Magnum Photos has another interesting photo essay entitled Silicon Forest. It is a collection of photographs from Russia's science and technology fields going back over 100 years in the Siberian capitol of Novosibirsk.
I like the yellow ethernet cables in the patch panels. Reminds me of my company 10 years ago, except we let our patch panel situation get out of control until it was known as the 'yellow wall.' Below is a red wall at some anonymous American data center.
The folks at Sadly, No! made me look. And my god, I am sick.
I don't want to make my readers sick. You can handle it? You haven't eaten in the last hour? Well, OK, just a sample:
Perhaps I am a dim bulb, but President Bush has never surprised me, and that is probably why I have never felt let down or “betrayed” by him. He is, in essentials, precisely who he has ever been.
....
President Bush has never surprised me. He is, in essentials, the man he ever was. It does not surprise me that he is a Christian man living a creed before he is a President, that he is a President before he is a Conservative. It seems to me precisely the right order of things.
The question, from today's editorial in the LA Times:
The interesting question is why the U.S. economy, beneficiary since 9/11 of the largest military spending binge in history, now requires $150 billion more in the form of a short-term stimulus package. Why hasn't the $1 trillion in defense spending, in addition to the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, been sufficient to keep the economic boom going?
The answer should be apparent to any Democrat[ic] Economist. The incredible borrowing spree of the past several years has really been the only thing that kept the economy from collapsing into a Greatest Depression Ever as a direct result of the massive tax cuts Bush et al. gave to the rich. Reducing the income tax rates of rich people is always CONTRACTIONARY.
I strongly recommend reading Kroeger's entire comment here. One of this country's biggest exports has been money.
...except when it does.
Immigration Officials Detaining, Departing American Citizens
So scary. It could happen to anyone born in the USA. If Real ID is implemented nationwide, just how difficult would it be to reverse identity theft? Or what if a natural disaster destroyed your original birth certificate? Or what if your hometown city hall simply 'lost' your certificate someday. To quote Donald Rumsfeld, stuff happens!
You can see it on the big screen at the IFC Center in New York, or you can see it on Comcast, Time Warner, or DirecTV OnDemand ($6.99). Click here to see if you can watch the movie at home in your area. It is one of the best films of 2007, right up there with There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men. It is part of the long-awaited Romanian New Wave. And it beat No Country for the Palm D'Or at Cannes last May. In a year of at least five movies addressing abortion, this was among the best two (the other being Lake Of Fire). Not only that, it is among two of the years best thrillers - possibly two of the most perfect thrillers in the last 40 years (since John Boorman's Point Blank). See it!
Thanks for nothing, Democrats. And Senator, fuck you and your family. You're one of the only "Democrats" in that corporate-sponsored family anyway.
"I think we will prevail," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman John Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat and a chief sponsor of the bill, told reporters.
Not all Democrats are against their own constituents. Russ Feingold, Barbara Boxer, Patrick Leahy, and Christopher Dodd are going to try to stop it. Please support Senator Dodd in his attempt to stage a filibuster that would kill the bill on the Senate floor. He was able to block it on December 17th. But with Harry Reid and Jay Rockefeller pushing it through, I don't think he can stop it again.
And in other news tonight, if you own oil or gold, you are sitting pretty. Note, I didn't say you are sitting pretty if you own oil stocks. Although some oil stocks are doing quite well. One is Exxon Mobil. The street is getting excited because it is expected the Exxon Mobil will report a new record for biggest annual profit ever for any corporation. If they report 4th quarter earnings of $10.37 Billion as expected, they will have made $39.2 Billion for all of 2007, a new record. That would mean that Exxon collected $75,000 in profits each minute of calendar year 2007. If Exxon Mobil beats street estimates, it could even beat its own record for largest quarterly profit ever.
Exxon is likely to have record quarterly earnings," said Fadel Gheit, a senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer. "For every $1 [increase] in the price of oil, Exxon makes [another] $125 million for the quarter.
