Jim

Given the present disaster I'd pick a random number generator for president and be happy about it over the Idiot.

This sounds similar to Bush's argument during his farewell speech last night. "you may not agree with my decisions but you have to acknowledge that I made tough choices" WTF - we should be thankful that you made a decision - despite that almost everyone action you took proved a disaster, rather than sitting on your hands? What an Idiot. No wonder he sees that being the president is no burden - he doesn't, and never has had the intelligence to understand the larger ramifications of his actions. Don't let the door hit you in the ass. No doubt - worst president we have ever had.

It illustrates how low we have fallen when a potential head of DOJ says that torture is illegal and it makes news.

No - but if we were in a stronger position we would be able to react with decisiveness to such conditions. Your boys aren't to blame soley, but they certainly have accelerated our race to the bottom in grand terms. Oh yea - Happy and Safe New Year.

If you haven't checked the box yet for "End of Empire" I think it would now be appropriate. Given the following: Our "Defense" (read imperial) expeditures that now double the next five countries. The bulging amount of private debt based on an insatiable appetite for never ending consumerism. A presidential disaster over the past eight years that has run our good will, economic power, and real security (not the fake DHS mottos) into the ground. A compliant Congress willing to bow to the imperial presidency and spend money on anything that will get them re-elected. A complete lack of reguatory controls on a financial sector that three-card-montied into 20% of GDP based on hand waving. A public that is thoroughly disinterested in the consequences of how their government works or doesn't work - except for the media horse race of every four year elections. Then it's time to go back to the mall. A federal government reluctant to address Global Warming, the largest looming threat to global economics and security. --- It's difficult to be optimistic and think that Obama can set the gound work to change many of the institutional flaws that will be required to get the country grounded again. I'm afraid that we have passed the tipping point on many fronts and it is our turn to start the long slide to a secondary global role.

There is a definite contrast between this potential bailout and the financial services. The banks got money with virtually no strings attached - shit - the GAO just said that the Fed did not even set up a system to track the money properly. Given that the financial sector set us back an order of magnitude larger than this car deal, how come there is no "Bank Czar" to keep tabs on things or a push to limit executive pay and bonuses. Hell - the banks are allowed to pay executive bonuses and dividends to shareholders with our money. WTF! How can they be paying dividends if they are in such dire straits. The assclown Republicans are real wingnuts on this one.

Carrying guns in the backcountry is for girly men - unless hunting of course.

What?

I work out in the outback pretty regularly and never carry a rife. So I'm curious - why do you feel you need the handgun?

The only applicable quote this dialog inspires is: "Childern would rather be praised than punished but would rather be punished than ignored."

I personally have a lot of faith in Congress these days. Jeesh.

Lunacy is expecting a differnt outcome from the same pathetic bunch. But I guess you can do that with a beer, a hot dog, and a seat in the sun on the third baseline.

Right, but the Democratic party leadership, including Obama, knew most of that before they voted for it. No? True dat! Don't these people friggin understand what they are voting for? WTF.

Frikin' Bushies. Because they went at this half heart sos not to disturb the "market forces" too much, the banks are holding back. Meanwhile across the pond the UK mandated how banks had to start lending with the taxpayer's cash and eliminated divedend payments to investors until the loans are paid back. WTF - Bushies could even get the solution to their screw up right. What a mess at the doorstep. A lot of work to do for Obama. Don't let the door hit you on the way out you Idiot.

