oldschooldemocrat's Comments (93)

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“A true Southern gentle man. Everyone please remember that this lovely soul was a proud Texan.
Next time you are tempted to stereotype, please remember him.”

“The fact of the matter is that Mr. West lost his mother many months ago, and while the grief for a lost loved one never completely disappears, that has little to do with his narcisstic outburst.
All the credit here goes to Beyonce Knowles who was put in a terrible position and behaved just as a lady should. Thanks to her for setting a beautiful and gracious example. West is really to be pitied I suppose, but his behavior is reprehensible.”

“I don't tweet or twitter or whatever the hell it is, but I do know a terribly screwed up kid when I see one.
This isn't entertainment news; it's a pitiful object lesson to anyone who wants to put a child into show business. Clearly, the Lohans have a lot to answer for. Look at Beau and Jeff Bridges or Ron and Clint Howard or Jodie Foster or any number of other former child stars who clearly had parents who saw them as more than a meal ticket and then look at this sad, confused girl. It really is a shame you can't run someone for child abuse once the results are in.”

“From the wonderful state that brought us the Civil War . . . it's Joe. Thank god Dr. King was a southerner. It helps me to remember that in times like these.”

“Absolutely! Though in the case of these aging pseudo-babes, two thongs do make a Right.”

“Let's be honest. A certain element of the always nutso right simply can not accept that someone with skin color darker than their own is President. They can't stand schoolchildren watching our President and getting the odd notion that it's perfectly normal for a person of color to be President. Goodness knows they hated Bill Clinton, but Obama makes them crazy. It's just racism, ultimately, that has created the birther hysteria and similar phenomena. It's pitiable and contemptable all at the same time. I pray this doesn't end in violence.”