Her's a question, do you think the Supreme Court is going to let a the $2.5 Billion in remaining unpaid punitive damages stand for the 1989 Exxon Veldez oil spill when it rules on the case this year? They took the case. You know what that means....the fix is in. At least Justice Alito has recused himself from the case, because he owns an estimated $200K in Exxon Mobil stock.
He was originally accused of plotting to detonate a dirty bomb. The president declared him an 'enemy combatant' in June 2002 with a stroke of a pen. He was held without access to a lawyer for over 2 years. And in the end, he was never charged with anything related to a dirty bomb.
But he is off to a federal prison, for agreeing to be part of some jihadist terrorist conspiracy.
Yes, Jose Padilla was sentenced today for what could be called a 'thought crime'.
He allegedly agreed to help alleged terrorists to kidnap and/or murder civilians of an unnamed foreign nation.
The US Attorney wanted him sentenced to life in prison. Federal Court Judge Marcia Cooke, a Jeb Bush and George W. Bush appointee, felt she did the right thing by sentencing Mr. Padilla to 17 years and 4 months in her Miami courtroom.
17 years. For a thought crime. No physical evidence other than an application form that Mr. Padilla filled-out to attend an alleged Al Qaeda training camp (strange but true). No opportunity to see any of the 78 interrogation videotapes at trial. No justice.
Lewis Koch reviews how Citizen Padilla was stripped of all constitutional rights, confined, tortured, and ultimately sentenced to solitary confinement.
I don't recognize the USA anymore. It has always been rife with injustice, but never as scary as this. Supporters of this new, evil empire claim that the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001 'changed everything.' They are correct. This new kind of injustice is the change they brought. Those who attacked us have virtually won.
Padilla Receives 17-Year SentenceMIAMI (AP) -- Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to blow up a radioactive ''dirty bomb,'' was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years and four months on terrorism conspiracy charges that don't mention those initial allegations.
The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke marks another step in the extraordinary personal and legal odyssey for the 37-year-old Muslim convert, a U.S. citizen who was held for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant after his 2002 arrest amid the ''dirty bomb'' allegations.
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, but Cook said she arrived at the 17-year sentence after considering the ''harsh conditions'' during Padilla's lengthy military detention at a Navy brig in South Carolina.
''I do find that the conditions were so harsh for Mr. Padilla ... they warrant consideration in the sentencing in this case,'' the judge said. However, he did not get credit for time served.
Padilla's lawyers claimed his treatment amounted to torture, which U.S. officials have repeatedly denied. His attorneys say he was forced to stand in painful stress positions, given LSD or other drugs as ''truth serum,'' deprived of sleep and even a mattress for extended periods and subjected to loud noises, extreme heat and cold and noxious odors.
Cooke also imposed prison terms on two other men of Middle Eastern origin who were convicted of conspiracy and material support charges along with Padilla in August. The three were part of a North American support cell for al-Qaida and other Islamic extremists around the world, prosecutors said.
The jury was told that Padilla was recruited by Islamic extremists in the U.S. and filled out an application to attend an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan.
Cooke said that as serious as the conspiracy was, there was no evidence linking the men to specific acts of terrorism anywhere.
''There is no evidence that these defendants personally maimed, kidnapped or killed anyone in the United States or elsewhere,'' she said.
Padilla was added in 2005 to an existing Miami terrorism support case just as the U.S. Supreme Court was considering his challenge to President Bush's decision to hold him in custody indefinitely without charge. The ''dirty bomb'' charges were quietly discarded and were never part of the criminal case.
Cooke sentenced Padilla's recruiter, 45-year-old Adham Amin Hassoun, to 15 years and eight months in prison and the third defendant, 46-year-old Kifah Wael Jayyousi, to 12 years and eight months. Jayyousi was a financier and propagandist for the cell that assisted Islamic extremists in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Somalia and elsewhere, according to trial testimony. Both also faced life in prison.
