Arkansas Blog

Lovely. Those covers will grace many a bathroom door, and I'm sure they will become a collector item. I'm going to make sure I get a copy.

Funny. I remember after W became president select the Democratic symbol was jokingly said to change from a Donkey to a crying baby while at the same time the GOP symbol changed from an elephant's profile to its backside.

Looks good on ya.

I don't take much comfort in the discredited Time magazine's pronouncement of the "death" of the Republican "revolution."

These same twits pronounced the entire Republican PARTY dead after Goldwater's defeat. Seems like they wrote some similar obituaries after Newt led his party to ignominy.

Like cockroaches, Repugs may seem to be out but they're always there under the dungheap working like dung beetles to foist yet another anti-democracy agenda on a gullible public.

P.S.: If you squint your eyes just right you can see DICK Cheney's face in there amongst the wrinkles.

Headline: Foley Cornholes GOPs

Seriously, I agree with the tenor of the earlier thread that there are so much better reasons to get rid of the horrible, hypocritical, opportunistic, corrupt Republicans in the Congress and administration than this sap's pecadilloes, no matter how sad and dangerous they were.

Only time will tell if Time's prediction and the feeling I have in my gut turn out to be accurate. If we aren't ready to show the Republicans the door this next election then there is truly no hope for America.

Except for making themselves, and the top 1% richer, the Bush administration has failed at everything else. On top of that the cronyism and corruption has set new records. Tea Pot Dome would fit in a tea cup next to the crimes of the Republican Party of today.

Seeing the Republican Party fall from grace should be like recovering from a terrible stomach virus and diarrhea. No one should be sad to see it go. No one should miss the cramping and pain. America has everything to gain by switching parties after the disaster of the last 6 years.

Foley is a symptom, not the illness. I'm pretty sure the 2744 dead US troops killed in Iraq and the 10s of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians would gladly trade death for sexual harassment by Mr. Foley, but unfortunately they don't have that choice.

The elephant is toxic and in need of a mercy killing. You can pump your bullets into him November 7th. Please do!

Sometimes I think Thomas Nast (born in Germany but grew up after age 6 in NYC) was prophetic in popularizing the two symbols in the 1870s. Both animals have enough redeeming qualities and enough contrary qualities to come in symbolically handy however the parties act.

I'll wager DBI reads dailykos.com

As usual, Dentay is right on target.

What most of the public takes to be the Repug agenda is a smokescreen.

Abortion? Homophobia? Evolution? Politics from the pulpit? Building democracies in the Middle East? Fighting terrorism?

All smokescreens.

The overarching Repug agenda is to establish an oligarchy of rich people free to plunder the mooing cows of the the untermenschen at will.

The elimination of all taxation on the already-wealthy is the goal. Those other "issues" are merely the tools to gull the victims of this oligarchy into continuing to vote against their own self-interest.

Until the Iraq adventure began fraying around the edges and Mark Foley exposed the rascals as rank hypocrites it was working perfectly.

Obviously, A$a! hasn't got the message, since his multi-million ad campaign, unveiled during Saturday's Auburn game, is predicated on hollering "homo" and "liberal" until the Arkansas voters start to moo again.

I'll wager DBI reads dailykos.com

Posted by: JD

I look at it now and then but my wife is a....a.....daily kos-ter.

I think the term "liberal" loses some of its perjorative value when coming from the mouths of those who are smeared with the muck of scandal, the slime of corruption, the stink of incompetence, and the cesspool of lies that is overpowering the senses of the American public.
The messenger may not be humbled, but he certainly is humiliated.

I think the term "liberal" loses some of its perjorative value when coming from the mouths of those who are smeared with the muck of scandal, the slime of corruption, the stink of incompetence, and the cesspool of lies that is overpowering the senses of the American public.- Posted by: Jake da Snake
********
Is that why Hillary keeps saying it . . . ?

Oh DK, when you try to be funny you don't succeed very well. We're tossing grenades and you are throwing out firecrackers. Better check your ammunition box for something with a little higher caliber.
I wrote a few weeks back about the problems of using either liberal or conservative as a perjorative. Strange that the "kneel and squeal conservatives" allusion I used in that piece has so strangely come to pass.
Don't worry. I did take issue with some of the phoniness that plagues liberals and Democrats. Those faults however take a back seat (pun intended) to the current vagaries of the GOP. As you're wont to point out about political sides, good or bad, their day will come.

A little off the subject at hand, but you asked in another section about a good steakhouse. Normally, I do that at home, so my recommendation is very limited. However, the Butcher Shop has been the best place my wife and friends have encountered for a good steak and some delicious trimmings to go with it.
It's been a while since we've gone, so you may want to double check the latest opinions on the place. $$ - $$$ range.

If I had been the cover editor at TIME, I would have used an earlier photo. It would have shown the elephant with his tail up in the act of dumping all over everything.

