Rex Kickass

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Nov 3, 2009 -> 12:01 AM) It just depends on your perspective. For example, Corzine is a billionaire who ran Goldman Sachs. By that definition, Democrats should hate the man, but since he's a liberal, they love him. So which story do you want to talk about? Same with George Soros. Same with... you get the point. There's so much hypocrisy on every level on both sides of the aisle. Outside of me, I don't think anybody loves Corzine. Including his girlfriend. But he liked my beard so He's also the best Governor NJ has seen in a generation. But that's a whole other conversation, and probably the reason why so few people like him.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 3, 2009 -> 12:03 AM) Wonderful. So the party of inclusion made him promise to fall into line. That is much better. He left the party. He isn't a Democrat. He asked the Democrats for help. If you were Harry Reid would you say, well we'll just ignore our nominee for nothing in exchange? Last time I checked electoral politics were never part of TARP.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 10:58 PM) He is bragging about there being room for people who think differently, while they condemn people who think differently. I think you're perhaps misunderstanding the frustration Democrats have with someone like Lieberman. Lieberman lost a primary to a more liberal Democrat in 2006. He made a deal with the Democratic leadership that he would caucus and be a team player on "everything but the war." He even went on record, during his election campaign of supporting universal health care. And he ran again in the General and won, because the Democratic party all but turned its back on their nominee in CT. Since that point, Lieberman has been more interested in kingmaking and grandstanding than he has been to staying true to his constituents and his own principles. He doesn't belong to the Democratic party, but maintains a chairmanship that he only has at the indulgence of the majority caucus. If he is going to consistently throw roadblocks to the caucus, and violate his promises to the Democratic party time and again - the very promise he made to stay in office - he should lose his gavel and get shoved right back to the back bench. There are plenty of moderate Democrats who are valued by the leadership of the party. Evan Bayh and Jon Tester for example. Jim Webb, Blanche Lincoln, Ben Nelson. Mark Prior, Mary Landrieu, Kent Conrad, Byron Dorgan, Tom Carper. And that's just in the Senate.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 07:59 PM) I wanted to punch Joe Biden for talking about room for moderates in the Democratic party after listening to Democrats wanting to banish Joe Liberman for being exactly like this woman in upstate NY. There's a big difference between a Specter and a Lieberman. Specter joined the party, Lieberman left the party.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 05:53 PM) First off, how about growing up and quit using the teabaggers name, and call them what they are. You appear lazy and juvinile when you resort to those tactics. And second, that district had already elected a condservative republican, so i have no idea why newt decided he neded to put a liberal in republican clothes in that spot to begin with. So she signed no tax pledge, etc, Hoffman is all that and more. What is the dealbreaker with Hoffman that you think he sholdn't be there? A pro life position? Dede has no business being a republican, in any way shape or form. I'll grow up when they do. You can keep expelling people like her out of the party for daring to disagree with you. That's fine. As a Democrat, I'm fine with it, because the more extreme your party gets, the less likely they'll ever see real power again.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 04:54 PM) Personally, having really enjoyed the original 7 that aired, I'm extremely pleased by this announcement. link NBC should have been smart and moved it over to USA. Since theres little difference between cable and on air programming anymore, why not take your drama productions that you've paid for and put it somewhere where it can succeed.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 05:14 PM) Sure, he had some moderates vote for him, but conservatism is what got him the speaker's position, not being a moderate. You are comparing a molehill with a mountain here. Having a majority got him the speaker's position, not being a conservative. And that meant having Republican representation in places like the Northeast. Maine, if I'm not mistaken, have the only two GOP Senate seats between Virginia and Canada. There's no mountain or molehill for me. As a Democrat, I personally enjoy the idea of a Republican party whose soul belongs to such electoral saviors as Rick Santorum and Sarah Palin. Newt Gingrich had it right. If I'm a member of the Republican minority, I get someone who can win - especially when she signed the no new tax pledge, has a perfect rating with the NRA, and says she'll vote against Obama's health care reform plan and vote against Pelosi for speaker. That's a pretty solid starting point. Squeezing these people out is what you do when you have a majority to protect, not when you have a gap to fill. But in the quest for being "righter," the teabaggers forced their own party to spend more the NRCC and RNC's cash to protect a seat that they would have won in a walk without Hoffman, who doesn't even live in the district. At best the GOP maintains a seat they already controlled. At worst, they made the gap to close next year even wider by squeezing out the last few moderates in the party.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 04:16 PM) The safety of other people is more important to me. Like I said, it is akin to the limits on freedom of speech. Ok then, what if the 15 year old is the daughter of Christian Scientists and she is diagnosed with cancer. The daughter wants chemo, the parents want to pray it out. Whose priority matters then? I think Balta raises a perfectly good point - if we expect to treat some juveniles as adults for crimes that they have committed, it seems entirely reasonable to treat children like adults for certain medical issues.

