Well Abramoff HAS to be sentenced before Bush leaves office or he won't be able to pardon him.

Right?

I love, love, love Rachel Maddow. Her sparring with Pat Buchanan is actually great TV. She will fire back at anyone with grace, wit, and a tremendous ability to speak with clarity, not getting bogged down in details.

Great quote by her about negotiating with both CNN and MSNBC: "If you're not going to marry me, I'm not going to stop dating."

Orange

Homer

I'm pretty sure a pardon can be issued at any stage of prosecution, including before the prosecution has even commenced.

Even after Paul Begala set the record straight, on the air, CNN still managed to screw up the Casey-in-'92 story.

So did NPR several times yesterday. It's pathetic.

I don't get the glee over the Guliani line.
Do you understand that neither Obama nor Biden has any executive experience either?
And that McCain has much more experience at the national level than Obama?
Meaning if the Obama campaign tried to play this as a sound bite it would look like Rudy is piling on with Joe Biden and agreeing that Obama isn't ready. How would this help?

Dems have to stop doing these "me to" types of attacks without paying attention to the message behind it. Otherwise they will never gain traction against McCain.

Maddow rocks, and the corporate media should be ashamed that they do have debates about the shape of the earth.

She's very intelligent. I can definitely see her running for office someday, and just mopping the floor with any "conservative" unlucky enough to cross her path.

Best T-Shirt slogan seen at the convention yet:

"Sweet Home AlObama"

Not only have the body languqge 'experts' made a reemergence, but NPR brought back the 'full-throated' line.

To the media: how about you suck it - and swallow while you're at it? Full throat that, you fuckwits.

I am going to blow my brains out here before this is all over.

*slamming head on desk repeatedly*

NPR (Morning Edition) also blew the Casey in '92 story yesterday.

The 'dog days' ended on the 11th.

You could look it up.

I don't get the glee over the Guliani line.
Do you understand that neither Obama nor Biden has any executive experience either?

Right. Which is why Rudy brought it up.

The thing is, when you attack someone for not having the "executive experience" -- as if the Mayor of New York's job is exactly the same as the President's anyway -- it helps when the person whom you nominally represent has the experience that differentiates him from those you are attacking.

Otherwise, its easy enough to say, "neither does your guy, dickhead."

I'll never quite understand the Democrats who are afraid of pointing out the obvious, gaping idiocies of the GOP flacks.

I really hate this roll-call tokenism. Hope you guys get your catharsis real soon.

"We still don't know for sure if Rep. Don Young won his Republican primary in Alaska yesterday."

Please, please,please let Don Young go down.

“The fact that it's false ought to be reported, or you're advancing a lie.�
-I agree with Rachel

Drilling for off-shore oil would lower prices, if it was done along with producer-friendly regulatory reform. There are 68 billion barrels of it that is readily accessible. That is over ten year’s worth of oil at current consumption rates. Opening everything up and removing all the BS studies would probably drop gasoline prices below $2/gallon.

But it would be the wrong thing to do. We need that oil to make the transition to electric transportation. Let gas get expensive. Continue the national debate on energy and the truth will eventually get out. And then mother nature will impose ‘change’ upon us.

The truth is that wind and solar can only make up 25% of the grid’s power inputs. Biofuels use more energy than they produce. The only use of biofuels in the ready conversion of solar power to liquid fuel (sun > corn > liquid fuel > internal combustion engine).

Nuclear power is solar power released on earth. Solar power is fusion. Nuclear power is fission. Both release the binding energy from unstable atoms. I don’t see any alternative to nuclear power and electric railroads. Cars too will need to be electric. This could be done via fuel cell (binding energy > nuclear power > electricity > hydrogen > fuel cell > turn wheels).

I would marry Rachel Maddow in an instant if she were interested and available. Seriously. Her compassion, wit and intelligence make her far more beautiful than those tarted up Robo-Barbies infesting the airways these days.

Ain't going to happen, I know, just saying. :)

Rachel, honey, if the new gig doesn't work out, call me!!!

* In an apparent effort to drive me batty, CNN is running its own reports on Clinton and "body-language experts."

The only "body language expertise" demonstrated by
McCNN is that which comes from the southbound end of a northbound Republican, having just consumed an institutional-sized can of barbecue baked beans at one of many undiscovered residences of one John McBush....

When Rudy says that now isn't the time for a president with no executive experience he's really pushing for the veep slot.

It's always about Rudy.

Smiling Bob Creator was Busted today for ripping off $100M in fake supplement scam. Sentenced to 25 yrs.

It was a pretty clever scam. Bet alotta wingnuts fell for it.

Drilling for off-shore oil would lower prices, if it was done along with producer-friendly regulatory reform. There are 68 billion barrels of it that is readily accessible. That is over ten year’s worth of oil at current consumption rates. Opening everything up and removing all the BS studies would probably drop gasoline prices below $2/gallon.

This is completely false, and you have no credible source for this whatsoever. We will never see $2/gallon gasoline again in our lifetime.

