snseattle's Comments (30)

“During my years living in MA I was very proud to have you as my Senator. I am thankful for your life of service and I am glad that I had the chance to tell you personally when we met in 2006. We are a better country in a better world for the work you did....thank you.”

“NO question it is a beautiful. But, and I may be wrong here, don't they need some environment to hide in and swim around? Even a small fish tank has rocks and coral for the fish...”

“Oooo. The possibilities with that metaphor are...uh...nevermind.”

“Oh yeah? Well my dad's also an economist!”

“You can't be serious. The earmarks wind up in nearly every district in the country in one form or another. All those bonuses wind up in the off-shore bank accounts and hedge funds of .01% of single individuals and the money is then used to buy the types of investments that do nothing to grow the economy. Obama want's to push their taxes up to 39.5% - I say 50% is a better place to start.”

“I thought Meghan's interview on Maddow was terrific. She is genuine and does not seem to share the same combat approach to politics, a self-riteous certainty, that others in her party continue to use - I would probably enjoy a conversation with her about the substance of her views over a cup of coffee. And, since we were on the subject, I would notice as we talked, as I did in the Maddow interview, that she is adorable - too young for me, but in no need of changing anything about herself to fit anyone's idea of who she is supposed to be. Now, if she could just talk her dad back down to where he was in 2000...that would be very helpful.”

“Absolutely a great opportunity to save ourselves and our future from continued suicide on a carbon economy. To make it happen, Obama needs to pull all of the government subsidies to oil and coal companies and let a free market of a new energy economy replace them immediately. The government allows these companies to get away with killing our air and water and us - they are stealing our money by being allowed to pollute and lay waste to our habitat - screw the shrews and owls, this is about me and my kids. "We can continue to take carbon energy from hell or we can take the unlimited free energy [wind and solar] that we get from heaven every day" (quoting Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at Built Green 2009 Conference, March 6, 2009, Seattle, WA). Why do Sweden, Iceland, Brazil, Costa Rica, Israel and others get to live better than we do? Because they have the commitment to a carbon-free economy and our government is full of corrupt, weak politicians. You want opportunity? Get big oil and coal out of the picture now.”

“The "Buy American" clause is a red herring. It is already in US Code for any governent project. Putting it in would only invite a gazillion lawsuits of people (read Republiicans) suing for companies to prove that every last item was "American." "Was your asphalt mad with US oil?" It is a nonsense argument. The people who are paid to build the roads will be in this country. Same with those retrofitting homes, selling and buying homes, autoworkers for US and foreign-owned companies, solar panel manufacturers, and on and on.

We all have to acknowledge that we are humans and we don't know what will work, regardless of political or personal desires. This bill is not the single answer to our problems. Focus on bank oversight, the energy bill, the education bill, getting out of Iraq, minimizing the cost of Afghanistan, and other problems that have to be addressed. Move on already.”

“the humanity...where is the care for the children who are being traumatized, injured and killed? Who will speak for them? Who will give them care? We are supposed to be the ones we have been waiting for...they are counting on us.”

“We're ready to go, Mr. P-E. Let's get busy!”

“Welcome, Counselor Troy.”

“Chickens coming home to roost. Welcome home.”

“That s*** is funny, BO...like the smile, too”

“We, the American people, are not STUPID.. We have had ENOUGH.
Committed McCain Voters are TROLLS - do not engage them - they sap your time - focus on getting people to VOTE!
Enough lies.
Enough war. Enough job losses. Enough killing the environment. Enough lobbyists supporting the mega-wealthy and the largest corporations in every industry. Enough George Bush.
NO More.
it is critical that we stand up for ourselves and show some BACKBONE! Don't get distracted by their bs - what McCain calls "noise and static" - that is all they are.
They are not attacking Barack Obama. They are attacking US. They insult us by acting as though we are ignorant, as though we will let them get away with it again.
We need one thing: VOTERS.
I am talking to you.
Get up and get out the vote.. Don't try to persuade any one. Thare are many Democrats and we need them to VOTE. Go to BarackObama.com and GET INVOLVED. Or go to MoveOn.org.
Warning: Committed McCain Voters are TROLLS - do not engage them - they sap your time - focus on getting people to VOTE - Focus on the Goal
THIS IS NOT A DRILL!”

