Chuck Lugar?

I guess reading Grassley's tweets degrades intellectual capacity.

Lugar's from Indiana - the inept Tweeter was/is Chuck Grassley.

And this weekend's multiple offenses against grammar and netspeak are just the tip of the LOLberg.

Lugar is relatively soon, Grassley is a loon. Hope this helps.

Sonia Sotomayor broke her ankle after tripping this morning at LaGuardia Airport.

Yeah, because her ankle is racist!!!

The U.S. Supreme Court also took a firm stand against judicial bribery

In this case, the SCOTUS decided 5-4 that a WV Supreme Court judge (Brent Benjamin) should have recused himself in a case involving Massey Coal, whose CEO gave $3Million for his election. Last year another WV SC judge, Elliott Maynard, lost his primary after being seen on the French Riviera with the same CEO. Massey Coal is the same company that owned the Utah mine that collapsed a couple years ago. Bush's response was to nominate Richard Sticker, a former Massey executive to head MSHA. The senate refused to confirm him, and Bush recess appointed him anyway, despite the fact that under Sticker's managment, mining accidents were twice the national average.

Now today's decision should tell you something about 4 current SCOTUS justices who couldn't even see a problem with the $3 million dollar conflict of interest. Meanwhile, I wonder how much money Benjamin got from other sources. It doesn't cost that much to run a statewide campaign.

Anyone know why Lanny Davis would write for NewsMax?

Lanny lost his marbles and NewsMax said they knew where they were?

"Anyone know why Lanny Davis would write for NewsMax?"

NewsMax: "Here's a bag of money. Write something."

Lanny: "Woof Bark Slobber Drool"

NewsMax: "Good boy. Sit. Stay."

* The U.S. Supreme Court also took a firm stand against judicial bribery,[...] -- Steve Benen

A 5:4 verdict is a "firm stand"? To me, it's "hanging by a thread". Out of idle curiosity... What would you call a unanimous decision (even this court had a few of those)?

* Sonia Sotomayor broke her ankle after tripping this morning at LaGuardia Airport. -- Steve Benen

Since it happened on her way *to* DC, it's proof positive that, like Souter, she doesn't want to be on the Supreme Court, not really. That, or else she was afraid to talk to the Senators because she knows she cannot "explain away" her unwise Latina comments of 50 yrs ago.

Anyone know why Lanny Davis would write for NewsMax?

Umm...because he's a ex-Clintonistan hack like Dick Morris who'll say anything for money, regardless of who's paying him?

"Sonia Sotomayor broke her ankle after tripping this morning at LaGuardia Airport."

AHA !

It was her RIGHT ankle.

How DARE she ?

The prospect of legalized gay marriage may have played a role in the switch.

Maybe it did, but the story doesn't offer anything more to support that suggestion than noting that another Latino Democrat in the NY Senate is against equal marriage. He, however, did not join the two defectors in jumping the aisle. Can anyone here from NY shed some light on these guys' views on equal marriage, if they're known?

Hillary doesn't do chicken-shit...

NYT: Israeli officials say they expect the Obama administration to respect understandings they say were reached — some written and some oral — with the Bush administration on building within existing settlements.

The Obama administration has bluntly dismissed Israel’s argument. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that “there is no memorialization of any informal and oral agreements� on construction in settlements. “If they did occur, which, of course, people say they did, they did not become part of the official position of the United States government,� she said.

"Lakhdar Boumediene talks to ABC News about life in Gitmo."

Just caught the video story.

Sickening. Absolutely sickening.

*=Corrected

:)

"U.S. officials have to be pleased with the results from Lebanon's elections."

Many believe that is exactly the outcome Hizbullah wanted. They watched what happened when Hamas was elected to a governing majority. After all, they retained their seats in the parliament. It was actually the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian party led by General Aoun, that failed to garner the votes that he claimed he could sway to bring a majority coalition along with Hizbullah.

Happy USS Liberty Day!

another nice development in

href="http://beta.technologyreview.com/energy/22756/page2/" methane hydrates

Also follow the stories on the bottom.

"Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't."

Myth: Barack Obama is the Antichrist.

He joins good company: Joseph Smith, Oliver Cromwell, LBJ, Earl Warren, the list is endless.

Anyone know why Lanny Davis would write for NewsMax?

