oregonideas's Comments (61)

“you're ever-so-right....LBJ would have creamed Lieberman.....but, first, of course, after Lieberman's losing the Democratic primary, then running as an independent and winning (with many, many republican votes); LBJ would have never allowed him in the Democratic caucus......only two Senators opposed the infamous Tonkin Resolution (Gruener of Alaska and Morse of Oregon) and the LBJ machine ground them both out of politics in their next re-election campaigns....It's hard to believe anyone (even the very wimpy Harry Reid) would allow Joe the Weasel to control the fate of a bill as important as health care reform.....and, of course, the bill has now lost those very elements which would have made it so valuable to tens of millions of Americans.......a pox on Lieberman and those who enabled him to destroy one of the most needed planks of the progressive movement....”

“joe arpaio has been the darling of the right-wing "land & order" crowd for years........pink underwear, miminal food, wretched living conditions. abusive treatment, etc and joe's fans love it all. The county has paid millions in settlements to prisoners and families of prisoners, yet Joe is still their hero. We are all frustrated by the high crime rates, high recidivism rates and huge costs associated with "public safety" (whatever that is).....yet there is nothing to suggest that we can "jail" ourselves out of this mess..the "lock 'um up & then abuse them" approach simply has not worked; not in Miracopa County or anywhere else........we need a national dialogue over public safety and some creative, sensible new ideas to address the problem.......somehow, I don't think pink underwear is the answer...sorry, Joe”

“Surely no one really thinks this is just an autobiography.....were that the case it would sell about seventeen copies. Sarah is the "great hope" of the "populist conservatives" (now there's an oxymoron for you).. The only threatening thing about Palin is the slight (hopefully very, very slight) chance that there are enough dullards across the contry to give her some chance at a resurgent political life. But, please, if you can't find someone more qualified than Sarah, you should just wave a white flag and forget the whole thing.

By the way, if you really like Sarah Palin, you should turn off the talk radio and get out of the house more often; there's a really interesting world out there....go explore it I know, this is not a very "nice" post; but hey, my mommy always said "tell the truth"”

“the tea baggers (so much more fun than calling them trea partiers) manage to get on the wrong side of every possible issue......could there be anything more obnoxious than promoting Robocalls......the right wing of the GOP is so desperate that they're resorting to the lowest form of campaigning as their big hope.......make a robocall to me and I'll listen just long enough to find out who I'm going to vote against........how can these people be this stupid?”

“you people are SO mean. Sean and his highly paid production staff just made a little "mistake" Hey, doesn't everyone keep their video clips of large crowds mixed with their recently shot clips of other gatherings (coincidentally with very small crowds)......anyone could make such an innocent mistake......clearly he wasn't trying to give the false impression that there were more folks at an "anti-health care reform" rally than were really there....NEVER...the Fox Network is "Fair and Balanced" and don't forget, catching them lying and cheating to give false impressions does not change that!!!!!”

“If you've seen Letterman's "mea culpa" tape.....actually a very self-serving attempt to get out in front of the breaking scandal...you know he had a history of sexual involvement with women who worked for him. Virtually every public agency and most businesses have explicit policies prohibiting such involvement. There are dozens of cliche's describing the prohibited behavior..."dipping the pen...etc., etc." ...the point being DON'T DO IT!!!! Letterman's actions, like virtually every other case (including President Clinton's) involve a powerful, arrogant man overwhelming a woman who works for him...such situations are almost sexual harassment by definition.

In the public sector, the supervisor, principal, or whatever, would very likely be dismissed...as, in my opinion, they should be. Letterman, on the other hand, played the whole thing very successfully, with laughs from the audience and kudos for his honesty. Balderdash....he'd never have said a word if the extortion attempt hadn't forced him to do so. If he worked for me, he'd be fired. If he worked for any school district or other public agency, he be fired. If he were a politician, he be skewered by the opposition and likely lose his next re-election bid. It will be interesting to see what happens, or more accurately, doesn't happen to good 'ol David.”

“Becks blathering doesn't really bother me......I see homeless persons on the street, blathering as well...now that bothers me...these folks need support and assistance, for they, quite literally, cannot take care of themselves....beck, on the other hand, rakes in millions doing his blathering on Fox News.. we had a grandaughter with severe cerebral palsy who lived to be eight years old. for those eight years she could do absolutely nothing for herself and was unable to communicate in any fashion. She had a very limited quality of life, but her folks cared for her with an unimaginable love. So yes, we can all relate some real "tear-jerker" stories and we can hope, pray or whatever for a miracle. However, while we're doing it, how about a little compassion for the nearly 50 million americans who have no health insurance and are literally "out of luck" in obtaining health care.