Padilla's mother, Estela Lebron, smiled at reporters in the courtroom when the sentence was announced and questioned outside the courthouse whether the Bush administration had misplaced its priorities in prosecuting her son.
''This is the way they are spending our money? Hello?'' she said.
But she was also pleased he didn't get the maximum sentence. ''I feel good about everything. This is amazing.''
Attorneys for Hassoun and Jayyousi were also gratified but repeated that they will appeal their convictions and sentences, as will Padilla.
''It is definitely a defeat for the government,'' said Hassoun lawyer Jeanne Baker.
''The government has not made America any safer. It has just made America less free,'' said William Swor, who represents Jayyousi.
The Justice Department praised prosecutors and investigators in the long-running case.
''Thanks to their efforts, the defendants' North American support cell has been dismantled and can no longer send money and jihadist recruits to conflicts overseas,'' Kenneth L. Wainstein, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement.
The men were convicted after a three-month trial based on tens of thousands of FBI telephone intercepts collected over an eight-year investigation and a form Padilla filled out in 2000 to attend an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan. Padilla, a former Chicago gang member with a long criminal record, converted to Islam in prison and was recruited by Hassoun while attending a mosque in suburban Sunrise.
Padilla sought a sentence of no more than 10 years. Hassoun asked for 15 years or less and Jayyousi for no more than five years.
Padilla's arrest was initially portrayed by the Bush administration as an important victory in the months immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and later was seen as a symbol of the administration's zeal to prevent homegrown terrorism.
Civil liberties groups and Padilla's lawyers called his detention unconstitutional for someone born in this country.
Jurors in the criminal case never heard Padilla's full history, which according to U.S. officials included a graduation from the al-Qaida terror camp, a plot to detonate the ''dirty bomb'' and a plot to fill apartments with natural gas and blow them up. Much of what Padilla supposedly told interrogators during his long detention as an enemy combatant could not be used in court because he had no access to a lawyer and was not read his constitutional rights.
Attorneys for Hassoun and Jayyousi argued that any assistance they provided overseas was for peaceful purposes and to help persecuted Muslims in violent countries. But FBI agents testified that their charitable work was a cover for violent jihad, which they frequently discussed in code using words such as ''tourism'' and ''football.''
80th Academy Awards
Announced CategoriesPerformance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah" (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War" (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in "Juno" (Fox Searchlight)Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster" (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone" (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)Best animated feature film of the year
"Persepolis" (Sony Pictures Classics): Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
"Surf's Up" (Sony Pictures Releasing): Ash Brannon and Chris BuckAchievement in art direction
"American Gangster" (Universal): Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount): Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim EricksonAchievement in cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.): Roger Deakins
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Seamus McGarvey
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Janusz Kaminski
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Robert ElswitAchievement in costume design
"Across the Universe" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen AtwoodAchievement in directing
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Julian Schnabel
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight), Jason Reitman
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Tony Gilroy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Paul Thomas AndersonBest documentary feature
"No End in Sight" (Magnolia Pictures) A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" (The Documentary Group) A Documentary Group Production: Richard E. Robbins
"Sicko" (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company) A Dog Eat Dog Films Production: Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara
"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
"War/Dance" (THINKFilm) A Shine Global and Fine Films Production: Andrea Nix Fine and Sean FineBest documentary short subject
"Freeheld" A Lieutenant Films Production: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
"La Corona (The Crown)" A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production: Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
"Salim Baba" A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
"Sari's Mother" (Cinema Guild) A Daylight Factory Production: James LongleyAchievement in film editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Christopher Rouse
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Juliette Welfling
"Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment): Jay Cassidy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Dylan TichenorBest foreign language film of the year
"Beaufort" Israel
"The Counterfeiters" Austria
"Katyn" Poland
"Mongol" Kazakhstan
"12" RussiaAchievement in makeup
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
"Norbit" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount): Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin SamuelAchievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner" (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics): Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco BeltramiAchievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush" (Warner Bros.): Nominees to be determined
