allthumbs Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 I recall several posts back before the election about how eerie it was that Dems would not criticize or disagree with each other. Many of the posters thought it one more example of how the Republicans have a better party, one that allows disagreement. Not so fast there, pard! Speaker Hastert has decided to replace the seniority system for deciding chairmanships to committees with one that determines how well the potential chairman has adhered to the message he wants to send as a Republican implementing the White House political agenda. The implication is clear - speak out and you risk losing your committee assignment. Our representative is a chairman of an appropriations committee of some sort and he has said that he expects to be returned but that he is relying on the personal relationships he has built up over the years to protect him from retribution. Seems like the Dems aren't the only ones imposing discipline on the troops. Or is this eerie as well? Just to start a little bloodletting on a Thursday while I'm between phone calls and bored.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_W Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 The majority of them are whores who suckle at the teets of the bitch named Power. Case in point: Strom Thurmond. I may agree with much of his politics, but I can't see the good in men being in government for that long. I'd like to see term limits; I see it like college football: those players have 4 years to make their mark and make the big time. Likewise, politicians should have so many years (or terms) to accomplish what they can, then they are gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted December 5, 2002 Author Share Posted December 5, 2002 Straight up! Gore is toast if he runs again. So's Clinton (Hillary). I don't see anyone on the horizon for the Dems. But then, no one thought Bush had much of a chance either. On the disagreement front, when Reagan ran for President in 1980, I remember hearing about the 11th Commandment: thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican. And the joke about how a Democrat firing squad forms a circle. I just thought it was interesting to see party discipline in action, that's all. They both do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_W Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 That was Reagan's modus operandi coming up through the party. He was big on toeing the line and backing Goldwater and Nixon when he felt he could do a better job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 I can't believe that Thurmond was a contemporary of the electric light bulb and "The New Deal". He probably dated "flappers". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 and now he is making votes on internet rights and censorship etc. it's incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_W Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 Really, Ted Kennedy isn't much better. Yeah, he's younger but he's been in office since the 60's. You can't tell me he's in touch with his constituents, just drunk on power. That and he's running from the ghost of Mary Jo Kopeckny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Flash_Amazing Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 Iain, did you hear the piece on Thurmond this morning on NPR? There was a choice recording of him back in the 40's or so, ranting to a group in the south about how he would never let the government make them integrate with the "* race." This was followed up by him saying that it had nothing to do with segregation; it was all about states' rights. Quite a character. Have to admire the old dog's tenacity, however. He probably only had to save about 50 grand for retirement, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_W Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 Oooh...here we go. On one hand, I would agree with Strom: integration IS the purview of the states. Except, I guess, one could argue that integration (or "separate but equal" segregation") is a Constitutional issue and would, therefore, be under the purview of the Federal Government. I guess I could agree with the Federal government requiring integration or TRUE "separate but equal" segregation and leave the choice to the states. (shh, I hear the Goat coming now...) Oh, and for all you liberals: I DO believe this line of reasoning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 I didn't hear that part of it. The guy's staying power seems to be his ability to about-face on issues when the climate suits him. It's not like those opinions on segregation can just be swept under the carpet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted December 5, 2002 Author Share Posted December 5, 2002 Let me stir the Thursday afternoon pot with a little more hearsay. It's my understanding that if a Federal construction project destroys wetlands, the project has to "build" twice as much as before. At least that's the way it was when we fixed a dam* a few years ago. I think riparian habitat is a 1:1 replacement ratio. *Aside: the leaking dam is what created the "wetland" in the first place. But the leaking dam was unsafe and had to be repaired. The "new" dam was then designed in such a way to leak over twice as large an area as the original, at great expense to the taxpayers I might add. Gotta love Federal contracting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 It's time for some dams to disappear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted December 5, 2002 Author Share Posted December 5, 2002 Damn right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Flash_Amazing Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 Oh, Greg, the principle there is more or less OK, although DFA has no problem coercing people out of behaviours as reprehensible as segregation. The funny thing was that Thurmond was hollering like some hellfire-and-brimstone preacher about the "* race," and the recording of him saying that that had nothing to do with segregation was obviously much more recent. Shit, if the guy was a racist, fine, but own up to being a fucking racist, don't pretend it's all about some other noble end. Speaking of forthright politicians, 'This American Life' last night was all about ex-Chicago mayor Harold Washington, who was Chicago's first black mayor (possibly the first black mayor ever; the Doctor forgets). This guy pulled no punches in his debates, speeches or interviews. Totally called other candidates he was debating with on their bullshit, and told it like it was, political correctness be damned. Apparently there are a couple books about him; probably be interesting reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 I heard "This American Life" too, at Smith actually. Cool guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 Major Washington was a breath of fresh air, fair, and spoke his mind. Enigma - Nice troll, but all over the map. US Corps of Engineers enforces Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, they generally require 1:1 mitigation:fill for wetlands. There are no such protections for riparian habitat. There are many provisions for excluding man-made wetlands from the CWA. If you're up to it check out the regulatory document the 1987 Wetland Manual and the several techical guidance letters put out by the Corps district offices. Really, this o' extreme environmental nontruth is a bit dusty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_W Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 Damn know-it-alls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted December 5, 2002 Author Share Posted December 5, 2002 goddamn engineers again - i tell ya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 Ecologist actually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_W Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 Damn ecologists, then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted December 5, 2002 Author Share Posted December 5, 2002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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