How Quickly Forgotten

Sigh....

Posted by Fe Bongolan at November 15, 2006 12:18 PM

Sigh....

What else could possibly be uttered that wouldn't unleash a 30 page rant about the inane stupidity of Lamestream Media or the neoCons...?

A day or two after Nov. 7 everyone was wondering what Pelosi would be called (Madame Speaker was thought logical). Then I heard the term 'speaker-in-waiting' a day or two after that... and ??? I couldn't remember ever hearing a male who would be future speaker of the house referred to as a 'speaker-in-waiting.'

To say "speaker-in-waiting" *sounds like* someone is harkening back to the office of "lady-in-waiting" - which is kind of a slap in the face, since a 'lady-in-waiting' is obviously not a ruler, like a queen or a princess, even if some sort of peerage or title is required to hold the position of 'lady-in-waiting.'

Anyone else with a better memory ever hear a male speaker-to-be referred to as a 'speaker-in-waiting' at some point in the past? I think I once heard the term 'speaker-elect,' but if I did, it was a very long time ago. I've been racking my brain for at least two days about this, and just can't remember.

Memo to the neoCons: You elected Trent Lott... Have you lost your minds?!?

Added Memo to neoCons:

That was a rhetorical question.

You all lost your minds with the SCOTUS decision in Y2K, and everyone but the kool-aiders knows it.

Bush is escorted from Air Force One, wearing his annoying smirk, by Russia President Vladimir Putin after arriving in Moscow on Wednesday.

Monkey:

How about "white supremacist Trent Lott found sporting a Confederate Flag handkerchief accenting the pinstripes of his Harrod's suit".?

I hope the news will stop the gender biased terms in the future when Speaker Pelosi cracks her whip....

It is wonderful to see her dressed so sharp. She has a very fine distinguished presence that might appeal to conservative women who put alot of emphasis on appearances. She also is strong and will crack her whip when necessary. As encouragement, it might not be all bad that she gets a few airfluff remarks about her appearance. How many of us have wanted to see a woman of her caliber in a position of real power in this country?

There are still biases, but....."We've come a long way, baby!"

Might send a message to the right that a woman can be beautiful, well put together, AND powerful
(and be free enough to live that way too)! How many suppressed right wing housewives will admire her and envy her?

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at November 15, 2006 02:08 PM

Answer: Zero, because their oppressive, homophobic husbands won't allow it.

Crack that Whip

Yes - women dress better and with more variety. Men wear a drab uniform. The media is sexist but even men can break away and show some individuality. Politics is about the last place they ever do so. Not surprised by the fashion report. It goes with the ratio of men to women in power & isn't that far off from what we see in the most patriarchally-based countries. India, Pakistan, Philipines and many others have had female heads of state. We have not had a female President and it's still common for people to say we just aren't ready for it.

What can the Republicans be thinking, selecting Trent Lott again?! They don't learn.

This is good to see:

Jason Leopold | Rare Bipartisan Support to Keep Iraq Watchdog Agency Alive
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111506J.shtml
Jason Leopold reports that the Senate voted Tuesday in favor of keeping open a federal agency that monitored taxpayer-funded reconstruction efforts in Iraq, a month after the Republican majority in both houses of Congress quietly passed legislation signed into law by President Bush to close down the agency.

Reid Pledges to Press Bush on Iraq Policy
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111506K.shtml
Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who was elected Senate Majority Leader yesterday, said last night that President Bush still has not grasped the urgent need to change course in Iraq. Reid vowed to press quickly for phased troop withdrawals, a more international approach to Iraq's problems, and a rebuilding of the depleted US military.

I like the way Patty Murray can rock jeans and sneakers. Former preschool teacher, high powered Senator and when sitting with a bunch of women governors and Senators, she may wear a purple pantsuit, low shoes. "The mom in tennis shoes" - and Boeing trembles.

Team players dress alike. Leaders have an edge.
I'm testing it out. I wore blue cowboy boots with red tulips on them to work today, with a flowered skirt and a shirt with Chinese fish on it, then a black sweater with studs on it.

DiAnne:

Yikes.

clothes make the (wo)man,
Otter

I think the news is extremely sexist.
Notice a story about a person.
If it is a man, there is little if any discussion about age, dress, cologne, hairstyle, etc.
If it is a woman, the media tells us everything but the bra size.
I find this very disgusting.
Who really cares what the 3rd most powerful woman in the US is wearing; and who made it?
It demeans her and the press.
I remember there was more talk about a change in Hillary's hair do then there was about legislative activity Bubba was working on.