"So Close" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen SchwartzBest motion picture of the year
"Atonement" (Focus Features) A Working Title Production: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight) A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production: Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) A Clayton Productions, LLC Production: Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, ProducersBest animated short film
"I Met the Walrus" A Kids & Explosions Production: Josh Raskin
"Madame Tutli-Putli" (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
"Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)" (Premium Films) A BUF Compagnie Production Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
"My Love (Moya Lyubov)" (Channel One Russia) A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production Alexander Petrov
"Peter & the Wolf" (BreakThru Films) A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production Suzie Templeton and Hugh WelchmanBest live action short film
"At Night" A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production: Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)" (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin
"Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)" (Premium Films) A Karé Production: Philippe Pollet-Villard
"Tanghi Argentini" (Premium Films) An Another Dimension of an Idea Production: Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
"The Tonto Woman" A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production: Daniel Barber and Matthew BrownAchievement in sound editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Matthew Wood
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike HopkinsAchievement in sound mixing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate): Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. DevlinAchievement in visual effects
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John FrazierAdapted screenplay
"Atonement" (Focus Features), Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
"Away from Her" (Lionsgate), Written by Sarah Polley
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Written for the screen by Paul Thomas AndersonOriginal screenplay
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Diablo Cody
"Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM), Written by Nancy Oliver
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Written by Tony Gilroy
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
"The Savages" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Tamara Jenkins
Just got a memo this morning at 08:42AM:
Due to the projected high volume of trading that is expected today, Tuesday January 22nd...
FED Makes Unscheduled .75% Interest Rate Cut
One analyst said the Fed was "obviously panicked" by the threat of recession.
...
The last time the Fed cut rates as much as three-quarters of a percentage point was in August 1982, almost 26 years ago."This is huge," said the BBC's business editor Robert Peston.
"And it is a big risk. If this doesn't work, then people will say they have nothing left in their locker."
UPDATE, 16:00 EST: The DOW recovered to close about 128 points lower today. We will see what the next few days bring.
Last night, the gloves came off, Hillary appeared to concede South Carolina, and Obama got his best shot on Hillary yet.
Transcript courtesy of CNN and The New York Times.
MALVEAUX: I'd like to follow-up with Senator Obama. It was just a few days ago that Senator Clinton asserted that she was the strongest candidate when it comes to fiscal responsibility.She says that the new programs that she proposes she essentially can pay for. She says that you have failed in that regard in the tune of some $50 billion worth of new programs that you cannot account for.
How do you respond to that charge?
OBAMA: What she said wasn't true. We account for every single dollar that we propose.
Now, this, I think, is one of the things that's happened during the course of this campaign, that there's a set of assertions made by Senator Clinton, as well as her husband, that are not factually accurate.
And I think that part of what the people are looking for right now is somebody who's going to solve problems and not resort to the same typical politics that we've seen in Washington.
(APPLAUSE)
That is something that I hear all across the country. So when Senator Clinton says -- or President Clinton says that I wasn't opposed to the war from the start or says it's a fairytale that I opposed the war, that is simply not true.
When Senator Clinton or President Clinton asserts that I said that the Republicans had had better economic policies since 1980, that is not the case.
Now, the viewers aren't concerned with this kind of back-and-forth. What they're concerned about is who's actually going to help the get health care, how are they going to get their kids...
(APPLAUSE)
... going to college, and that's the kind of campaign I've tried to run. I think that's the kind of campaign we should all try to run.
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: Well, I couldn't agree more. But I do think that your record and what you say does matter. And when it comes to...
(APPLAUSE)
... a lot of the issues that are important in this race, it is sometimes difficult to understand what Senator Obama has said, because as soon as he is confronted on it, he says that's not what he meant.
The facts are that he has said in the last week that he really liked the ideas of the Republicans over the last 10 to 15 years, and we can give you the exact quote.
Now, I personally think they had ideas, but they were bad ideas. They were bad ideas for America.
(APPLAUSE)
They were ideas like privatizing Social Security, like moving back from a balanced budget and a surplus to deficit and debt.
