It's plausible that it could be a really rough primary for him here too; Specter could have the President on his side and the national Dems, but the Unions are going to demand Specter's support on things like the health care vote and some form of a pro-union EFCA-type bill...and they may well jump on the Sestak bandwagon if they don't get something out of him. Sestak also has a $3 million war chest currently sitting there, so he's well set early to make a run. Let's keep in mind...Specter has really high polling numbers among Democrats right now (something like an 80% approval rating). But if he goes in to a harshly contested Democratic primary...the people he's asking for votes are the same people who have been voting against him and trying like Hell to beat him for 20+ years. Also worth noting was a Quinnipac poll today showing Specter with a big lead on Toomey in the General, but only hanging around 53%, risky territory for an incumbent. They also polled Specter against former PA Gov. and Bush's first DHS head Tom Ridge, and Specter there is only leading 46-43, which means Ridge has a legit shot at beating him if he gets in.

WSJ. You know, there have been a lot of times in the past couple years I've just wished I was this corrupt.

Seriously, Pods has 2 hits today?

Sweet, we got a hit while i was gone.

QUOTE (Jimmywins1 @ May 4, 2009 -> 02:57 PM) I like how they list BA as a pitcher. There was another Brian Anderson who actually was a pitcher who is now a coach for the D-Rays. (I always run in to his stats when I'm googling for our Anderson) It could be that they got which Anderson they're talking about wrong instead of which position they got wrong.

QUOTE (JustWin @ May 4, 2009 -> 06:00 AM) The Cubs are playing just well enough to keep close to St. Louis and if they start clicking like they can, they can take off and not look back. Remember in 2007 they started off badly and then around June 1st they got hot and remained hot the rest of the year. Let's not forget that St. Louis is liable to get Carpenter back again. This evens the 2 pitching staffs up a lot more.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 4, 2009 -> 12:35 PM) I also think, atleast 1-4, the Sox rotation is better than the Tigers right now. The problem is the lineup. I'm not a huge fan of the Tigers lineup, but the Sox lineup is just awful right now, and if these injuries don't stop, it's going to be bad for a while. I think the Sox lineup, when healthy, is probably the best in the division. The problem is that it hasn't been healthy, and, as has been mentioned on here before, there is absolutely 0 depth within the system. I'm not counting on anyone in AAA to help the lineup this season. These injuries, aside from Thome, are so freaky though...it's people getting plunked, or young guys randomly pulling a muscle, not the sort of things you'd expect to be recurring, long-term things. People get hurt in spurts sometime, it's freaky, we're in one now.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ May 4, 2009 -> 02:25 PM) Gio Gonzalez's stint in the majors this season lasted all of 2 days. 5 H, 4 BB, 1 K and 3 ER in 5 innings of work in the 15 inning marathon in Seattle earned him a ticket back to AAA. His career MLB ERA now stands at 7.38 in 39 IP. He's still only 23 years old and it'll probably click for him someday but it's been a rough start to his big league career. You know who can fix him?