I think the only way we end trivial pursuit is deluge the news sources with complaints until they stop.

An unintended consequence is news columns generally are allotted a fixed length to fit a time slice on the air or a newspaper page. The more space devoted to nonsense, the less space for a real information exchange.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/11/15/pelosis_bad_options.php

Pelosi's Bad Options

For good reasons, progressives are split on whether House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi’s endorsement of Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., as the next House majority leader is brilliant or bone-headed. Many activists who are sitting on the sidelines and concluding it makes no difference whether Murtha or the current House minority whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., gets the job are probably right. Both of them bring strong negatives to the job, and progressives will have to keep a firm hold on either of them if the Democratic Party is to be the party of common-good politics rather than a pale reflection of Republican conservative cronyism.

Still, Pelosi’s endorsement of Murtha is especially disturbing to people who believe that the majority leader must represent more than a courageous voice on a single issue, no matter how important. In many ways Murtha, in Congress since 1969, represents—proudly—the old ways Congress has done business that were rejected by disgusted voters earlier this month. As leading Democrat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee, he was unabashed in his embrace of the horse-trading of legislative favors endemic in that committee: ''You just need to get the things done, so you give them the votes to get the things done,'' he said in an October interview in The New York Times. ''There is no question that some projects come out of it for our members, and that is not a bad thing.'' He added, ''Deal making is what Congress is all about.''

{More on link...}

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/11/15/democrats_dont_wimp_out.php

Democrats, Don't Wimp Out

All over Washington, the sage barons of the establishment media are warning Democrats not to get cocky. Don’t move too fast, they say. Don’t push a bunch of wacky, left-wing ideas. Seek compromise, give ground, hew to the center, for only there lies the greatest prize of all: the praise of David Broder and Joe Klein, the nodding approval of the Washington Post editorial page, the admiration the Beltway cognoscenti reserve for those who know their place and know whose rings they should be kissing.

Bull. What Democrats need to do is spend the next two years crushing their opponents like bugs. It’s not about mercy, it’s not about manners, it’s about three fundamental goals: limiting the damage the Bush administration can do, passing whatever legislation they can in the short term to help the American public and laying the foundation for future progressive victories.

Democrats finally have the upper hand, and now’s the time to use it. Here are a few things they can do to get started.

{Click on link for more.... #3 on the list is particularly good! :-) Zing-g-g-g-g!}

Chris Floyd | Blair's Post-Election Panic Attack
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111506A.shtml
Truthout's UK Correspondent Chris Floyd writes that in a season already notable for the official demonization of British Muslims, the new assault twisted the screws even tighter. It is obvious that Blair has been badly stung by his American partner's rejection at the polls, which makes his own fanatical devotion to Bush and the bloodsoaked folly in Iraq look even more absurd. His frenzied waving of the terror flag is, in part, Blair's panicked response to the political diminishment of the Washington regime that has been a mainstay of his own power.

Excerpt (more on link):

That power is now at its lowest ebb. His party is politically bankrupt, with its worst poll numbers in more than 20 years - largely due to the cynicism, distrust and revulsion bred by the Iraq War. Blair himself is now under criminal investigation for allegedly selling peerages in exchange for campaign donations and huge private loans to Labour which party leaders then hid from auditors. He is to be questioned "under caution" - i.e., as a target of the probe - by police in the coming weeks.

And yet another corruption investigation is now cranking up, the Times reports, centering on Blair's personal intervention in the sale of a $50 million military air traffic control system to debt-wracked Tanzania - which has a grand total of eight military airplanes. Despite objections from the World Bank that Tanzania could have obtained a civilian system for a tenth of that price, Blair overruled his own cabinet, which had also rejected the deal, and forced it through on behalf of BAE Systems, the UK defense contractor and Carlyle Group partner. Another beneficiary was one of the UK's most powerful banks, Barclays, which loaned Tanzania the money for the deal. The African nation repaid this debt with foreign aid money that Blair's government had given it - ostensibly to support public education - while BAE allegedly slipped big-time baksheesh to Tanzanian officials to clinch the deal. In the end, Blair essentially served as a bagman for a bribe-greased transfer of public money to Barclays and BAE.