And with respect to putting forth how one would pay for all of the programs that we're proposing in this campaign, I will be more than happy, Barack, to get the information, because we have searched for it.
You have a lot of money that you want to put into foreign aid, a very worthy program. There is no evidence from your Web site, from your speeches, as to how you would pay for it.
Now, why is this important? It's important because I think elections are about the future. But how do you determine what will happen in the future? Well, you have to look to the record, you have to look to what we say in campaigns, and what we have done during our careers.
And I want to be just very explicit about this. We are not, neither my campaign nor anyone associated with it, are in any way saying you did not oppose the war in Iraq.
CLINTON: You did. You gave a great speech in 2002 opposing the war in Iraq. That was not what the point of our criticism was.
It was after having given that speech, by the next year the speech was off your Web site. By the next year, you were telling reporters that you agreed with President Bush in his conduct of the war. And by the next year, when you were in the Senate, you were voting to fund the war time after time after time.
BLITZER: All right.
CLINTON: So it was more about the distinction between words and action. And I think that is a fair assessment for voters to make.
(APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: OK. Thank you, Senator. Senator, we're a little off topic. I have to let Senator Obama respond, then Senator Edwards, who's going to come...
OBAMA: We're off topic, but...
BLITZER: But go ahead and respond, and then I want to get back to this issue that we're talking about, fiscal responsibility. But go ahead.
OBAMA: Let's talk about it.
Hillary, I will be happy to provide you with the information about all -- all the spending that we do. Now, let's talk about Ronald Reagan. What you just repeated here today is...
CLINTON: Barack...
OBAMA: Wait. No. Hillary, you just spoke.
CLINTON: I did not say anything about Ronald Reagan.
OBAMA: You just spoke for two minutes.
CLINTON: You said two things.
OBAMA: You just...
CLINTON: You talked about admiring Ronald Reagan and you talked about the ideas...
OBAMA: Hillary, I'm sorry. You just...
BLITZER: Senator...
CLINTON: I didn't talk about Reagan.
OBAMA: Hillary, we just had the tape. You just said that I complimented the Republican ideas. That is not true.
What I said -- and I will provide you with a quote -- what I said was is that Ronald Reagan was a transformative political figure because he was able to get Democrats to vote against their economic interests to form a majority to push through their agenda, an agenda that I objected to. Because while I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I was fighting these fights. I was fighting these fights. So -- but I want to be clear.
So I want to be clear. What I said had nothing to do with their policies. I spent a lifetime fighting a lifetime against Ronald Reagan's policies. But what I did say is that we have to be thinking in the same transformative way about our Democratic agenda.
We've got to appeal to Independents and Republicans in order to build a working majority to move an agenda forward. That is what I said.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, you can dispute that, but let me finish.
Hillary, you went on for two minutes. Let me finish.
The irony of this is that you provided much more fulsome praise of Ronald Reagan in a book by Tom Brokaw that's being published right now, as did -- as did Bill Clinton in the past. So these are the kinds of political games that we are accustomed to.
CLINTON: Now, wait a minute.
Wolf, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Just a minute.
BLITZER: Senator Edwards, let them wrap up. Then I'm going to come to you.
Yes?
CLINTON: I just want -- I just to clarify -- I want to clarify the record. Wait a minute.
EDWARDS: There's a third person in this debate.
BLITZER: Wait a minute, Senator Edwards. Hold on.
There has been a specific charge leveled against Hillary Clinton, so she can respond. Then I'll bring in Senator Edwards.
CLINTON: I just want to be sure...
OBAMA: Go ahead and address what you said about...
BLITZER: We have got a long time to go. You'll have a good opportunity.
CLINTON: We're just getting warmed up.
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: Now, I just -- I just want to be clear about this. In an editorial board with the Reno newspaper, you said two different things, because I have read the transcript. You talked about Ronald Reagan being a transformative political leader. I did not mention his name.
OBAMA: Your husband did.
