jayburd's Comments (191)

“Mr. Plouffe, I applaud your dedication to President Obama and I agree that he has taken many necessary steps to improve the situation our imperiled country is in right now, but I have to agree with Ms. Huffington that it just hasn't been enough and that his governing style is timid in comparison to his style as a candidate.

Instead of encouraging the banks to extend credit to small businesses the President should be demanding it. Instead of trying to convince one Republican Senator to support the Public Option he should insist that every Democrat do so. Instead of the administration dragging its feet on closing Guantanamo, it should be accelerating the process.

And the list goes on. I am proud to call Barack Obama my President but I will be prouder still when I finally feel like he truly is standing up for me and the rest of the American Middle Class by enacting effective policies that actually help. So far only the banks have gotten any real help from the Obama administration. I understand that the country is better off today because a repeat of the Great Depression has been averted, but we in the Middle Class have yet to reap the benefits. How much longer will we have to wait?”

“Admitting to getting the record wrong is better example of journalistic integrity as it applies to cable news or talk radio. Like on TRMS last night. It was a minor point but Rachel doesn't like getting things wrong so she went out of her way to correct herself.

I've never heard O'Reilly or Limbaugh ever say they were wrong about anything.

"We stand by the fabricated story because we know he thinks it," is one of the most audacious things Limbaugh has ever said and that is saying something.­..”

“No list of deceased forward-thinking comics is complete without George Carlin.

Among the living I would add Eddie Izzard...”

“There's no evidence to the contrary. He was in a relationship with Regina, yes, but they were not married during any of Dave's dalliances. She probably knew before they got married that Dave had had affairs.”

“I know it's not your M.O., but why don't you go after the guy who tried to blackmail him instead? There's more justice to be found in that direction.

Letterman is not a public servant, he's a talk show host & a comedian. He's not bound by any unwritten rules of conduct, nor should he be expected to be some sort of role model. Though, I personally admire him for coming forward and telling the truth without a trace of weaselry. Was he forced to? Yes, but that's beside the point. Every single politician listed in this blog could learn a thing or two from Letterman's example of how to man up...”

“How many times does it have to be repeated that Letterman was SINGLE when these workplace romances occurred?”

“Still not sure why this is even a scandal. He had relations with women he worked with while he was single.

Um...yeah, so have I.

The real scandal is the guy who attempted to blackmail him. Why isn't the focus more on him...?”

“I look at texting shorthand as just another dialect of the larger written language.

The challenge is to get kids to to the same...”

“This article and blogging in general are proof that the literary art form is being revived. Changed, but revived nonetheles­s...”

“"Gopher, BE DEAD!"”

“It wasn't produced by Serling but "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" is my favorite episode. It is actually an Italian short film.”

“I disagree. Those that are coming to Polanski's defense should take into account that they are damaging the industry's image before they open their mouths.

Because the average American doesn't see the same shades of gray that you do - Democrat or Republican. Generalizations are easy to make when so many loud voices are heard above the rest of the crowd. Take the "teabaggers," for instance. Do you believe they deserve to be lumped in with the Republican party in general? I do. Why? Because, for the most part, the rational wing of the Republican party has been silently complicit with all the hate mongering going on. The same thing goes with Hollywood on this issue.

If Hollywood insiders don't want to be generalized as out-of-touch, then more of them should speak up and disassociate themselves with the ones that are...”

“Yes, because this time it has relevance.­..”

“Excellent points, all. These Hollywood hypocrites are just as out-of-touch as the corporate banking weasels who traveled in their private jets to D.C. to plead their poverty case to Congress.

But the blogger failed to mention the one rationalization that some people defending Polanski are hesitant to mention but are tacitly implying:

4) He's a Holocaust Survivor.

Everyone who knows Roman Polanski is aware that his film, "The Pianist" was based on his own personal life experiences. They know that he escaped the Kraków Ghetto in 1943, that his father survived Mauthausen-Gusen, and that his mother was killed at Auschwitz. I believe some folks would like us to consider those extremely tragic experiences along with his 30-year exile from the U.S. as "time served."