You do understand that oil is sold into a global market, don't you? You do know what that means?

And let me give you a little math problem. The US consumes 25% of the global oil supply but sits on only, at best, 2-5% of world's oil.

Put it another way, the US consumes roughly 21 million barrels per day but only produces roughly 5 million barrels per day. Where are the extra 16 million barrels of oil a day coming from? The magic underground lake of oil beneath Kansas?

*

MissMood: I really hate this roll-call tokenism.

Yeah, but arguably good theater. Having Hillary making the motion was worth it.

Awesome theater has407! That was cathartic!

YES!

lol.

a guy who supports a political philosophy where people earnestly assert the Earth is only 6000 years old and that dinosaurs and men lived together lecturing liberals about a lack of historical facts?

you should skip the blogs and head to open mike night at the Comedy Store.

Drilling for off-shore oil would lower prices, if it was done along with producer-friendly regulatory reform.

Since "producer-friendly regulatory reform" is exactly equivalent to "public subsidy of production", then, yes, subsidy will reduce nominal consumer prices, without or without drilling for offshore oil.

There are 68 billion barrels of it that is readily accessible. That is over ten year’s worth of oil at current consumption rates.

At the U.S. current consumption rate of 20,680,000 barrels per day, 68 billion barrels is almost exactly 9 years of consumption at current rates, not "over ten year's [sic]".

Of course, the total volume isn't what determines the price effect, which is controlled by the maximum rate at which it could be viably extracted. The total volume affects how long it has a significant price effect, if it ever does, not the magnitude of the price effect.

I really hate this roll-call tokenism. Hope you guys get your catharsis real soon.
Posted by: MissMood

Yes, but this is all standard procedure at conventions. It's not a Hillary-only thing. It has happened at every contested primary convention. It's the MSMicans that are trying to spin it negatively.
Dale

Hillary gave of herself tonight, and we know it hurt. She did it with all overt enthusiasm and it looked great as a magnanimous display of self-sacrifice and party unity. The regard for her will be like the ocean, for years to come (well I wax a bit over poetic and heroine-worshippy maybe, but after all the talk of Hillary's pettiness/vindictiveness/can't let it go/divisiveness/whatever, she deserves a good rap.
BTW, why was she called "divisive"? Mostly because the other side strenuously opposed her and what she wanted - well screw them anyway. Being nice to that crowd is Obama's mostly thankless and Herculean task (Well if anyone can pull it off and still get the right things accomplished, it's him.)

Lefties really believe in infallibility, their own, and everything else is superfluous [standard idiotic cant about Stalin and Lennin] They, too, considered themselves free of the possibility of error [Bush: "I can't think of a single mistake I've made" -- NOTE TO PREPOSTEROUS CONSERVATIVE, BUSH IS A REPUBLICAN]. What is curious to me is how often liberals don't know even elementary historical facts.

Unless words have the exact opposite meaning in your universe than mine, this is spectacularly stupid, even for a conservative. The legendary, and somewhat accurate, dig on liberals is that they'd take the other side against their own argument.

Beyond the laughable projection -- do you listen to Rush for the dark Kierkeggardian self-doubts?

You people, after 8 years of unalloyed conservative rule really should really shut the fuck up. It's embarrassing for the rest of us who are Americans.

Mhr you are such a lying asshole, the right-wing radioheads are so massively self-assured and denigratory towards the other side.

Hey Dale, yep I'm OK now. I was gittin' pissy.

"I really hate this roll-call tokenism. Hope you guys get your catharsis real soon."

You'll love Viagra Night in St. Paul.

Now, about that hurricane stuff....

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at2+shtml/203214.shtml?5day#contents

I'll be the first to admit that it's damned hard to predict a storm-track five days out---but looking at this graphic, I think the folks in NOLA should be thinking about heading out of harm's way now, instead of waiting until Friday or Saturday. The world found out three years ago that you physically cannot evacuate that urban center in 48 hours. Besides, no one really knows how much concealed damage the levees "aren't" showing from the Katrina hit.

Now, on the lighter side of the issue, if Gustav were to pound NOLA on Tuesday, and then come bounding up the Mississippi Valley, it could be right about where John McCain is when he gives that acceptance speech of his next week. Tell me again---what was it that Dobson lackey was saying about rain? Something about "umbrella-ain't-gonna-help-you" rain---wasn't it?

This is completely false, and you have no credible source for this whatsoever. We will never see $2/gallon gasoline again in our lifetime.

He didn't say that.

You do understand that oil is sold into a global market, don't you? You do know what that means?

That increased supply in one place effects prices everywhere?

And let me give you a little math problem. The US consumes 25% of the global oil supply but sits on only, at best, 2-5% of world's oil.

We're also 3rd in oil production, only behind Saudis and Russia.