“I went cold reading that. I had the same thought earlier today. Yes. Serious trouble.”

“There is so much to say but why bother. John McCain has proven he is incapable of being president because he can not manage anything close to a government. His campaign has gone through so many leadership changes that it makes your head spin. It is not a coincidence therefore that either (a) he did not manage his VP Vetting Team, (b) The team he assembled was poorly selected by McCain, or (c) he actually did manage the team. Failure in any of these cases is further evidence of his inabilities.

Who, incidentally is not yet nominated.

So, in the midst of a hurricane-influenced, politically-opportunely-shortened Republican National Convention, who, exactly will the party nominate? If any of the logic above holds, it can't be John McCain. Who will it be?

I am, however, amazed. And shocked. And embarrassed for my country. Again.”

“Great reporting. Thanks.”

“Ms. Couric did not drive hard on ANY issue. She let Senator McCain deliver non-answers repeatedly. She should be ashamed of her performance.”

“perfect option: See Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, 1988. I hate it too, but the reference was right on (the Supreme Court decision that protects this type of free speech).”

“Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988, Supreme Court of the United States) protects exactly this type of speech under the First Amendment -unless the "false statement" was made with "actual malice." Social effects aside, parody need not be understood by any proportion of the population to be protected.

That said, I think it is a terrible mistake and am sure large posters are hanging in RNC headquarters.”

“The enemy in this case does not have a formal country and borders are less meaningful here. Yes, Obama is the world champion at hide & seek, but the effort will continue to be defined by where they hide, not where we start to seek.”

“Obama's point is correct in that we are in Iraq as a result of bad strategy to begin with.

McCain's response about making strategic recommendations withouth understanding the ground issues is wrong. That was the problem with Iraq in the first place.

One mus know his intent prior to taking action and then one plans actions to achieve the intended outcomes. That was not done in Iraq.

Obama is laying out the goal to get us on track to win the war we must win, in a place where, today, we have demonstrated previous success with a combination of leadership, economic guidance, and covert support for local tribes. We beat the Russians and we know this territory far better than Iraq. We simply have not put the effort behind it. Instead we have let the enemy regroup, hide out, get supplied and now we will hvae a much tougher war to fight there. Moreover, we now have a greater problem in Pakistan.

IRAN would love to see us destabilize Pakistan in the process so they can step into a regional conflict, grab weapons and power, and then really put the screws to us. Bush has left a mess that is far more difficult than would have been if we had finished off bin Laden when we had himsighted.

Bush-McCain's approach has left our troops weakend and now they have to fight where weakness is not an option. McCain doesn't understand strategy anymore than he understands economics, evidently.”

“Your point on the Russian loss is only correct in that they lost in Afghanistan when they were fighting our well-supplied surrogates. The fact is, we already won in Afghanistan once by beating them and effectively ending the Cold War on that battle field. The book "Charilie Wilson's War" is a good document of the history (the movie leaves out far too much detail, but is entertaining).

BTW, the British lost there as well more than once, though they were fighting proxy wars with Russia and that was at a far different tie100-200 years ago. We already have experience in supplying coalitionsthere. Hopefully we have learned not to leave a bunch of shoulder-launched missles behind when we are done - and not to get the money funneled to the bad guys while we are fighting the good fight. That remains to be seen.”

“Has anyone bothered to check with Senator Clinton as to whether she would accept this process let alone the nomination? It seems she should hav e a more active role in how to end her political career, no?”

“I am just halfway through this book. It's logic is well-structured, and Bugliosi provides decent evidence for his case.

I think the author goes too far in the visceral nature of his language, but we have to remember that he is not attempting to be a journalist. He is a successful prosecutor and he is powerfully providing the DA's case in this work. To that extent, he clearly paints GWB's character, and his behavior, as abominable. Bush is a man who has no compassion and is completely insultated in his own world with the ego of a self-centered adolescent.

Bushes proven lies and argued conspiracy (with Cheney and Rice) are the links to the legal basis for his illegally enlisting a third party (the Iraqi Army) in the certain death of American soldiers, for whose patriotic losses Bush is arguably guilty of murder in the first degree - and is prosecutable in any district court in the USA, not just by the Attorny General of the USA.

I encourage you to read the book. I am looking foward to completing it over the next few days.”