Thus mired in corruption, deeply unpopular, inextricably linked to a war every bit as pointless and destructive as the one commemorated on Armistice Day, what other course is left for the lame-duck Labour government but to turn once again to terror to justify its continued stranglehold on power and the increasingly intrusive police state it is constructing as Blair's legacy?

{{{Blair's doing to merrie olde England what Bu$h has done here. Blair's playing the fear and terror card, along with more restrictive laws....}}}

Perspective is always worth having, not to mention worth working to acquire... and having it and keeping it does take a lot of work sometimes.

I have bookmarked this site to my top-level news feeds list, and I encourage y'all to do the same:

http://english.aljazeera.net/News

but they didn't say anything about britney and k-fed dammit,
Otter

I agree with Pelosi's choice on Murtha.
He has a lot of negatives including beating the rap on ABSCAM.
But he was leading the charge to get us out of Iraq and to me, that trumps all.
Let's face it, Iraq is going to be a problem that lasts the remaining two years of Dumbya's reign.
The job of the majority leader is to keep the troops moving in the same way.
But he is gone if he screws up with any hint of a lack of ethical standards.
The house needs to pass a strong ethics bill that hammers anyone who violates.
I hope Pelosi and Murtha have a heart-heart discussion about this.

The Repubs gave us a break by giving their slot to Trent Lott. Nothing like a little racism to keep Repubs in line.

Posted by: battlebob at November 15, 2006 04:46 PM

Hey, rumor has it George Allen is available to be Trent Lotts official spokesman.

Regressives.... sheesh.

NonnyO,
A great article. We have been boycotting FOX since early 2004. We all need to keep sending FOX emails on this and why.

The smart tactic is to methodically investigate the many wrongs performed by Repugs.
If the investigations lead to the WH then great. If we can body slam BushInc then go for it. However, do it as part of solving problems and investigating failures. We need to keep focus on the many wrong doings in the last six years.

There are a lot of low-hanging fruit issues such as minimum wage, ethics, war profiteering, 911 commission recommendations that are slam-dunk issues that Bush doesn’t like. Investigate why no body armor when the supplier companies had idle capacity! Put the investigation into how many died because they were not properly protected.

There is lots of testimony from former CIA types that Tenat was given information two days before Bush’s ‘yellowcake’ speech that states Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 or al Queda and had no WMDs. So where did Bush get this information from? Did Tenat tell him there were links? In not Tenat then who? Did Bush lie about it – which a lot of folks believe. Bring Tenat in and grill him. If Bush lied then it is a slam-dunk impeachment issue. Do not pass go; do not collect $200.

There is going to be some kind of an end point in Iraq that will be at least two more years out. We can suggest, but this is still Bush’s war. We need to end the carnage but all troubles go back to him. We can come up with plans but Bush is free to do what he wants. We can keep pounding him relentlessly on this.

After we have a few victories and the public trusts us then we have to deal with Social Security and Medicare. Bush’s tactic is to propose a plan he knows will fail and force Dems to come up with their own plan. They better have one that does not resemble privatization.
A possible process is to bring representatives together of varying philosophies and let them haggle it out.
For instance, the CATO Institute leads the charge for privatization. Economist Paul Krugman leads the change the funding priorities camp. Both ideas have merit and should be fully discussed. There may be other variants out there. We need to eventually walk through this minefield.

I like the attack Conservatisim idea.
This is straight out of Lakoff.
If we don't attack Conservatism then we will end up facing smarter conservatives.

Yes. This is us fighting The War On Conservatism. Conservatism hates us for our freedoms. And we have to attack Conservatism over there so that the Conservatists do not attack us over here.

and we will not falter and we will not fail,
Otter

We will fight them on the beaches.
We will fight them on the roads.
We will fight them in the bars.
We will never give up.
We will never give in.
History will call this our finest hour.
Never will so much be owed to so few by so many.
because never will so much damage be done by so few on so many.

Dave Matthews knows.

