The focus.

Just because Ted Kennedy helped write it doesn't make it a scam.

Or does it?

You can't possibly be so childish as you appear to be.

When was the last time I told you to FOAD? No, really, when was the last time?

If I were to hold grudges, I wouldn't be conversing with you at all. We all know our respective histories. It's time to stop pretending that you've been unfairly targeted for attacks by me, at least.

Now it's just FO. You must be mellowing. I actually prefer that to when you call me a liar.(or childish for that matter. I PREFER honest attacks. I just dont want them ongoing. Attack and move on.

I've never said they were unfair attacks, just attacks.

ROFL

You got him there.

Finally.

A fight!

I honestly think that you're being childish.

And, when was the last time I told you to FO? No, seriously, when was it?

I am saying that your attacks against me, at least, have invariably been unfair. The times that they were not, I took my lumps and proclaimed 'mea culpa' and/or apologized.

When will I finally live down my stupid "I am more intelligent and erudite than you" SNK crap, as far as you're concerned, a.v.?

I hate to appear dense but "the focus" escapes me.... appears that there is little difference between the posts now as then....

forgot to login .... sorry

You're the one bringing it up. Don't take it so personal, I like a little attack now and then. Keep up the good work.

Things go in little cycles. People probably get pissy when they have to get ready for work the next day. It's politics, not beanbag.

It's that disarming quality of yours that I love to hate, and hate to love.

GG brought up the political imbalance and since humanills joined things may have shifted a bit. I need two sides to be interested. I appreciate your contribution to my thinking. (but that doesn't mean I won't be as argumentative as possible when the chance arises. Maybe we need a new round of invitees. Celt and Reilly come to mind. Some of the folks at The Gaps(the IPB board Bart showed me to give me the idea for this) are a possibility, but they are ALL left. (makes it a VERY slow board too)

This really is pretty engaging and busy, as well as balanced in comparison to some places.

I have an old e-mail that I believe was Grigorii's, and I have requested him to join or respond. Not holding breath but a little. He's an independent thinker, that's for damn sure.

Rotten bastard.

Well yeah, that, too. What's yer point?

I don't think Coconut said but one nice thing about me in his life, but I was still sad when he checked in and wouldn't even post one post to say hi to others.

Your mindset really changes when you want to hear from everyone rather than just "win" arguments.

I actually cheered and clapped when hunin and Nomarchy joined. Get a nice feeling when I see Oda drop by and not post too.

Oda hardly ever did post, but there's what I think of as a rare and good soul.

Agreed. Seen her here a couple times, but I don't think she's an arguer, just a nice lady.

Oda who?

Oda Allen. As AV says, she is one nice lady. I'm sure she read a thousand times more than she posted, or probably 10 or 20 or another thousand. But she is out there, paying attention.

Uh huh, as they allow torture to continue. Invade nother country for no apparent reason...

I suppose he has a point, that all of the good things in this Country's history have come from folks with "deeply held Religious beliefs." But what he fails to acknowledge is that some of the worst human rights abuses and horrible things in this Country's history also come from folks with "deeply held Religious beliefs."



That's kinda um, un-Christian of him.

Beam, splinter, you know.

Democracy seems to be working fine in India, and I do not think you could call them a Christian Country.

What an idiot. Arrogant supremeist.

morning davis

just trying to keep up with the news here

mornin' lady.

That was no lady. That was Bee.

The current batch of politicians in this country could learn a lesson in morality from this little boy.

Honest! Boy finds $9,000 near store, turns it in

January 17, 2005

BY STEVE PATTERSON Staff Reporter

It's the kind of cash Andrew Gieseler could have used to buy 900 packs of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.

Or hundreds of model cars.

But when the 12-year-old Naperville boy found a bag filled with $9,000 in cash outside a Target store Saturday, he said he didn't think about all the spending he could do on his favorite things.

Instead, he turned it all in.

"I wanted to do the right thing," he said Sunday. "It wasn't like 'Hmm, what should I do?' It was just, like, this is what to do."

The bag of cash -- dropped by an armored car service -- was found near the store's entrance after the Gieseler family made "a last-minute decision" to go there.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-boy17.html

They already know the kid is a dumb f#ck.

How long have you had this evil streak?

Sometimes I just feels wicked.

If it was Walmart's money, you all would probably say he should have kept it.

That would be the situational ethics you were talking about?

Personally, I wouldn't tell any kid it was OK no matter who's money it was. You teach a kid it's ok to steal and he could very well end up in prison. Or the Republican leadership.

Learn to grasp and understand irony.

Once they start down that road, there's just no telling.

Sorry johnny, I guess you don't get to be President.



Name that film.

Did you hear about that DA in Texas, Earles, I think, on NPR?

They were saying he's gone after more Dems then Repubs so DeLays attempts to paint him as partisan are silly.

I guess this guy is a bigtime corruption stopper.

Sounds like quite a character.



I think davis would like this guy.

Fargin' preachers.