True to Neo-Con natural instincts, they just move on and let others clean up after them -- blaming somebody else for it.

--Vis a Tergo.

Oh DK, when you try to be funny you don't succeed very well. We're tossing grenades and you are throwing out firecrackers. -Posted by: Jake da Snake
********
Jake:
I guess you can see why I am not quitting my day job to go on tour at the comedy clubs. Some things improve with age - hopefully my sense of humor is one of those things.

Some of the grenades are pretty good - and others are duds and still others are just blowing holes in a target that's already shot. As for firecrackers, I never thought they were a problem until I was tossing one and it went off before I could throw it - right by my ear. I was deaf for two hours. Be careful - Some firecrackers . . . in the right place . . . can be effective.

Haven't tried the Butcher Shop in years. I had forgotten about it (Like the other suggestion for Sir Loin's Inn) - Since the Butcher Shop moved from Asher, I thought it lost some of its luster - but, sounds like I should try it again. .

DK< I do like you for your sense of humor. It always puts you in good stead with me.
I hope some of our compadres kick in some moer steak advice. You'd think something that simple ought to be good no matter what, but I do remember Bonanza ruining many a cut of leathery beef now and then.

WASHINGTON - Four weeks before congressional elections, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows Democrats hold a 23-point lead over GOP candidates. That's double the lead Republicans had a month before they seized control of Congress in 1994.
President Bush's approval rating was 37%, down from 44% in a Sept. 15-17 poll. The approval rating for Congress was 24%, down 5 points from last month.

Electionline: Your thoughts on poll?

The plummeting GOP ratings in the poll of 1,007 adults, taken Friday through Sunday, come after a series of dismal developments for the party. They include high levels of violence in Iraq; a National Intelligence Estimate that contradicted upbeat administration statements on Iraq; a new Bob Woodward book about internal White House disagreements over Iraq policy, and the Sept. 29 resignation of GOP Rep. Mark Foley hours after reports that he exchanged sexually explicit instant messages with teenage House pages.

Last month's poll showed a bounce for Bush and Republicans following the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and a party-wide focus on terrorism. "Not only is it gone, but the Democrats have momentum," Democratic strategist Anita Dunn said.

She called the Foley scandal "the absolute crystallization for people of everything they dislike about Washington and the congressional Republicans."

GOP pollster Ed Goeas and Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Republican fortunes are better in individual districts than nationally. Republicans are staying loyal and energized, Goeas said.

He added that he's watching to see whether the Foley matter fires up independents who normally don't vote: "Does this become a catalyst for their involvement?"

Two-thirds of those in the survey said they are following the page scandal very or somewhat closely.

More than half - 54% - said Republican leaders who knew about Foley's actions for months or years did not act against him earlier "for political reasons." By 43%-36%, they said House Speaker Dennis Hastert should resign. One-third said the scandal would make them less likely to vote for a Republican; 53% said it would make no difference.

On the question of which party's candidate would receive their vote if the election were held today, Democrats held a 23-point lead over Republicans among every type of person questioned - likely voters, registered voters and adults. That's the largest lead Democrats have held among registered voters since 1978 and a jump from last month's 48%-48% split among likely voters.

Government corruption, Iraq and terrorism were the three most important issues to poll respondents. They said Democrats would do a better job on all three. The party had a 21-point advantage on handling corruption and a 17-point advantage on Iraq. A longstanding GOP advantage on terrorism vanished; Democrats had a 5-point edge. In other indicators:

. 57% of registered voters say their own representative should be re-elected, the lowest since just before the 1994 Republican House sweep.

. 56% said it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq while 40% said it was not - the biggest split in a year.

. Voters gave Democrats a 54%-28% advantage over Republicans concerning which party would handle gasoline prices better despite the recent drop in prices.

"you can see DICK Cheney's face in there amongst the wrinkles."
Posted by: Claude Bahls

Oh no Clawed! I see Cheney's face everywhere. That raw-flesh eating twisted mouth, the beady eyes that can see a corporate profit 3 years in advance..the unfeeling, disconnected personna. I saw his face in a fresh pile
of stuff the bulls at the Rodeo dropped. I saw his face in a shredded garbage bag stray dogs tore into. In the last pile of rubble from Baghdad where our boys had davasted the place and hands and baby's arm was twisted into crumbled mortar, blood dripping down the rocks..I could see Dick Cheneys face and shiny bald head gleaming thru.
I'm tired of seeing Dick Cheney's face and it's almost Halloween.
I think Republicans are tired of seeing Dick Cheney's face.
_

Somebody play the Jeopardy theme already.

Somebody play the Jeopardy theme already.

Al D.,
Thanks for the headline! Where can you get bumper stickers made?