Put it another way, the US consumes roughly 21 million barrels per day but only produces roughly 5 million barrels per day. Where are the extra 16 million barrels of oil a day coming from? The magic underground lake of oil beneath Kansas?
Posted by: Stefan

We produce about 7.6 per day. He'd like us to make up the difference with our own oil and stop sending our dollars to Saudis, Russians, and Venezuelans among many.

We try to convince other countries to increase their production to meet our needs, and look at our hand-wringing over offshore drilling and think we're a bunch of babies that want to poop in everyone else's diapers. Think Russia or Saudi Arabia are environmentally conscious in their oil extraction? Luckily they're on the other side of the planet and pollution doesn't travel.

How pathetic is the New Mexico delegation! Brian Colon, our state chairman, just kept babbling...

Ouch, spelling suks today.

We produce about 7.6 per day

7.6 what? Million barrels of oil? The EIA, who I trust more than random unitless numbers from you, says 5,064,000 bbl/day.

He'd like us to make up the difference with our own oil and stop sending our dollars to Saudis, Russians, and Venezuelans among many.

And I'd like to make up the difference with magic petroleum fairies. (Well, not really, but its about as realistic.)

We try to convince other countries to increase their production to meet our needs

No, we don't. Some politicians make a show of asking their buddies in middle east dictatorships to do so, and those buddies make a show of saying they will as part of a political dance to relieve short-term political pressure on the politicians that are asking. It's pretty clear that, even if burning more oil wasn't suicidal, there isn't enough cheaply-extractable oil in the world to make pumping more a viable answer to any real problems.

Got a "beg" from Campaign for America's Future (these days, I get more "Dem mail" than real mail; it's almost reached spam-my proportions). They're collecting for a "welcome" ad for the Repubs for their convention. I think this one might be worth $10, especially with what's-his-name heading for New Orleans...
http://ourfuture.org/action

Brian Colon, our state chairman, just kept babbling... -- phoebes in santa fe, @ 19:50

Oh dear... I know it's bad manners to make fun of people's names but, "a babbling colon"? The stench....

7.6 what? Million barrels of oil? The EIA, who I trust more than random unitless numbers from you, says 5,064,000 bbl/day.

Google on "oil", "production", and "country". I got a number of hits, here's one. They all hover around the 7.8 number. They all have us in third place.

And I'd like to make up the difference with magic petroleum fairies. (Well, not really, but its about as realistic.)

We don't have to make up all the difference.

It's pretty clear that, even if burning more oil wasn't suicidal, there isn't enough cheaply-extractable oil in the world to make pumping more a viable answer to any real problems.
Posted by: cmdicely

It's pretty clear that neither conservation, efficiency increases, renewable energy, nor access to more fossil fuels by themselves is going to solve our problems. It's pretty clear it is going to take all three plus more. It is pretty clear that Americans are ready to drill here (66% support) and stop sending money there. I have a hard time believing increasing supply will not affect price. I have a hard time believing the threat of increased supply won't affect price. And as people point out, it takes time to get the wells going, so now is time to get cranking so our kids can be ready.

I already loved Maddow, but this quote makes me love her so much more. I've been complaining for ages now that this "fake balance" is ridiculous. I'm so glad we are going to have a talking head who agrees.

* As expected, Hillary Clinton released her convention delegates at an event this afternoon. -- PA

From the article linked to in the later thread (The Democratic Nominee):

Earlier in the day, Clinton formally released her delegates amid shouts of "no," by disappointed supporters. "She doesn't have the right to release us," said Massachusetts delegate Nancy Saboori. "We're not little kids to be told what to do in a half-hour."

So, if I understand the lady correctly, she'd rather remain in-thrall than be free to do as she pleases... And they have the nerve to call *us* "cultists"! Besides which, the lady should wash her ears more often; it might help remove the wax. Hillary *specifically* said she wasn't gonna tell them how to vote. And, "in half an hour"? What did she think Clinton was gonna do? Call on her supporters to start an insurgency? Geez, but Hillary seems to have attracted some airheads...

PS the posting @20:17 was mine too; it'll take a while to get used to filling in the data every time. But no other blanks are mine. I think at least some of them (possibly all of them?) are from The Commander Guy.

"I'm sorry -- we're going to have a debate about whether or not the Earth is flat?"

The Republicans

Yes. My scientists say the world is flat. And scientists can never make up there minds anyway. We'll just continue making ourselves filthy rich by privatizing public assets and hire a scientist to find the "scientific" evidence to back it up our policies. Really who the hell knows? Here's the only Truth you need to worry about: If you get in our way, we will cripple your business in every way we know how, i.e. further scrutiny from SEC, FCC, FBI, Justice, etc.

CNN

Well, we're not really scientists. What if it is flat? Ok, we'll report that its a globe, but then let Glenn Beck promote the idea that its flat for 2 hours every night.

When Bush says that he looked into Putin's eyes and saw his soul he wasn't joking. Both of them understand how to muzzle the press, spy on its citizens and raid the public coffers.

Code Pink Protestor takes a beatin' by cops in Denver. "Democracy" under seige.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfISlq1gzK8