Newt Gingrich October 22, 2009 Ideological purity = permanent minority.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 03:17 PM) Crime is different than medical procedures. Putting a 15 year old on the streets at 18 who killed someone is different than a 15 year old not getting an abortion because she was afraid to tell her parents. I think public safety becomes more important at some point. Kinda like yelling fire in a crowded theater. So what you're saying is that 15 year olds should be treated as adults for what they do to other people's bodies but treated like children for what they do to their own?

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 03:04 PM) No matter how you want to spin this as a bad thing, NO candidate endorsed by the far left blogs and papers can be called a moderate anything. She was replacing Rep. John McHugh, and has a lifetime rating of 71 from the American Conservative Union. Not really a 'moderate', but not really radical either. All in all, a pretty good conservative Republican. HEr rating is so far off the charts the other way it isn't funny. As for trying to paint her as being a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, and specifically pointing out gat marraige as if that was the deciding factor here, you are wrong on that also. She supports the cap and trade, wihich isnt fiscally conservative at all. She also adamantly supports card check, which is so not moderate conservative that that alone should disqualify her. Although I can understand her support for that since her husband is a leading upstate union organizer. As a state assemblywoman, she voted for massive tax hikes, Democratic budgets and a $180 million state bank bailout. She also supported the trillion-dollar federal stimulus package -- which every House Republican voted against. In past elections has embraced the ballot line of the Working Families Party, which we all know is a front for ACORN. Now, tell me again how she was really a moderate Republican. If you're getting both the endorsement of the Working Families party and Newt Gingrich that makes you a moderate. Or has suddenly Newt become a RINO these days?

