Home Alone

KT,
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I think the most underplayed story has been the absence of Bush. He's still the President, but he is practically invisible to the public at large. Is anyone guiding the ship?

bryanfromhouston: Bush is still around, he's just the "invisible" Chevy Malibu commercials that were on TV in 2007.
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KT please free my Joe Pyne post in the other thread.

My contribution is: Mark Halperin is a suck up to the right and the right still hates (no loathes him) and does not trust him. He is a major tool that should be interning at the Drudge report so he can learn the proper way to be wrong.
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If this, by some medical miracle or space aged advancement in science makes it into that thick skull of yours Mark. The next time you go on Morning Joe to suck up, remember Joe can't stand you even though he smiles in your pasty needy face.
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Was that too harsh?

my posts disappear completely some times. Like I have never submitted them. Happen to me twice today.

My posts disappear completely sometimes. Happen twice today.

Are you at all interested in Nancy Pfotenhauer-based science fiction?

Here's a topic for discussion that is particularly relevant to Time:
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Does Mark Halperin consider himself to be a "journalist?' Does Time consider him to be a "journalist" or a "blogger?" If it's the latter, are the standards for fact-checking, basic reporting and journalistic ethics the same or different for bloggers versus reporters?
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I found Halperin's criticisms of election coverage ("disgusting" "biased") to be curious and, yes, hypocritical, given what he chose to highlight on The Page on a daily basis during the primaries and general.
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For example, was Halperin's continual citing of Drudge as a source "biased" (even "disgusting"), particularly when he never cited online, left-leaning news sites such as TPM?
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Questions worth discussing...

KT: Groucho woud probably have a comeback for the: Are you in moderation question. I've had some links that I attached kick me out.
I wasn't using potty mouth...honest!

I like this story from the NYTimes. It's about the first all girl rock band in Saudi Arabia. They have to hide their identities and can't be photographed, but their music is getting a lot of attention.

“In Saudi, yes, it's a challenge,” said the group's lead singer, Lamia, who has piercings on her left eyebrow and beneath her bottom lip. (Like other band members, she gave only her first name.) “Maybe we're crazy. But we wanted to do something different.”

ghostlawns: Sounds like they're destined for radio airplay.

KT,
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I guess what I mean is that he appears to be just going through the motions. I don't think he really wants to be President anymore, and IT SHOWS!!! I think he liked the idea when he could just be the Decider, but on domestic issues, (it may be the entire Republican party) there is a palpable fear or uncertainty in the air.
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It's like there is a bomb set to blow, and he has no idea how to defuse it so he just sits tight, tells everybody it's important to understand that defusing is the first step, and then he sits on his hands waiting on the bomb squad.

Hi, KT! What, no picture of you with your hands on either side of your face, screaming in disbelief and horror, a la Macauley Culkin in the movie? You disappoint me!

That said, I'm still gunning for a thread where we can focus on NCLB and the state of our educational system. I'd really love to hear what the other Swamplanders think, and this is also an area where I could actually add something myself.

Thanks!

I second palininatowel's suggestion.
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Also, I can always stand to hear more about how we've put a worthless fool in charge of $700 billion:
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/11/21/paulson-stabilized/
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Suggested headline? "Commentor Cliff Calls Paulson Worthless Fool."
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Now back to racking my brains for guest week.

pourme: Yes - what planet is she from?

I also second Suzie in MD's suggestion.

I'm still trying to figure out why nobody seems to be blinking an eye at thowing money at Citicorp but the idea of providing the same consideration for auto manufacturers seems to give everyone the vapors. Am I alone in thinking that much more 'value added' activity takes place around factories than banks? Am I the only one concerned that an economy based on shuffling paper around is no economy at all?

Bush is a nonentity at this point. The lamest lame duck in the history of lame ducks.
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Did everyone see this video of Bush walking on stage at G20? The rest of the world's leaders ignore him like he is invisible or has leprosy.
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It is sad -- and dangerous -- for this nation to have a president who is such a non-entity.

KT - Any insight into Obama's stand on legalizing industrial hemp? Just sayin... it would support the economy and the environmental movement.

Cliff: We've had a worthless fool in charge of our country for the last 8 years.
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Paul Dirks: I'm with you. BTW Citi should withdraw it's 400 million dollar sponsorship of the NY Mets new baseball stadium..
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Suzie in MD: Either fully fund NCLB or repeal it.

I am going a totally different rout than my fellow Swamplanders. I fully endorse posts about NCLB and the Citicorp bail out. But I would also LOVE to see a post about this guy in hopes that SNL will sign him up to do Obama for the next four years. They are looking for someone to replace the other guy who sucked this you tube guy is pretty dang good. I know I know this is the height of fluff on my part but after months of super serious posts for the most part I would just like some fluff in the mix too. And not the kind that Scherer usually specializes in!
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Underplayed story is the anger and disillusionment from the Left concerning Obama's Clintonista-heavy White House and cabinet, and the decidedly centrist shift in his proposals now that he's president-elect. He's hardly the aggressive "socialist" the Right Wing portrayed him as. So far...

http://www.political-buzz.com/

palininatowel
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In the interest of fairness that video has been somewhat debunked by another video showing all of the leaders at the G20 shaking Bush's hand individually for photo ops right before the big group picture on the video you linked. By the way I threw up in my mouth a little defending Bush just then.

You've got me thinking now. Conservatives often point to European countries, such as France and Sweden, and say, "We don't want what they have there, right? Darn socialists! Elect Democrats and that's what you'll get!"

Here's what I don't understand. My husband just immigrated from Sweden about three years ago, and to hear him tell it, things are going pretty well there (or at least they WERE, until the U.S. economy started dragging down Europe's as well). Few homeless (and those only by choice), free health care for all, generous parental leave, free education through college, thriving civil rights...what exactly am I missing here? What exactly are conservatives pointing to as so awful, other than the very notion of "big government"?
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And, perhaps more interestingly, assuming that we tried to get the same type of government here (which we won't, but indulge me), what would be the logistical difficulties of transporting that type of government to the U.S. and its huge and heterogeneous population? In other word, given the political will, could we actually become Sweden writ large? If so, how? If not, why not?