Unfortunately I don’t know where to put this but these are my political thoughts for the inauguration of 2005. I am saddened. I hate wars.
The Crowning
His crown: the souls of the innocent victims of war.
His scepter: is destruction
His robe: is woven with blood stained currency
His throne: is constructed with the backs of his citizens
His specter: is the destruction of all that is beautiful
His humanity: is only for those who are invited to the machinations
His destiny: only he will be bemused
His legacy: will be despised
csh

That's it

In a rotted nutshell



Obscene is too mild a word.

Replusive? Yes. Loathsome? Yes, but... it's far worse than that.

Despicable will have to do. While he parties, those he has injured to the point of death and worse are struggling, dying, suffering.

Perhaps he'll choke on a champagne soaked pretzle and realize what a sorry SOB he is.

Maybe the ghost of Nixon will visit tonight, and bring some friends.

Paige was no friend to either education or educators.

I have a sinking suspicion Spelling will be worse tho.

Kind of like Condi Rice replacing Colin Powell. Or Gonzalez replacing Ashcroft.

Right out outta the frying pan into the fire we go.

They could have a spelling bee, Bee.

Here's some more fine Republican ethics for you. I haven't heard one thing about this. I'd say they are preparing for the farce, the whitewash so-called "investigation" that Lawrence Eagleburger is heading into the use of intel in the lead up to the war in Iraq. I haven't seen such an abuse of power since the Iran/Contra crimes. Except now, with the Patriot act, we probably won't even know what is going on. Values and morals?


6 Senate Intelligence Staffers Fired by GOP

By Greg Miller, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — Six staff members of the Senate Intelligence Committee were fired last week in a Republican shakeup that alarmed some Democrats on the panel, congressional officials said Tuesday.

Among those released were all three members of the committee's audit staff, which is responsible for investigating classified programs operated by the CIA and other spy agencies. The other departures included the committee's general counsel and two support staff, officials said.

The head of the audit team, Don Stone, was regarded as an "independent, objective" investigator, said one official who asked not to be named. His dismissal prompted concern among Democrats that Republicans "eliminated an investigative part of the committee they couldn't control." But Republicans rejected such characterizations.

"The audit staff is not being disbanded or dismantled," said a senior GOP aide on the committee, adding that the panel's chairman Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) intended to fill the positions quickly "with highly qualified individuals."

The aide also noted that Roberts did not make personnel changes when he became chairman of the committee two years ago. Chairmen of congressional committees generally have wide latitude to select staff.

Stone, a Republican staffer who had been a member of the committee since the mid-1990s, could not be reached for comment. He was formerly a member of the inspector general's office at the CIA.

Several officials said Stone and his staff were not directly involved in politically sensitive investigations, including the committee's probe of erroneous prewar assertions by the CIA and other agencies that Iraq had banned chemical and biological weapons.

A spokesman for Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, declined to comment on the matter.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...eadlines-nation

Time for another purge. is this the new McCarthyism? When will the media stand up and ask these jerks if "they have any shame"?

I'm just heartbroken. My favorite -- nay, my only beloved Bush Administrationer violated one of the fundamental tenets of a free (non-governmental) press. And after all the wonderful things I'd said about him. I just don't know how to pick my friends, I guess.

ROFL I've had that picture buried in a zip disk somewhere, since the mid 90s

Kudos to the Governor and People of New Mexico for putting their money where their mouth is regarding "supporting the troops."

They are considering buying all the National Guard life insurance so that they can feel a little more secure about their loved ones.




There needs to be a whole lot more of this kind of action. Good for Bill Richardson and the good people of New Mexico...

Agency Admits Errors in Deal With TV Host

By STUART ELLIOTT

Published: January 20, 2005

The Ketchum public relations agency has reversed course, apologizing for paying a company owned by the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams to promote the Bush administration's educational policies. The agency also promised to change its policies to prevent another such "lapse in judgment."

Advertisement

The apology, in a statement released Tuesday night, came after two weeks of criticism. The critics said Ketchum compromised industry ethical standards by not disclosing that it paid the Graham Williams Group $240,000 on behalf of a client, the Education Department, to have Mr. Williams praise the No Child Left Behind Act on his television show and in his newspaper column. Mr. Williams acknowledged the payments after they were disclosed by USA Today on Jan. 7.

Previously, in articles in the trade publication PR Week, Ketchum, owned by the Omnicom Group, had defended itself, saying Mr. Williams was responsible for disclosing the payments. But in the statement, which Ketchum attributed to its chief executive, Ray Kotcher, the agency said it regretted the lack of disclosure.

"We should have recognized the potential issues in working with a communications firm operated by a commentator," the statement said. "This work did not comply with the guidelines of our agency and our industry.

"Under those guidelines, it is clear that we should have encouraged greater disclosure. There was a lapse in judgment in this situation. We regret that this has occurred."

The statement listed changes that Ketchum would make, including requiring subcontractors "to abide by the agency's ethical standards" and adopting a new policy for signing and authorizing contracts with spokesmen and spokeswomen.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/20/business.../20ketchum.html

Why start now? I'd like to know how many rightwing idiot commentators or journalists in general are on the Republcan dole. Fargin hypocritical a-holes.