As long as the age of consent allows you to have consensual sex because you've reached a minimum age, you should be able to make choices on your own about medical treatments that result from sexual contact.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 10:11 AM) I heard 2/3 of her voters were R's and 1/3 were likely D's or I's. So the shift might not be as severe as one would think. And again anyone who votes for a person because of an endorsement from someone else needs to have their head examined. Except, like the Democratic party, the Republican rank and file does represent a much more diverse base of views than the current ideology that people like Hoffman represent in this race. My guess is what you'll see is the Dems and Independents shift from Scozzafava to Owens and you'll see many of the Republicans that were voting for Scozzafava to still vote for the now withdrawn candidate. I have the feeling, the only candidate to gain from this is Owens, and any votes that Hoffman will see from this will be minimal at best.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 10:29 AM) There wasn't a primary - so it's hard to "sell her out" because it's not a traditional way here. But c'mon Rexy - even you have to admit that this person is probably even further left then the Demy running in this race. Socially she actually was, fiscally - not so much. But being a fiscal conservative and a social liberal (especially in respect to things like gay marriage) puts her a lot closer to John Galt status than many of the teabaggers that venerate Ayn Rand these days. If I were her, I'd be pissed - but she literally fell on her sword for the party, and I'm guessing that she might not have made an endorsement had Hoffman's reaction been a bit more gracious. Instead, this is what he says. Scozzafava literally ceded the floor to him, all but ensuring the Republicans hold this seat in what is one of the few GOP districts left in the northeast. And he couldn't even say thanks. Owens did, though. Scozzafava was chosen to run under the GOP banner because the GOP bosses in her district thought she was most likely to win. She is the definition of a moderate, endorsed by the Working Families party and by Newt Gingrich. And until yesterday, the largest newspaper in the district. (Like Scozzafava, they moved their endorsement to the Democrat over the weekend.) About two thirds of her voters will probably defect to Owens tomorrow, most pundits think. If that's true, the Republicans just lost another safe seat for the sake of ideological purity, and they did it in a spectacular fashion.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 12:34 AM) So unless Mad Men totally screws up the season finale, this has been one of the best seasons of television I have watched. The JFK stuff tonight was great, and next week looks be full of fireworks. The complete 180 that both Don and Betty's characters have taken in the last two weeks is nothing short of stunning. It's like Betty's finding herself finally and Don's losing himself.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Nov 1, 2009 -> 04:05 PM) Some republican. She is now urging her supporters to vote Democrat! http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article...9918/-1/OPINION Given how her party sold her out after she got the nod, I wouldn't blame her. Hoffman doesn't even live in the district, refers to local issues as parochial ones, and even after she dropped out, was trashed by Hoffman in the reaction press release.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 06:35 PM) I There is one way to see the photo op, in my opinion. There are a lot of people who think that the people in power don't care about the human consequences that come of our military engaging in hostile actions. That photo and that act does a lot to silence people who think he doesn't care about the human toll put into place. He does, just like I'm sure every one of our previous modern presidents did. And I don't think the photo was taken to say anything other than the President respects those who made sacrifices. I don't think that its a bad thing at all to show respect. Ever.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 05:40 PM) If anything it created a very small and temporary sugar high. The basics of the economy are still messed up. The stimulus spending wasn't worth it IMO, didn't get real results. The stimulus spending isn't close to halfway done yet.

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 09:07 AM) You are missing the point. If you were Senator, who will you get campaign money from, people you agree with, or people you disagree with? To turn around later and say they are voting a certain way because of the contribution is unfair. Exactly, but on the other side of the same coin - you can also look at how a Senator's positions change based on special interest money or the thought of special interest. Chris Dodd has been a strong supporter of a public option health insurance reform bill. He received a huge amount of money from insurance companies over his career. Fellow CT Senator Joe Lieberman argued for a public option and universal health care in his reelection campaign of 2006. Now that he's reelected, but no longer affiliated with the Democratic party, he has to find new ways to raise money to protect his seat in 2012. You can, at this point, be pretty sure that the Democrats aren't going to funnel money into his campaign like they did before - as they'll be able to bring in their own candidate who'd be less of a headache. So with Dodd supporting a public option, this gives Lieberman ample opportunity to "take a stand" for the sake of a secure line of corporate fundraising. By threatening to Filibuster, when fundraising comes around, it becomes logical that Joementum becomes Sen Lieberman (I-Aetna)

That King Crimson track just kills it! Love that whole album, have it on vinyl somewhere. Electric Six - Down at Mcdonellzzzzz Grizzly Bear - White You Wait for the Others Gorillaz - November Has Come Local H - Michelle (Again) Sparklehorse - Don't Take My Sunshine Away Moby - Living Deee-Lite - Runaway Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own Lady Sovereign vs. Danny Elfman - Love or Hate Halloween Beach Boys - I'm The Pied Piper

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 09:26 AM) I gotta say, I have never heard of an exchange like that here in Indiana. That's more reserved for Congress these days anyway.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 01:30 PM) John McLame says hi. When did he vote against cloture for a tax cut bill? Voting no on a bill and voting no on a vote to vote are two different things.

That's amazing.

There's this kind of amazing Miley Cyrus/Notorious BIG mash up lying around on the internets.

I don't want to go to work Wednesday 10 La Roux - Bulletproof Peter Bjorn and John - Nothing to Worry About Bettie Serveert - Hell Is Other People Parry Gripp - Blue Light Special James Brown - Get Up Offa That Thing Cut Chemist - What's the Altitude Yoko Ono - Silver Horse Sublime - Ebin Tricky - Lyrics of Fury Dragonette - I Get Around