---------------

Everybody wake up
If you're living with your eyes closed
See the man with a bomb in his hand
Everybody wake up

Oh baby it's not easy sometimes
They build these walls ever higher and hide behind them
Seems an odd way to try and make things right
Oh I feel like I go crazy sometimes

Our finest hour arrives
See the pig dressed in his finest fine
The believers stand behind him and smile
As the day lights up with fire

Everybody wake up
If you're living with your eyes closed
See the man with a bomb in his hand
Everybody wake up

I remember the words of the misguided fool
Do unto others as you'd have them do
Not an eye for an eye is the golden rule
Just leaves a room full of blind men

And the finest hour arrives
See the pig dressed in his finest fine
Don't believe him leave and stand behind him and smile
As the day lights up with fire

Everybody wake up

---------------

there's a man with a pig over there telling me I got to beware,
Otter

To say "speaker-in-waiting" *sounds like* someone is harkening back to the office of "lady-in-waiting"

Posted by: NonnyO at November 15, 2006 01:03 PM

Yes Nonny - and we all know that the Lady-in-Waiting never got to be the Lady. She always got to wait-upon the Lady. I'm sure that Nancy Pelosi has the stamina to ignore all character names and assassinations.

"Pelosi Unites Warring Factions of Dem Party While Smartly Wearing Donna Karan 3-Piece Ensemble"

You get the idea.

Sigh....

Posted by Fe Bongolan at November 15, 2006 12:18 PM

Yes Fe. Sure do. I don't remember getting a dress description of the newly non-elected-but-self-and-court-appointed president. While dress may be important - how ridiculous to assume Nancy Pelosi would dress any other way than impeccably. The dress description tells us that Nancy is there purely as the doll atop the cake.

Swift-Boat Revenge
How one New Yorker beat Republicans at the attack-ad game.
I am sure glad he is on our side.

http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/24104/

[snip]
“You have to get them in their own backyards and on their own issues,” says Soltz, who was trained as a military logician. “You’ll find a lot of Americans against the war, but not many Americans are against the troops.” He also had to compete against Vets for Freedom, a group with links to the same GOP consultants who floated the Swifties. Soltz says he made it a priority to strike first.

So when she ends up stepping on their faces, they will make comments about her nice shoes.

A little more from Oz. I'm sorry to harp on about David Hicks in Guantanamo so often. No I'm not. I will try to get help for him anywhere and any time I can. I am so glad that your Major Mori is representing David. Like Jesselyn Radack, his career is probably over when David is finally killed in custody. Michael Mori has travelled the world to raise awareness of this tragedy being perpetrated in your name. David and Michael could certainly use help and support from Americans too.

Thursday, 16 November 2006
The latest update from Major Mori

David is still being held in solitary confinement and is not doing well. He spends 23 hours a day in a cement cell at Camp 5 in Guantanamo. Sometimes it's 24 hours a day. He's been in isolation since March this year.

I try to keep David i... Read more

http://www.getup.org.au/blog_details.asp?blog_post_id=106

Posted by Major Michael Mori, US military defence lawyer for David Hicks at 1:37:07 AM

So when she ends up stepping on their faces, they will make comments about her nice shoes.

Posted by: battlebob at November 15, 2006 10:10 PM

b-bob:

well put.

The dress description tells us that Nancy is there purely as the doll atop the cake.

Posted by: woz at November 15, 2006 10:07 PM

woz:

The news still needs to catch up to reality here in the States.

One can pray.

I sense Mrs. Pelosi will more than provide a mew role model for them to ponder, but not without a very rough transition.

Yes, Fe - here's hoping.

I'm just watching the utter disaster of America's post war construction in Iraq. Raw sewage seeping through each floor, collecting more as it drips upon the people beneath. Schools, Apartment buildings, hospitals. It doesn't matter. The UK have already shot a documentary on this situation.

Problems were exposed years ago. How quickly forgotten they were whilst Bush and whatshisname (how quickly forgotten) were telling us that we weren't seeing the good that was done.

Money. It always comes down To Money. To Greed. To Power. We must not forget.

It's kind of lonely on the dcp when everyone else is sleeping. I come online and read the end of the last thread and try not to make comments there, because there is a new thread. Sometimes I do comment there for my own benefit.

And then I move on to the new thread and, in keeping with all kinds of politics, I try and make whatever I want to say, fit. If our moronic leaders can do that with only two or three phrases, surely I can. So, if you think I'm way off track - I'm not. Not really. When I post, I'm convinced that it's completely relevant. All things relate in politics.

All the things I've been saying - summed up in one little pic.

George Bush shares an intimate moment with John Howard at the APEC meeting in July 2004.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feastoffools/140061280/

Woz,
Saw this on CSPAN. I understand mandatory voting is the law in Australia. If you don't vote a small fine is paid. You can get out of voting by writing a letter.
I understand your election process is more mature then ours because folks really pay attention and follow the issues. The smear fests don't happen.
How is it working out?