(CNN) — As his Senate career nears its end, Republican Chuck Hagel isn't holding back when it comes to criticizing members of his own party — including conservative talk radio hosts. "We are educated by the great entertainers like Rush Limbaugh," Hagel said Tuesday during a speech in Washington, according to the Huffington Post. "You know, I wish Rush Limbaugh and others like that would run for office," a sarcastic Hagel continued. "They have so much to contribute and so much leadership and they have an answer for everything. And they would be elected overwhelmingly. [The truth is] they try to rip everyone down and make fools of everybody but they don't have any answers." Hagel has increasingly become critical of his party in the aftermath of the Iraq War and notably held back endorsing his longtime friend John McCain during the presidential campaign. He's reportedly under consideration for a cabinet post in the Obama administration. Speaking at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Hagel also faulted Washington lawmakers for "raw, partisan, political paralysis." "The American people don't like what is going on… they want us to start doing what leaders are expected to do, address the problems, find some consensus to governing. Get along. There will be disagreements, sure… but in the end we can't hold ourselves captives to this raw, partisan, political paralysis."

A couple of primary differences in the way the pro-market Bushies have handled the bail out funds compared to the Brits: 1) The Brits wrote in specific rules on how the new capital would have to be dispersed into the credit markets. We did no such thing and are now begging the banks to loan more money. 2) The Brits stipulated that institutions that took bailout money could not pay dividends to their shareholders until the loans were paid back to the government. We did not include these sidebars and last week banks that received loans paid their shareholders the normal dividends, which add up to hundreds of millions. Hey taxpayers, thanks!

Talk about stink. According to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, President George W. Bush faces the lowest approval ratings of any American president since the survey was introduced more than 60 years ago. CNN polling director Keating Holland said, “No other president’s disapproval rating has gone higher than 70 percent. Bush has managed to do that three times so far this year.” President Bush is now more unpopular than President Richard Nixon was when he resigned after the Watergate scandal, Holland elaborated.

I'm not in favor of proping up another failing business and one that refused to look forward, innovate, and plan. While the Japanese and European firms were building better and more efficient cars GM was obsessed with the short-term greed of pumping out SUVs. You snooze you lose. Just last year the head of GM was quoted as saying that the Toyota Hybrid was a stupid idea and that global warming was a crock. These guys just got $25 million in loans to retool last year. So what - we have to pay these guys to innovate? WTF. And while GM is whinning about their costs for health care coverage compared to Europe and Japan, when there was a modest move to make progress on this front in Clinton administration they were up front arguing aganist it. Whatever. Part of the problem is some of the long-term contract they have to deal with, but the larger issue is the crap they have been making over the past 20 years and lack of business insight.

It wasn't so much the comment itself as the fact he had just finished talking about the "new tone" his administration was going to set. As for his ability to articulate, you obviously didn't hear the press conference. His endless stammering and inability to produce words without annoying pause is striking. No big deal really, but please don't use it to describe a virtue that clearly does not exist. Oh Jesus - and you never complained about the Idiot's lack of verbal skills!!!! It's great to have an intelligent person as a president and someone who will not embarass us futher on the world stage.

Remember Nancy's drug program - "Just Say No". It was so successful that after she left D.C. she started a homeless program - their slogan - "Just Get A House"

The Blackwater issue is related to the whole Haliburton mess. Cheney and Rummy wanted to decrease standing forece strength and use contractors, their old buddies. So now we have contractors running supply lines, cooking, cleaning, security, transportation, etc. These are postions that used to be done effectively and much cheaper than by contractors. The big bottom line of course is that you do not have to have a draft to fill all the military needs for fighting a war. Just pour money at the "problem" and pay the soldiers of fortune 10 times what the common grunt earns. And everyone back home can still go shopping and kinda forget about the messy end of things. No need to sacrifice

A good thing. Sutherland was not a good steward of our lands.

W Churchill Hey - I just want to know when and where you will pay up on our presidental election bet and buy me pub grub and a beer? Next pub club?

When is Peter Puget buying me that beer and dinner? Landslide!!! Gregoire just called for the gov. I really did not want a gov named after a pet dinosaur.

Just got this: Monday 3 Wildlife Science Seminar Status, Challenges, and Opportunities for Elwha River Dam Removal Brian Winter Elwha Restoration Project National Park Service 3:30 p.m. Smith Hall Room 120 UW Seattle campus