The first question Rachel should ask Liz Cheney, in regards to her "Keep America Safe" organization, is "And then what should America do?"

"What should we do to make a better society, a thriving culture, Liz? What are we safe FOR?"

* Please don't let Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) screw up the Census.

David Vitter . . . wants to cut off financing for the count unless the survey includes a question asking if the respondent is a United States citizen . . . .
The Commerce Department says that redoing the survey would cost hundreds of millions of dollars: to rewrite and reprint hundreds of millions of census forms, to revise instructional and promotional material and to reprogram software and scanners. -- NY TIMES

Since he waited until the last minute to make changes, I'm sure Vitter wouldn't mind paying for them himself. He'll just have to quit spending money on hookers for a while.

Uncap FICA.
Tax capital gains as ordinary income.
Make everyone pay their fair share.

My neighbors suck. Some of the Uyghers can kick them out and live next to me, I'm fine with that.

You know, there have been times where I've considered starting up a right-wing blog packed with conspiracy theories. I'm pretty sure I understand the Limbaughesque pressure points to push in order to get traffic. My most recent idea was to write a story that said that Obama is letting Hugo Chavez acquire a nuclear bomb as part of appeasement. Tell me that shit wouldn't shoot to the top of memeorandum.

I caught a bit of Sen. Byrd speaking (was happy and surprised to see him on the Senate floor) and he seems to be doing pretty well, especially for a 90+ year old. Good news!

"I'm sure Vitter wouldn't mind paying for them himself. He'll just have to quit spending money on hookers for a while."

...not to mention the truckloads of Depends.

...there's "frustration" building among military leaders over the White House's deliberations on U.S. policy in Afghanistan. But is the report true?

who gives a crap what military leaders think. Their job is to follow orders - those of our elected leaders.

It is a direct outgrowth of the 30 year republican contempt for, and assault on the Constitution and the rule of law (e.g., pride in lying to Congress and egregious criminality by republican presidents) that military leaders think they have a say in policy. They need to STFU and do what they are told. And if they don't like that, quit the military and run for office.

More cosmic ray
bs?

Follow the link to Wiley Interscience for the abstract of the peer-reviewed paper: cosmic rays and tree growth are correlated. Of course, correlation does not imply causation, and it has not been replicated in other regions; but it's intriguing, for those of you who like intrigue.

obama's giving a rowdy speech right now - webcast only...

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/oct20watch

In case you are still wondering about Accumulated Cyclone Energy.

More on the weak El Nino after October data are all available. For now, it seems to be petering out.

A weak economy means less borrowing for higher ed.

You do realize how fucking stupid this is, don't you?

I see no mention of america's wars on the front page.

Are they over?

The SCOTUS hasn't yet ruled on loosening corporate donor rules, so how does CoC get to donate so much money? What "are" they, anyway?

Give up your local rag

cwolf: I see no mention of america's wars on the front page. Are they over?

I may have spent 10 minutes pondering that image today. The print edition's version was actually far sharper. In print, the boy to the far left has an incredible visage that speaks novels. The whole image is just stunning and transporting. The artifacts and the people defy every American cultural norm...

So what's my point?

Newspaper are dying. Give your money to the one paper that still matters. The local rags (at least where I live) aren't worth wasting pulp or pelf on. But the Gray Lady? She must live on...

"The NYT's Elizabeth Bumiller reported that there's 'frustration' building among military leaders over the White House's deliberations on U.S. policy in Afghanistan."

Were these the same leaders who saw their theater of operation get ignored by the previous administration?
I wonder what they were feeling back then.

Isn't Vitter one of those original intent of the Founders guys? If that's the case Vitter should be tried for treason. The Constitution clearly requires a census every 10 years.

Shouldn't Vitter be tried and hanged as a traitor?

The Labor Department said Tuesday that the Producer Price index fell 0.6 percent last month. In the 12 months ending in September, the index dropped 4.8 percent, the 10th straight month of annual declines. The index fell 6.8 percent in the year ending in July, the largest decline on records dating to 1947.

RUN AWAY HYPERINFLATION !

Oh wait.

O the Times ... once the home of both Miller sisters, and still home to Lizzieboo. And anonymous sources, of course. Who could ask for anything more?

The Chamber of Commerce is spending a lot of money but not getting much respect. They're an open joke.

How is it that the Chamber of Commerce is the big spender during the great healthcare debate? Aren't the insurance and pharmaceutical companies spending vast amounts?

Were these the same leaders who saw their theater of operation get ignored by the previous administration?
I wonder what they were feeling back then.

Ding, ding, ding.

We have a winnah!

Thanks for playing the Double Standard Sweepstakes!

"Nice to see Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) feeling better."

He's going to have to make a lot of HCR roll call votes.

Keep America Safe = Torture Works

Republicans - hm,

Gun toting - Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS) joked that he "hunt[s] liberal, tree-hugging Democrats, although it's a waste of good ammunition."

Anti-Semitic "The two county Republican Party chairmen in South Carolina apologized for their anti-Semitism."

Corrupt -"Is Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) the subject of an FBI investigation"

Tax Dodgers - Bernie Kerik

Racist- Limbaugh et al

and

Cowardly - "Rachel Maddow would love to have Liz Cheney on as a guest. Cheney prefers to chat with Sean Hannity."

A Resume to be desired.

To my mind, what is even more disturbing about Limbaugh's quote, read in full, is his fundamental misunderstanding, ignorance actually, of the nature and motivation of the suicide bombers, their families, and the organizations that sponsor them.

First, whether it be Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, &c, these groups are not sending out "3 and 4 year olds" to commit suicide bombing attacks (What 3 year old would be capable of getting to his destination wearing explosives and having the dexterity to detonate himself)?

Remember, the 9/11 attackers were all men in the 20s, many of whom had university educations.

Second, these Islamic terrorist groups are not forcing anyone who doesn't want to to become a suicide bomber. While the the reason one chooses to become a suicide bomber are complex, and in many instances there are elements of brain washing (religious and otherwise) associated with convincing one to become a suicide bomber, Islamic terrorist groups are not, as Limbaugh says, threatening the families of suicide bombers with death if they don't hand over their children.

Quite the opposite, certainly with Palestinian groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the families of suicide bombers are given great honor, and provided with financial and emotion support, because they have sacrificed their son for the cause--quite willingly in most instances.

Bernie Kerik = ha ha ha.