Saying farwell to fascism

http://metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=9862
The last paragraph...priceless
[swip]
And our lingering, enduring memory of the worst president in our nation's history may turn out to be of the only time he was ever seen reading a book. It was that moment in the classroom in Florida, on Sept. 11. There he sat, blank look on his face, clutching his copy of My Pet Goat.

Oh no, woz. No explanations necessary. And feel to write as long and as many posts as you feel the urge to. It's always good reading anything you have to say to us here. Your comments are a lot more relevant and on-track than some of, say, yr hmbl otr crspndnt's are...

hey look a butterfly!,
Otter

We are in serious serious trouble.

"The Department of Homeland Security proposed new rules back in July that would fundamentally undermine the right of American citizens to travel abroad. Public carriers–airlines, cruise lines, even fishing boats–will be required to submit the names of all passengers to Homeland Security prior to departure and to obtain permission from Homeland Security to board those passengers. These new rules will take effect January 14, 2007. "

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_ezekiel_061104_homeland_security_ti.htm

yes, battlebob - voting is compulsory for over 18 year olds in Australia. And yes, most people do pay attention during campaigns. Last time Howard's lot did the phone call badgering that they learned from US campaigns. But Howard's biggest success were the $2000 one off payments to families. These bribes were made to traditional ALP voters.

He'll do it again next time but I doubt that the bribes will work a 2nd time. The lower paid workers discovered that apart from the $2000 their lives went from bad to worse as wages improved for the wealthy and tax cuts were given to the wealthy, while their incomes decreased and they remained well below the poverty level.

New Industrial Relations laws implemented by the Howard Government have protected the wealthiest of corporations and other employers whilst eroding the conditions of their employees. Surely no one will swallow the bribes again.

Um, yup.

There was some MSM news coverage of the new DHS regulations affecting Americans that travel abroad back in July and early August, but it got kinda lost in the pre-election noise level and what coverage there was at the time seemed to be more concerned with the cruise & travel industries' efforts to postpone enforcement of same so's not to negatively impact their bottom lines any sooner than absolutely necessary.

Where I live there is a goodly amount of cross-border traffic with our neighbor to the north that is quite specifically international-commerce oriented -- there are constant busloads of Canadians coming down here to shop til they drop so they can take advantage of our unusually low taxes on certain classes of commonly-needed consumer goods, and for that matter large numbers of Ohioans and New Yorkers deluge our local shopping centers for the same reasons -- so as you can imagine there was also a flurry of local coverage about those & the other related DHS regulation changes as well.

Canada is rarely viewed as any kind of serious border-protection problem for the US -- although given their own quite porous international borders and their historically non-effective control of organized crime and other anti-social elements with international ties, this really should get more attention than it currently does.

blame Canada,
Otter

You know Otter,

I always imagined 'The Roundup' of dissenters, would start just exactly like that.

Impeach the bastard and Oh God please hurry up already!!!

Gee thanks otter - it's great to read and contribute here. No wonder I have a hard time getting up in the mornings though.

About the compulsory voting here - those who really object can either go along and deface the ballot paper and leave, or they can write a letter to say that they don't believe in compulsory voting. I'm grateful that I have the chance to vote so it really doesn't bother me.

There's a growing interest here in Common Law. As we become more and more regulated - like the border control and travel issues, people are learning about our Constitution and the application of Common Law.

It's been tested in the courts on many occasions - mostly dealing with traffic infringements. My friend's speeding fine was wiped before she'd opened her mouth - she did submit a truckload of documents for the magistrate to read.

From the Otterworld You Can't Tell The Players Without A Scorecard Department, this link to an AP article with brief bios of all the key Senate committee chairpersons in the current new world order:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061116/D8LDRP2O0.html

a woman's place is in the house -- and the senate,
Otter

Here I thought home is where you hang your chad.

And call me crazy, but imho Trent Lott's political resurrection has positive implications for a certain senator from Massachusett's possible second run for the presidency in 2008, too...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/16/us/politics/16lott.html

decisions are made by those who show up,
Otter

This is the internets, monkey. Home is where you hang your @.

so get with the programming already,
Otter

Just for the record, I usually like around 30 minutes of fortran before I get down to serious programming.