This piece in the Chicago Tribune by Geoffrey R. Stone, a law professor at the University of Chicago, is so good that I'm posting it in full:

For most of the past four decades, liberals have been in retreat. Since the election of Richard Nixon in 1968, Republicans have controlled the White House 70 percent of the time and Republican presidents have made 86 percent of the U.S. Supreme Court appointments. In many quarters, the word "liberal" has become a pejorative. Part of the problem is that liberals have failed to define themselves and to state clearly what they believe. As a liberal, I find that appalling.

In that light, I thought it might be interesting to try to articulate 10 propositions that seem to me to define "liberal" today. Undoubtedly, not all liberals embrace all of these propositions, and many conservatives embrace at least some of them.

Moreover, because 10 is a small number, the list is not exhaustive. And because these propositions will in some instances conflict, the "liberal" position on a specific issue may not always be predictable. My goal, however, is not to end discussion, but to invite debate.

1. Liberals believe individuals should doubt their own truths and consider fairly and open-mindedly the truths of others. This is at the very heart of liberalism. Liberals understand, as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once observed, that "time has upset many fighting faiths." Liberals are skeptical of censorship and celebrate free and open debate.

2. Liberals believe individuals should be tolerant and respectful of difference. It is liberals who have supported and continue to support the civil rights movement, affirmative action, the Equal Rights Amendment and the rights of gays and lesbians. (Note that a conflict between propositions 1 and 2 leads to divisions among liberals on issues like pornography and hate speech.)

3. Liberals believe individuals have a right and a responsibility to participate in public debate. It is liberals who have championed and continue to champion expansion of the franchise; the elimination of obstacles to voting; "one person, one vote;" limits on partisan gerrymandering; campaign-finance reform; and a more vibrant freedom of speech. They believe, with Justice Louis Brandeis, that "the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people."

4. Liberals believe "we the people" are the governors and not the subjects of government, and that government must treat each person with that in mind. It is liberals who have defended and continue to defend the freedom of the press to investigate and challenge the government, the protection of individual privacy from overbearing government monitoring, and the right of individuals to reproductive freedom. (Note that libertarians, often thought of as "conservatives," share this value with liberals.)

5. Liberals believe government must respect and affirmatively safeguard the liberty, equality and dignity of each individual. It is liberals who have championed and continue to champion the rights of racial, religious and ethnic minorities, political dissidents, persons accused of crime and the outcasts of society. It is liberals who have insisted on the right to counsel, a broad application of the right to due process of law and the principle of equal protection for all people.

6. Liberals believe government has a fundamental responsibility to help those who are less fortunate. It is liberals who have supported and continue to support government programs to improve health care, education, social security, job training and welfare for the neediest members of society. It is liberals who maintain that a national community is like a family and that government exists in part to "promote the general welfare."

7. Liberals believe government should never act on the basis of sectarian faith. It is liberals who have opposed and continue to oppose school prayer and the teaching of creationism in public schools and who support government funding for stem-cell research, the rights of gays and lesbians and the freedom of choice for women.

8. Liberals believe courts have a special responsibility to protect individual liberties. It is principally liberal judges and justices who have preserved and continue to preserve freedom of expression, individual privacy, freedom of religion and due process of law. (Conservative judges and justices more often wield judicial authority to protect property rights and the interests of corporations, commercial advertisers and the wealthy.)

9. Liberals believe government must protect the safety and security of the people, for without such protection liberalism is impossible. This, of course, is less a tenet of liberalism than a reply to those who attack liberalism. The accusation that liberals are unwilling to protect the nation from internal and external dangers is false. Because liberals respect competing values, such as procedural fairness and individual dignity, they weigh more carefully particular exercises of government power (such as the use of secret evidence, hearsay and torture), but they are no less willing to use government authority in other forms (such as expanded police forces and international diplomacy) to protect the nation and its citizens.

10. Liberals believe government must protect the safety and security of the people, without unnecessarily sacrificing constitutional values. It is liberals who have demanded and continue to demand legal protections to avoid the conviction of innocent people in the criminal justice system, reasonable restraints on government surveillance of American citizens, and fair procedures to ensure that alleged enemy combatants are in fact enemy combatants. Liberals adhere to the view expressed by Brandeis some 80 years ago: "Those who won our independence ... did not exalt order at the cost of liberty."

Wonderful list RLR. Don't expect a similar list from the conservatives. They were challenged a couple of weeks ago when I gave a shorter list of liberal accomplishments. We've yet to see anything from the opposition on the matter.
At best, they'd rather pick at your list than come up with one of their own. For a party so focused on values according to their self-analysis, doesn't it seem strange they can't come up with so simple a list? When hard-pressed to come up with legistlative action that has promoted the liberty and welfare of all Americans, they are sure silent.
Could it be that some of their so-called accomplishments might be tainted by their recent scandals and hypocrisy?
Come on conservative worshippers....where's your list? Have you been that bankrupt on ideas? And none of that intolerant BS either. Or that helping the fatcats so it'll trickle down their legs onto us. Or those non-funded mandates that can really do nothing.
Where's your list?