As far as I can tell, he's a pro-business, pro-status quo, anti-Obama Democrat (though, as Screamin'Demon notes, all of those are probably subject to change if you pay him enough). That combination makes him a useful idiot for right-wing news sources. "See, even most Democrats agree with us on everything."

Two more polls vis Virginia Gubernatorial race, to add to this morning's PPP. All three have Deeds up by double digits. If this holds through tomorrow, I may have to learn how to turn cartwheels, afterall.

http://www.bluecommonwealth.com/diary/518/vagov-susa-confirms-ppp-deeds-by-double-digits

I may have to learn how to turn cartwheels

I'd settle for seeing you do the polka, cigarette swinging in the breeze.

Something to add that I saw, from truthdig.com:

Rush and Newt Are Winning
by E.J. Dionne

"A media environment that tilts to the right is obscuring what President Obama stands for and closing off political options that should be part of the public discussion.
Yes, you read that correctly: If you doubt that there is a conservative inclination in the media, consider which arguments you hear regularly and which you don't. When Rush Limbaugh sneezes or Newt Gingrich tweets, their views ricochet from the Internet to cable television and into the traditional media. It is remarkable how successful they are in setting what passes for the news agenda..."

Sickening. How can we address this??

MRM, do realize that burning of methane hyrdates will add CO2 to the air, but at least be that much less methane that could go directly instead (which is worse.) Also, it's good to use our own energy instead of from other nations. I worry: will mining MH stir it up and release free methane?

Has there been an unusually high number of women thrown in jail in despotic countries lately, or is it just that they are more newsworthy? Have there been similar cases (the North Korean case with Laura Ling and Euna Lee, and the Iranian case with Roxana Saberi) involving male reporters that I was unaware of?

Exlibra -- another Virginia Dem and Deeds supporter here. I'll join you in the cartwheels if Virginia goes for Deeds! We'll have a tough fight in the fall, but with Deeds, we have a fighting chance to keep Virginia blue!

Why will it be tough keeping VA blue in the fall? Isn't the Republican the guy who voted to turn down stimulus money for the state?

Hey, I support Deeds too but I'm not sure the indulgent gun rules about bars etc. are the way to go. Any thoughts? Also, any preference for Lt. Gov? No one seems to care ...

2. MRM: in the "amateurs" thread, they're asking, if you are also "MatthewRQuarreler" which strikes them as weird, it seeming a parody ... (and a clever one!)

Danp: This is still Virginia, and Bob McDonnell is personally appealing to lots of people and not perceived as threatening, ultra-conservative, etc.

Virginia will be a challenge for Dems because for the Republicans, this will be a national election and they will pour everything they have into it. This is a desperate party right now; while Dems are actually governing, Republicans will be free to make Virginia red. They need it more -- and that is always a danger.

(For the record, I like both Lt. Governor candidates, but am voting for Mike Signer, mostly because I like his style of fundraising and campaigning -- he's in his mid-thirties, tech-savvy, and isn't afraid to try new ideas. On substance, we're going to have a good candidate no matter what.)

2. MRM: in the "amateurs" thread, they're asking, if you are also "MatthewRQuarreler" which strikes them as weird, it seeming a parody ... (and a clever one!)

The MatthewRQuarreler posts were so clever (at a couple I laughed out loud) that after a while I made a few posts of my own under that name. The moderator mildly chided me, so I stopped.

Grassley is a TWERP!

TWERP = Twittering While Experiencing Republican Paranoia!

Dabp, @ 20:08,

Perversely, polka is a *Czech* dance; polonaise and mazur/mazurek are Polish through and through. Look at Chopin's opus and show me one polka in there :)
I was taught to dance polka in the primary school too, but I was always told it was easier to learn to dance it than to explain to foreigners why you couldn't :)

Others have explained why McDonnell is going to be v. difficult to beat. I'll just add that he'll be supported by every Regents alum (maybe we'll see Monica Goodling shilling for him) and that there may also be a bit of a push-back after having two Dem Governors back-to-back. Some people may have forgotten how bad the Repub ones had been. And Deeds, bless his heart, is as nice a guy as they come and may be reluctant to give as god as he gets. Though, having lost to McDonnell once, he may have learnt a trick or two.