BTW, Nice ascii.

And elsewhere on the internets CBS' Dick Meyer postulates, not without good reason, that the recently discredited cabal of neocon Reposeurs are, well, basically a bunch of whack jobs:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/15/opinion/meyer/main2182755.shtml

of course they're weirdos look what they do for a living,
Otter

Posted by: Otter at November 16, 2006 09:20 AM

Indeed, only crazy people would throw gasoline on a smoldering fire, and that's what these nutjobs have done in the Middle East, and the consequences of that stupidity alone will be visited upon Americans, and the world, for several generations to come.

Having somehow allowed it to happen under its very nose will be this nations cross to bear forever.

Posted by: monkey at November 16, 2006 09:20 AM
Whatever you do, don't let anyone catch you logging off.

Watch out you might get what you're after
Cool baby strange but not a stranger
I'm an ordinary guy
Burning down the House

Hold tight wait 'til the party's over
Hold tight we're in for nasty weather
There has got to be a way
Burning down the House

Here's your ticket pack your bag
Time for jumping overboard
Transportation is here
Close enough but not too far
Baby you know where you are
Fighting fire with fire

All wet hey you might need a raincoat
Shakedown thieves walking in broad daylight
Three hundred sixty five degrees
Burning down the House

It was once upon a place
Sometimes I listen to myself
Gonna come in first place
People on their way to work say
Baby what did you expect
Gonna burst into flame
Go ahead

My House is out of the ordinary
That's right don't want to hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet
Burning down the House

No visible means of support
And you have not seen nothing yet
Everything's stuck together
I don't know what you expect
Staring into the TV set
Fighting fire with fire

Burning down the House
Burning down the House
Burning down the House

talking heads are better than no heads at all,
Otter

Hey! Another county heard from!

come back marianne we miss you,
Otter

This could be a good story about Clear Channel being bought out by Univision owner, Thoms H. Lee. Curious if others have any thoughts about this.

"The nation’s largest network of radio stations, Clear Channel Communications, agreed Thursday morning to be bought for $18.7 billion, in a deal that may test private equity’s seemingly insatiable appetite for media properties. A consortium that includes Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital won the bidding with a $37.60-a-share offer, beating out a rival consortium of Providence Equity Partners, the Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company."

Bubba
I heard on NPR business report that since the stock market is up, people are buying and selling corporations ("flipping" them) just like they were doing with houses. Then they take profits off the top instead of putting them into the business.

The other latest example was Hertz Rent-A-Car.
They had gotten advice from the Carlyle Group, I happened to notice. We know who is in the Carlyle Group, such as Bush's dad and neocontypes. (See Greg Palast "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy")

DiAnne: I belive that Clear Channel owns some right wing radio talk stations and may even have an interest in the infamous Sinclair Broadcast Co. My curiosity is not whether people are making money from this buyout, although, Clear Channel stock has actually been in the dump, but whether there will be any political change with a change in ownership. Has NPR or others deal with that aspect of the buyout?

"Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) was elected House majority leader this morning, defeating Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi's candidate, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.)."

"Hoyer won the No. 2 leadership job easily -- 149 to 86. But the showdown divided the Democrat House caucus only a week after its party won a majority of seats in the Congress that begins meeting in January, and prompted numerous complaints that Pelosi and her allies used strong-arm tactics and threats to try to elect Murtha to the job."

washington post 12:35 pm

Bubba:

I think we need to counterbalance the meme the WaPo put out about divided Democrats by reminding everyone that yesterday, the Senate Minority has re-instated (albeit not as high as Senate Majority Leader) Trent "I-Wish-We-Were-Still-Whistling-Dixie" Lott to a position of power amongst Senate Republicans.

Fe: this is a time that the public will look for leadership from Dems, what we stand for and what we will do to make Americans' lives better. The election is over, campaigning AGAINST LOTT, while interesting is not what the public wants(that is my view), but a POSITIVE message, what we are going to do now that the voters have chosen Dems. Its no time to dwell upon Lott and his macaca moment. That was a good strategy when we were in the minority b/c that was the only way we could get the press to pay attention to Dems, no more.
As for the Hoyer win, the media will dwell on this story, but if anything it should show that Pelosi is not a DeLay like leader, and lets moveon to start dealing with the issues that voters demanded last Tuesday.