It sickens me (fortunately I have medicare) that wealthy folks like Beck and Limbaugh and well--covered forks like GOP Senators and Representatives can work to deny health care to those 50 million americans. Their position is really very simple: "I've got mine, screw you."”

“wow...what a hard call....losing a family member in war is a horrible, horrible experience.....seeing his death in the media only adds to that pain... to be sure, we americans need to realize the horror of war and not think it's just predators flying out and releasing missles at terrorists. however, there should be some middleground with it done in a fashion which doesn't identify the KIA....... we've make the huge mistake of thinking we can somehow win a war in afghanistan....we might check with the Russians and see what they think of the odds of our success.....over the next who knows how many years we can waste thousands of american lives; billions of dollars and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of the "enemy" (including old men, women and children) and afghanistan will still be basically the same as it is today ......I guess the real horror is not the picture, but the policies which make it posssible”

“we all should know (after eight years of George w. Bush) that you don't just "spin" information, you
create the reality which serves your purpose. I like to call this the "Rove Doctrine"....if a reality is unpleasant,just ignore it, create a more comfortable one and sell it to the masses. It worked for W. and it still works to victimize millions of americans who get their world view from the Limbaughs, Becks, O'Riellys and Hannitys of the world.

Fear is a wonderful motivator and, combined with ignorance, is the key component of right-wing americana...the cynical manipulation of seniors is a crime.....but, that doesn't exactly slow down the wingnuts and the corporate interests (on this issue, the insurance companies) as they seek to retain their power and profit as they use those wingnuts for their ends.”

“great article...I just finished canning about twenty eight ounce jars of raspberry jam. The biggest job will be saving them until this winter.”

“No one ever accused the GOP of having very bright office-holders. Although it might be cowardice rather than ignorance. So long as the GOP acts like the right-wing wacko faction is in charge these folks who have to stand for re-election every two years will go along with their agenda. Remember the wacko fringe will be only too happy to find someone to run against them in the primary if they drift too far in the direction of sanity.”

“hey, you read this stuff and you might get the impression that Sarah is a) not too bright, b) not too honest, or c) both a and b.......correct answer is C. Ms Palin is a disaster in all ways...she is the central player is a dysfunctional family (which should not be a public issue, but she brought that family to the public, it didn't come to them; and, politically, she is the most incompetent person to hit the national scene in recent history....hopefully, she will score some big bucks and retire to a well-deserved obscurity...”

“I've been confused....it seems the GOP is the party of diversity and civil rights......Michael is really such a moving speaker....after hearing him I went out and changed by party registration.........the man is pitiful......yeah, the GOP folks are really open to diversity.....please Michael, give us a breaki!”

“you give the right-wingers absolutely no credit whatsoever. If the GOP pins its hopes in 2012 on Palin we will see the greatest landslide in American political history. She might carry Alaska and the deep South neo-racist block, but other than that, she will be blanked. Ms Palin is fit for a B-movie comedy about the beauty queen who runs for high school student body president and makes a total fool of herself each time she appears......yet she garners most of the male votes because the guys all fanticize sleeping with her. She's the ultimate intellectual lightweight. She shows absolutely no knowledge of American history or politics. She demonstrates no judgement in her political or personal life. She's nasty and vindictive when "crossed." In short, she's a recipe for disaster in anything she does. At some point, even the guys wearing the tin caps will figure this out.”

“Oh you LIBERALS!!! always picking on Sarah because she is such a BREATH of fresh air!!! I thought she made her case very well....she's resigning because SHE HAS A HIGHER CALLING!!!!!! don't you fuzzy-headed lefties know what this means???? Of course you don't; that's because you're fuzay-headed...if you weren't you would understand and you would cheer Sarah in her God-given quest to make America a better place...to move us forward....to take us to a higher level......to give us a fresh vision......to restore all that is reall America........to lead us all to that greater America which is her vision....you Washington and media elite! just don't understand and you will never understand because you don't want to understand......shame on YOU!! as Sarah leads us to that New America you will be left on the side of the road wishing you had seen the LIGHT!!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA, GOD BLESS ALASKA, GOD BLESS WASILLA, AND GOD BLESS SARAH PALIN!!!!!!! (i hate to do it, but I'm adding a disclaimer....I'm afraid someone might take me seriously....this tripe sounds too much like something one of Sarah's wacko fans might actually write)”