On the issue of Deeds and guns... Let's just say that Moran's and McAuliffe's attacks weren't lies, *quite*, but weren't altogether truthful or accurate, either. Sort of like Hillary's Tuzla Tarmac Sniper Fire story (which story, BTW, I now firmly believe to have been put together by T-Mac. Has his smudgy fingerprints all over it). Yeah, she was in Tuzla and yeah, there was sniper fire, but...

On Lt Gov... According to the polls, Wagner has an enormous lead over Signer in the primaries. Don't tell any of my "Dem Hens" friends but I've made my mind up to vote for Signer. I like him, he's as quirky as I am (though much younger) and he has as little chance against Bolling (in November) as Wagner. Besides... Wagner doesn't care about my vote; I never heard or seen anything from her. Signer, OTOH, sent a mailing. *And* the mailing was addressed to both me and my husband -- that kind of thoughtful penny-pinching I approve of, entirely.

The MatthewRQuarreler posts were so clever (at a couple I laughed out loud) that after a while I made a few posts of my own under that name.

Why? You're not clever.

blank: Why? You're not clever.

That's one of the reasons that I thought my posts were distinguishable from the "real" MatthewRQuarreler.

Some time ago "Al" was replaced by an impersonator of "Al", who was supplemented by "Al(the real Al)". It was fun to try to figure out whether a post by "Al" was by the real Al.

The Supreme Court was dealing with West Virginia. Is that part of the US? I've been there and I could swear it was another country. It's so inbred, recusal is impossible.

more biodiesel progress

Niel B.MRM, do realize that burning of methane hyrdates will add CO2 to the air, but at least be that much less methane that could go directly instead (which is worse.) Also, it's good to use our own energy instead of from other nations. I worry: will mining MH stir it up and release free methane?

Neil, lots of good energy news is of the "glass half full" sort, or "two steps forward, one step back" sort. Methane from methane hydrates is considerably better than coal, which currently powers 55% of American electrical capacity. Evidently, some mining of methane hydrates will not stir up and release free methane, which was the main point of the report at the link.

As an eighth generation West Virginian, I'm simply going to point out that today's decision was an important one, and the correct one.

Eighth generation? So are we talking carpetbagger or immigrant? :)

Why do republicans hate america, they are calling for a boycott of GM cars (for a loss of american jobs), they are trying to stop healthcare for millions of americans. Why are the right to life people not doing anything about the fact that the US is 37th in the world for infant mortality rates?

Danp:

If only a few more of those Shenandoah counties in VA had seceded during the Civil War, I could go back a few more generations!

Gretchen, you live in a state lovelier than East Virginia. Why couldn't they think of a better name? I often drive through and can't help think it's called Byrdland.

It is, also, kinda fun to watch exciting West Virginia football and listen to the crowd break into John Denver's "Country Roads".

exlibra,

"On the issue of Deeds and guns... Let's just say that Moran's and McAuliffe's attacks weren't lies, *quite*, but weren't altogether truthful or accurate, either. Sort of like Hillary's Tuzla Tarmac Sniper Fire story (which story, BTW, I now firmly believe to have been put together by T-Mac. Has his smudgy fingerprints all over it). Yeah, she was in Tuzla and yeah, there was sniper fire, but..."

Actually, there was sniper fire at a different base landing in Bosnia. The plane had to take evasive action and approach the landing strip in a very steep spiral, and there was additional sniper fire from the nearby hills once the plane was on the ground.

The Secret Service considered it enough of a threat that they assigned sharpshooters to escort the First Lady on the rest of her trip and switched to Black Hawks:

HILLARY PROTECTED BY SHARPSHOOTERS IN MILITARY ZONE WHEN SHE VISITED TROOPS IN BOSNIA

"Protected by sharpshooters, Hillary Rodham Clinton swooped into a military zone by Black Hawk helicopter Monday to deliver a personal 'thank you, thank you, thank you' to U.S. troops. 'They're making a difference,' the first lady said of the 18,500 Americans working as peacekeepers in Bosnia. Mrs. Clinton became the first presidential spouse since Eleanor Roosevelt to make such an extensive trip into what can be considered a hostile area..." [Charleston Gazette, 3/26/96]

Sometimes I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. I can't imagine trying to keep track which of numerous bases in Bosnia I had visited twelve years earlier.