I know I'm going to catch hell for this but I believe it is the uncomfortable truth.”

“I forgot about that. You're right. I want that state turned upside down until the perps are found and their INFLUENCES investigated. I guarantee at least one of them got off on watching Fox News.”

“I often disagree with Earl but he is SPOT on correct here. We all silently wonder when this batshit stuff flying about on cable news will reach critical mass. God forbid, someone actually gets hurt or worse.

This rhetorically violent anti-Obama movement is already outnumbered by virtue of the results of the 2008 election. It's time our "silent majority" (sorry, RMN) be truly heard.

ENOUGH!!!!”

“And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large bicycle.”

“Frank, I'd feel a lot better if I knew you or someone like you was one of the president's top political advisers. It's time to say to hell with bi-partisanship for exactly the reasons you've stated here.”

“Yeah. Not feelin' the humor...”

“Finally a progressive blogger who sees the forest for the trees.

We really need to be more patient with the man. Don't forget folks, the president's job is HARD. It's a difficult enough job as it is without it being compounded by the unparalleled ineptitude of his predecessor. The fact that Obama has succeeded as much as he already has is testament to his competence, his prescience, and his patriotism.

Barack Obama is already a great American and a patriot by the truest sense of the term. I am confident that he will one day be revered as a great American president. God willing, perhaps one of our greatest ever...”

“Mr. Warner, you do realize that you're dancing in the smart kids' club here at HuffPo, don't you? We don't check our IQs at the door. Free speech is guaranteed by the first amendment to the Constitution, not by Wal-Mart, and certainly not by Fox News. Both are free to censure, censor or send Glenn Beck packing as they see fit.

And by lumping Keith Olbermann in the same "haters" club as Beck, Limbaugh, and O'Reilly you draw the same kind of false equivalencies that your host, Arianna Huffington blasts the mainstream media for doing in her book, "Right Is Wrong." You would do well to read it. Beck, Limbaugh, and O'Reilly are spreaders of lies. Bombastic and over-the-top as he may be, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, and Ed Schultz are champions of the truth. I challenge and defy you or anyone else to prove otherwise.

These days most of the truth happens to come from the left, not to mention most decent human beings that are politically active. Right is, indeed, wrong. Perhaps more so now than ever before.

Fire Glenn Beck!”

“Phew.

For a minute there, Bob, I thought you couldn't see the forest for the porn. All this hedging of late is definitely tactical. It has to be.

Like you say, they're too smart.”

“A sobering observation but count me as one of the "trusters.­"

I trust that President Obama is engaging in political brinksmanship. But against his supporters, not his rivals. I think he "wavered" on the public option for the purpose of riling up the liberal base. He can't do this without grassroots public support and liberals have been far too quiet on policy up until now. Probably because we're still hung over from the election. Something besides rampant Republican stupidity needed to stir us up and now that we have been stirred up, the President can say, "Whoa! Hold on a second! I'm not saying there definitely won't be a public option." And in just a few short days, the AFL/CIO has become visibly and vocally engaged and more and more supporters are showing up at these town halls. I don't think that was an accident.

It's like what LBJ said to a young Civil Rights worker - "Go out there and make me do it." This is Obama's way of doing that.”

“It’s time for the blue dogs to do some serious double crossing of the Insurance agencies. The choice between keeping the Insurance companies happy and your campaign finance coffers filled vs. their constituents and the greater good should be no choice at all.

And if they don’t man up, The Guy from 24's Dad is right. Rahm needs to sic a few "hefty" Chicago and/or Union thugs on these people. The Unions are the closest thing we have to liberal hardliners. It’s time we used their muscle to get our way. I mean, we are talking about inherently pussified Democrats here. How hard could it be?”

“In the context of "rivalries," or any context for that matter, which makes more sense?

Rivalries that have their seat far below the surface (deep-seated rivalries)

OR

Rivalries that had long ago taken root (deep seeded rivalries)”