mthespian's Comments (434)

“nope, just learning from experience -- something quite foreign to the current dominant strain of right-wingerism.”

“Reposting since you reposted your misleading comment:

Actually I believe it said that the Sheikh talked and was also waterboarded. Don't believe it specified the order of those two operations.

Further, some who were interrogating him early on are positive info could have been gained without torture.

Beyond that, I believe he's stated that he made crap up under torture.

And now for the most important reason -- I don't give a *#@& if it works. It's wrong, illegal, and should never have happened and must never happen again. You could shoot every child at age twelve to stop teenage gang violence and end teen pregnancy. It would work. It would also be morally indefensible.”

“Actually I believe it said that the Sheikh talked and was also waterboarded. Don't believe it specified the order of those two operations.

Further, some who were interrogating him early on are positive info could have been gained without torture.

Beyond that, I believe he's stated that he made crap up under torture.

And now for the most important reason -- I don't give a *#@& if it works. It's wrong, illegal, and should never have happened and must never happen again. You could shoot every child at age twelve to stop teenage gang violence and end teen pregnancy. It would work. It would also be morally indefensible.”

“Can't believe I actually opened this article or am commenting but . . .

Pole dancing might be a bit much at her age -- if she did it. Suggest you watch the video again. She held onto the pole to stay standing while it moved. She also crouched down -- again while hanging onto the pole for purchase.

People get over yourselves. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

“If tethering was available on the only carrier you can use in the US, I might agree that was a substantial upgrade. Without it, it's just a tease.”

“her record for reversals is better than most. you do know that the supreme court overturns at least some part of 2/3rds of the cases it takes, right?”

“don't suppose you've considered reading the entire remarks that comes from? Context! It's good for you!”

“Because it isn't going to happen this go-round. Fight for single payer and get nothing -- or fight for a public option and then prove single payer won't destroy the world.”

“33 comments on one article? Obsess much?”

“*sigh* -- where do these people come from?

We already have rationed health care -- the difference is the rationing is done solely based on your income. If you think differently, you've got a far different health insurance plan than most of us.

And if we have the best health care system, why don't we have the healthiest population? You know we don't, right?

And my English and Canadian friends prefer their systems to our mess.”

“Silly Republican. Current studies show that republicans are either suprisingly rapidly dying off or becoming embarrassed to admit to the affiliation.

When you stop listening to Rush and Hannity, you'll discover it's actually a center-left world -- especially by the standards of the currently radical right that purports to be the moderate right.”

“Yes, I think he has political reasons. I also think he's done everything politically feasible without trashing the rest of his very important agenda for the country (you remember, the one people voted for) to let someone else lead the charge to prosecute them. Now the info is public record for everyone to see. All it takes is a bill through congress for an independent prosecutor and suddenly "it's out of his hands".

Justice gets served but the rest of his attempts to improve the nation don't get sidetracked claiming he's lost in a partisan politics.”

“Sure. He's wrong.

Personally, I believe the only tenable solution is an abolition of marriage as a legal construct. The civil institution should be a domestic partnership for gays and straights alike.

Religions can define marriage as they choose, cleanly separated from the legal status of a domestic partnership.”

“Separation of Church & State was intended to protect both the State and Religion as the founding fathers believed each damaged the other if mixed.

In James Madison's 1811 Letter to Baptist churches he writes: "Having always regarded the practical distinction between Religion and Civil Government as essential to the purity of both, and as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States . . ." I'd guess he knew what the 1st amendment intended, since he wrote it.

If you still believe a separation was not intended by the framers, I suggest you also google "Jefferson religion Danbury" and read the comments of Thomas Jefferson who was there.

James Madison's letter to Jasper Adams relates why he believed that keeping the two apart was for the best. Of the distinction between religion and government he writes: "The tendency to a usurpation on one side or the other, or to a corrupting coalition or alliance between them, will be best guarded agst by an entire abstinence of: the Govt from interference in any way whatever, beyond the necessity of preserving public order, & protecting each sect agst trespasses on its legal rights by others. "

In a separate 1792 article he writes: "Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion & Govt in the Constitution of the United States the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies, may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history. " Boy some things never change, do they?”

“I believe he could be disbarred since he was acting in his legal capacity when he wrote that garbage. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure he can only be impeached if he committed crimes while he was a judge. These crimes occurred before he was appointed.

Remember, you don't get to flex the law to make it say what you want. That's part of the point!”

“i believe the context was the commander in chief of our forces. shortened it becomes our commander in chief. no slight to free will intended.”

“perhaps he didn't learn it in his "Ivy League Schools" (as you so derisively termed them) because it's only a right-wing moonbat view recently dug up to try to revise decades old history as accepted by the overwhelming majority of historians. it's the same kind of crap Bush pulled when trying to claim there was a debate about global warming because they could find 10 crackpot cranks funded by the oil industry who wrote that they didn't believe.”

“so one of these two people tries to get by on 16,200 while the other is forced to scrimp and save to make do with 162,000.

this argument ignores the reality that there are fundamental costs to being surviving as a person. just because one person chooses to teach and another has the combination of luck and skill to design the next computer chip, those costs don't change.

the person making 180,000 has a lot more resources over and above the amount required for survival -- the person making 18,000 doesn't really have enough -- before taxes.”

“move to strike: non-responsive.”

“Were there some? Sure. Were they put on a stage at a major organizing event for the entire left to salivate for? Not so much.

fyi, I do not consider championing impeachment for an administration that admitted to violating the law and considered subpoenas optional as wishing him ill.”

“listen very carefully:
If I make 18,000 a year and you make 180,000 -- which of us can more afford to help cover the cost of Bush's war and Republican deregulation?

Unless someone proposes taking 81,000 from you and giving it to me, we're not talking about wealth redistribution, we're talking about each bearing the costs of maintaining our civil society according to the financial burden he can bear.”

“listen very carefully:
If I make 18,000 a year and you make 180,000 -- which of us can more afford to help cover the cost of Bush's war and Republican deregulation? Unless someone proposes taking 81,000 from you and giving it to me, we're not talking about wealth redistribution, we're talking about each bearing the costs of maintaining our civil society according to the financial burden he can bear.

The thing I hate about people who scream about 'socialist thinking' is they don't even really know what socialism is.”

“Expecting it to fail due to the continued displays of ineptitude by those who were left in charge is not the same thing as wanting it to fail.”

“if you need 200 acres for a wind mill, you're doing it wrong.

i'm guessing you mean a wind farm. hmmm, perhaps it could fuel your electric car?”

“That's the point. Conservatives always disown their own once they fail.
"Conservatism never fails, only politicians fail conservatism."

If everyone still thought Bush was great, he'd be a Conservative icon. Since everyone considers him a disaster, "he wasn't really a Conservative."”