oldschooldemocrat's Comments (102)

“I'm not questioning that this child, may she rest in peace, was anything but a wonderful and inspiring spirit or that her particular parents were motivated by anything but the hope that her story would perserve her memory and be a tribute to it. I think there's a special place in heaven for parents who love and care for special needs children. I don't think I could ever be as brave or selfless as they have to be. The problem is that this is a very very rare condition so that the vast majority of us aren't ever likely to meet a person with this syndrome unlike Tourette's which is rare but not as rare. Those children will grow into adults who will need our understanding. Fox is an adult who chose to bravely use his celebrity to help others. This little girl really was exploited by TLC, a network I will never watch again. Even if her particular story inspires us, I don't think that's worth the risk to other children that these shows pose. I'm sure you are right in this case about the child, her family and how you and other good people reacted. I'm just really really concerned for all the children out there. I don't want to be inspired at the potential cost to any child. Thanks for such a thoughtful response, tlgeiger62. You seem like a very wise and compassionate person.”

“No matter how beloved this child was or how lovely her spirit, this is a crass commercial exploitation of a minor that makes old time carnival freak shows look small-time. When are we going to enact legislation that protects all the children whose parents (from Gosselins to Balloon Boys to Octobabies) chose to thrust them into the limelight for money or out of some benighted personal need? We all know the sad stories of child performers who end up dead or destroyed in their 20's, and at least they had some legal protection. These reality show kids don't even have child labor law protection. ENOUGH.”

“I agree that this couple have made extremely questionable choices . The burden on older children, the increasing likelihood of danger to mother and newborn with each pregnancy, the selfishness of adding so many people to the planet (because even if the family can provide for them without public monies this is still a real drain on many resources), but I am also profoundly troubled by the tone of some of these posts. Misogynism takes many forms. I happen to think the quiverful movement has as much to do with keeping women in their place as anything else, but crude vulgarity isn't particularly
a great way of demonstrating respect for women either. Are we really comfortable with interference in reproductive decisions? I'm pro-choice because any other course adds to the possibility that some one will dictate who gets sterilized, who gets used as breeding stock, and so forth. I think this couple are irrational fools but the alternative to allowing their folly is even worse.”

“At last, a rational explanation for the hate speech directed at the President. I guess y'all are just jealous too. In fact, now that I think of it, the fact that you can't tell disagreement from hatred explains a lot.”

“There is a middle ground here. I'm not comfortable passing moral judgements about extremely over-weight people. I'm 61 and not the tiny little person I've always been anymore. On the other hand, I can still fit inside a standard airline seat and that's the ultimate issue here. Air travel is wretched enough as it is. No one should be forced to have even less space because another passenger is infringing on it, and no one should be permitted to take up that much room in the aisle for everyone's safety. How about compelling the airline to provide appropriate seating for extremely heavy passengers in a specified area of the plane, have them pay a surtax for using it along the lines of an excess baggage fee, board these passengers first so as not to inconvenience others and everybody behave as politely to each other as possible no matter what we weigh. It's a shame that anyone is put in an humiliating position because of a physical issue, but we also have to be pragmatic when it comes to the safety of a whole airline full of passengers.”

“Wow. A male republican sleeping with an adult female whose company stands to profit. How quaint and old-fashioned. What , no under-age boys, no strangers in public bathrooms, no hired professionals, no diapers?”

“Everyone in my home state knows that Huckabee extended clemency to any plausible con artist who could convince the governor that he had come to Jesus. This guy isn't the first who got out and committed horrendous, violent crimes. All well and good for the preacher of a gospel that puts a lot of emphasis on charity to prisoners, but not so great for the chief executive of a prison system. Also rather significant that he showed his mercy to the rapist of one of Bill Clinton's relatives. Nasty.”