Posted by: Bubba at November 16, 2006 12:31 PM

Posted by: Fe at November 16, 2006 12:35 PM

Divided?

Oh bah hum bah!

We had an election.

Geez...

Next thing they're going to say is that Murtha and Hoyer are having a duel at 6 am in the Mall January 6, 2007.

bubba:

I meant that post as a way to highlight how the media will use EVERY MOVE that Pelosi and the Dem Leadership will make as "Something bad for the Dems" as if this was some kind of football game.

If Pelosi sneezed she would be seen as "indecisive".

If Hoyer blinked he would be seen as making a "major move against party loyalty".

So my comment, albeit facetious, was a counterbalance to the underspun story on Lott--how quickly forgotten, how quickly forgiven, particularly after George Allen's spiral towards fiasco this election year.

All a matter of perspective. Agreed, though it is time to move on.

Murtha is a gentleman of the first order and I expect him to congratulate Hoyer and vow undivided support for Pelosi and Hoyer. He is a soldier and that is what soldiers do.

Hopefully Fox Broadcasting will get slammed for their interview of O.J. Simpson, its a dispicable low, even for them.

Murtha is *not* a gentleman, actually, but he is a political pragmatist of the first order and I think Bubba's probably right about the denouement.

it was a hobson's choice either way,
Otter

gather otter is not a big murtha fan but I still say he is a good soldier and will line up behind pelosi and hoyer. He will not undermind the Democratic Party or Pelosi/Hoyer.
Call it being a gentleman or honor, he is the kind of person I would go to war with any day of the week. Curious your reference to him not being a gentleman; are you suggesting he is not a Gentle Man, which would be correct. I also agree that Hoyer was the better choice, but we need to thank Murtha for his bold leadership on the war, and had he not spoken out last against the war when other Dems cowered, tuesday's results would in all likelihood been far different.

CNN's Beck to first-ever Muslim congressman: "[W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies' "

On the November 14 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck interviewed Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), who became the first Muslim ever elected to Congress on November 7, and asked Ellison if he could "have five minutes here where we're just politically incorrect and I play the cards up on the table." After Ellison agreed, Beck said: "I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' " Beck added: "I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way."

As Media Matters for America has noted, Beck previously warned that if "Muslims and Arabs" don't "act now" by "step[ping] to the plate" to condemn terrorism, they "will be looking through a razor wire fence at the West" and declared that "Muslims who have sat on your frickin' hands the whole time" rather than "lining up to shoot the bad Muslims in the head" will face dire consequences.

From the November 14 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: History was made last Tuesday when Democrat Keith Ellison got elected to Congress, representing the great state of Minnesota. Well, not really unusual that Minnesota would elect a Democrat. What is noteworthy is that Keith is the first Muslim in history to be elected to the House of Representatives. He joins us now.

Congratulations, sir.

ELLISON: How you doing, Glenn? Glad to be here.

BECK: Thank you. I will tell you, may I -- may we have five minutes here where we're just politically incorrect and I play the cards face up on the table?

ELLISON: Go there.

BECK: OK. No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. I've been to mosques. I really don't believe that Islam is a religion of evil. I -- you know, I think it's being hijacked, quite frankly.

With that being said, you are a Democrat. You are saying, "Let's cut and run." And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, "Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies."

And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.

more on...
http://mediamatters.org/items/200611150004

and Beck is exactly why the next Congress needs reauthorization of the fairness doctrine. 2 hours on CNN every night without any counterbalanced spokesperson is dispicable.

Bubba
NPR didn't talk about the Clear Channel buyout, just about other companies that were merged or bought and sold quickly in order to take advantage of the market. Hertz was the one they emphasized because profits were being taken by the sellers that it would have been better to put into the company. Profit was the motive for buying recently and then reselling. The story was about "flipping" companies by buying and selling them quickly to take advantage of the up stock market.

I thought maybe Clear Channel would fall into that category. I know their have rightwing radio stations and they also run all sorts of concerts but their motive is pure profit & they've been from San Antonio, I think - owned by friend of Bush. Wouldn't be surprised if policies don't change.

The other thing to look at is companies which merge and become so big that they flirt with running afoul of antitrust laws (such as Delta merging with AirWest/America West). When they merge, the tend to eliminate redundancy and they also make some employees "redundant" (as they'd say in the UK when people are "sacked").

It's all about money.

Bubba
The other thing about Hertz is that Carlyle Group advised them.