“Sarah is the ultimate lightweight.....she accidentally became mayor; then governor, then VP candidate; and, each time, showed how incompetent she really is. Yet she simply doesn't know when to stop. Her latest move reeks of certifiable mental illness....I've known she's not too bright and has very limited judgement. But, to destroy any shread of credability she might have possessed by virtue of holding the governor's office is absolutely insane. Surely, there is some "good" reason for her decision........does she really think she'll now storm the country as the savior of the GOP; does she figure "what the hell", I'll do the rubber chicken circuit and pick up some big bucks......doe she fear some possible criminal prosecutions and figure as ex-governor she's a less inviting target...and on and on and on: Stay tuned.....the next episode in the Saga of Silly Sarah will be upcoming”

“actually there are some "rules" regarding "put-down" humor: 1) joke with and about friends, a put-down comment that gets a laugh from a buddy just might get a fat-lip from a stranger 2) be sure your "target" knows you're kidding....remember that wonderful line in Owen Wister's "The Virginian" when the protagonist tells a guy who just called him an S.O.B., "smile when you say that." 3) be sure you're an OK guy to tell the joke or make the comment: fat guys can make fat-guy comments to other fat guys, African-Americans can make racist comments to other African-Americans and women can make jokes about women to women (guys, be very careful on this last one)......however, if we're all very careful to only tell jokes that won't offend anyone, the Improv is closed, Comedy Central is bankrupt, and sitting around having a few beers with your buddies will get very boring”

“in my yearsof teaching I always refused to accept "forced" apologies from students.....and, let's face it, most apologies are just that...and, often, the person uses that wonderful qualifier, "gee, I'm sorry if something I said offended anyone".......used extensively by Southern Republican politicians after they've made an egregious racist remark.

Letterman's joke was in poor taste.....we all know that. However, if late night hosts refrained from jokes and comments someone would think are in poor taste, the shows would be very short. If folks can't find anything more important than this to stir their ire, we're really in pretty good shape.”

“sarah is really quite sad.....she's a small-town girl who got pushed into the big time and, unlike those feel-good flicks, didn't have the stuff. Unfortunately, she still hasn't realized she's yesterday's news.

please go back to Wasilla, ride your snowmobiles, and let the rest of us forget your pathetic fifteen minutes of fame.”

“you've been listening to far too much Rush radio..... check the text of Frank's comments and you'll find his position was far different than the right'wing version..... you may not like Frank, that's ok, I'm sure he doesn't really care.... you may not like his politics, that's ok too,, but put forth a bit more effort to think for yourself instead of playing the DittoHead role...it's not a particularly becoming role”

“dick cheney is, of course, a bully....and still a very agressive bully. As such it's virtually impossible to ignore him; doing so only encourages him and highlights your weaknesses; actions which will also encourage other bullies to "pile on." We also know that nearly all bullies are also cowards. Five draft deferrments might evidence such, especially combined with his willingness to send others to war using knowingly false information to promote that war. One might also suggest promoting and justifying torture as a governmentally supported tactic might indicate such "bullying" characteristics.

Let's be clear: Cheney is not going to stop on his own: Rush might say he "wants" President Obama to fail; Cheney is taking a far, far more active approach to promote that failure. It's time to "take on" the bully and as this article suggests Cheney's indictment would be a strong that direction.

If ever a man deserved to be termed "evil", Cheney does so. It's time to confront that evil.”

“spring has come and Alaskans' brains have thawed.....no one as shallow as Palin can fool folks for long...Hopefully she'll soon be running for another term as mayor of Wasilla; and, guess what, I'd bet she'd lose..... the whole Palin/Johnston saga should be a day-time soap, it's just way too embarassing to be real life”

“hey buddy, it's OK.....take an ann coulter insult as a compliment. only become worried if she says something nice about you.”

“it's not easy to out-rush rush, but this guy has managed it......the question of free speech is always put to the test by someone like this.... I guess the best combination is to let him rant and have folks reject that ranting.... 23% of folks admit to being Republicans and, I'd hope, even the vast majority of them would reject this garbage..”

“GOP, please as you eviscerate yourselves, try not to bleed all over the rest of us. Arlen Specter tried for two decades to be a moderate Republican and, guess what, he finally reached the point of realizing it just can't be done today. The right-wingers have now so-dominated the GOP that even the slightest dissent brings threats of reprisal. OK, it worked guys, you drove Specter out of the party...congratulations, with your every move you make yourselves less relevant and less likely to have any real impact on American politics.......are you blind or stupid or maybe both?”