“Please don't misinterpret my observation that Bush' evangelical Christian fervor made him extremely partisan for Israel. Obama, on the other hand, has tried to be a bit more even-handed in suggesting a policy that ratifies our historic ties to Tel Aviv while seeking a more balanced weighing of Palestinian hopes and aspirations. I think that is the source of this much ado about very little rather than a failure to recognize cutbacks in a time of fiscal crisis. In the meantime, Happy Chanukah to everyone including all my friends and family who weren't expecting an invite to the White House in the first place.”

“Just because our institutions of governance were designed to protect the rights of minority individuals and groups doesn't mean that any individual or group should exploit those protections from a purely obstructionist motivation, thwarting the will of the the majority of citizens in order to further selfish political or financial aims. Senator , please abandon the hypocritical stance that somehow you are fulfilling some noble purpose rather than pursuing your own partisan agenda.”

“Cocaine's a funny drug.”

“As someone who has lived in Delaware for over 20 years, I can attest that what our friend Salty has to say is largely correct though it is true that Delaware collects a lot of incorporation fees among other benefits for being a good place
for this kind of business to take place. That's one reason the Delaware bar is hard to pass and pays a lot of attention to business law of all kinds. Our Chancery Court really is admirable in many ways. We are not a tax haven but we are a blue state that has been run by entrenched interests of all kinds for hundreds of years. As a native Arkansan, I wish you had let that one alone, Salty”

“Step 1 Strip this man of all power positions he continues to hold thanks to crony politics
Step 2 Publicize the health/insurance lobby money that bought him
Step 3 Conn. voters, please accept responsibility for electing this disgrace”

“Wow. Cling to dogma that has been proven false much?”

“In a weird way, I find this even more distressing than I would if the Cyruses weren't a show business family. Yikes. Surely, they must realize the PR ramifications of letting their little girl look like this even if they don't have better taste themselves. Dang, this is just plain trashy.”

“It almost causes me physical pain to say anything nice about our former president, but it's been widely reported that Bush made many unphotographed visits to Walter Reed and other facilites for the care of veterans without press coverage. I don't see why we can't simply acknowledge that occassionally politicians even those we loathe or are disappointed in actually intend to do the right thing however misguided or self-serving they may otherwise be. (Exception: Cheney who is just evil plain and simple)”

“Is his area of expertise pest control? I believe that was his trade pre-elective office. If only he had discovered reality-tv whoring before he got into politics.”

“I don't usually think we can successfully analyze people we know let alone public figures we don't. Who knows what really animates someone else when all is said and done. However, Justice Thomas strikes me as a particularly sad and embittered man. He's been in a permanent sulk of some kind as long as he has been in public life. I don't see the point in name calling. He does far less harm that Scalia, for example. I do think he is quite right about regional diversity which I think was absolutely crucial to the decisions that Justice O'Connor used to render. It's a real pity when a seat on the court is occupied by a Justice whose personal demons seem so obviously on display.
Just sad.”

“Well, not so much run as waddle.”

“I like to think that I am reasonably well-informed, but this guy has absolutely been under my radar until recently. This is the kind of elected official our party needs so many more of. I never thought I'd want to send some cash to a Florida politician, but here he is. If you're progessive and agree, please let him know we support him all across the US.”

“Me to Cheney: Stop Existing”

“And what have some of you done lately for refugees or Dafur or anything else? Say what you will. Whatever the motivation, these people seem to be doing good work for people in dire straits. Go to New Orleans sometime (spend some money too), and check out what Make It Right is doing in the Ninth Ward. The cameras have gone home, but Pitt is making life better for people every day. I don't care why. I care that it is true.”

“Some pal.”

“Clearly her ghost writer must know the semi-in-law meth dealer. Fast work!”

“Because Moonves is a media mogul. Chen is some sort of odd info-journalist type person.
Everything has to be somewhere. Anyway, why be tacky about a newborn. Welcome, Charlie.”

“Really, y'all. She's not very bright and not very talented and sort of pitiful plus she keeps her underwear on in public and doesn't seem to drive drunk. I feel bad about her dog, and she just doesn't seem like someone to enjoy hating on.”