CLINTON: Well, I'm here. He's not. And...
OBAMA: OK. Well, I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes.
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: Well, you know, I think we both have very passionate and committed spouses who stand up for us. And I'm proud of that.
But you also talked about the Republicans having ideas over the last 10 to 15 years.
OBAMA: I didn't say they were good ones.
CLINTON: Well, you can read the context of it.
OBAMA: Well, I didn't say they were good ones.
CLINTON: Well, it certainly...
OBAMA: All right, Wolf.
CLINTON: It certainly came across in the way that it was presented, as though the Republicans had been standing up against the conventional wisdom with their ideas. I'm just reacting to the fact, yes, they did have ideas, and they were bad ideas.
OBAMA: I agree.
CLINTON: Bad for America, and I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Resco, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.
(APPLAUSE)OBAMA: No, no, no.
BLITZER: Hold on one second. Hold on.
Senator Edwards -- Senator Edwards has been remarkably patient during this exchange. And I want him -- I don't know if you want to get involved in this, Senator Edwards.
EDWARDS: What I want to say first is, are there three people in this debate, not two?
(APPLAUSE)
EDWARDS: And I also want to know -- I also want to know on behalf of voters here in South Carolina, this kind of squabbling, how many children is this going to get health care? How many people are going to get an education from this? How many kids are going to be able to go to college because of this?
EDWARDS: We have got to understand -- you know, and I respect both of my fellow candidates -- but we have got to understand this is not about us personally. It is about...
(APPLAUSE)
... what we are trying to do for this country and what we believe in.
Now, fiscal responsibility, which I think was the question. It was a little hard to tell there at the end of that. But I think the question was about fiscal responsibility.
I have proposed, I think, the most aggressive, most progressive agenda of the three of us up here. And I was the first to come out with a universal health care plan, first to come out with a global warming plan, first -- and, to the best of my knowledge, only at this point -- to come out with a comprehensive, detailed plan to end poverty in America, since we are on Dr. King's day.
This is the cause of my life. Everything I have proposed, I have come up with a way to pay for it. And I've been very explicit about how it should be paid for, not abstract, not rhetoric, very, very explicit.
But I do have to say, in response to something Senator Clinton said just a minute ago, both Senator Obama and I have said Social Security needs a solution. And we have said we won't privatize, we won't cut benefits, we won't raise the retirement age. Same thing that Hillary has said.
But she has proposed nothing about how we're going to create revenue to keep Social Security alive and talked about fiscal responsibility. Here's the problem: If you don't have -- this is not complicated. The American people understand it. If you've got more money going out than is coming in, you're going to eventually run out of money.
And you've got to have a way to pay for it, which is why -- now, let me finish this. Lord knows you let them go on forever.
(APPLAUSE)
What I'm saying is we have to be consistent in what we're saying. I have said I think Hillary doesn't want to talk about raising taxes. Let's just be honest about that.
Barack and I have both said that you've got to do something about the cap on Social Security taxes, which is now capped at $97,000. It means if somebody is making $80,000 a year, every dime of their income is taxed for Social Security. But if you are making $50 million a year, only the first $97,000 is taxed.
That's not right. And people ought to be paying their Social Security taxes. But the American people deserve to know what we're going to do.
We can disagree. There's nothing wrong with that, so they can make an informed choice, but they at least deserve to know where they stand and what we'd do.
Charles P. Pierce in Slate explains why the final chance to stop the Patriots was last night against San Diego. The Chargers nearly pulled it off. Tom Brady had an off day, but woke-up, teamed-up with the incredible Kevin Faulk, and secured a ticket to the team's fourth Super Bowl. As Pierce reminds us:
In the last nine games, the New England defense has surrendered 57 points in the second half. In the two playoff games, it has given up a mere three field goals after halftime. Somebody's coaching during halftime, and somebody's surely listening.
Los Gigantes de New Jersey have made it to the Super Bowl, with an exciting, record-breaking, 10-game road winning streak. Not only did it temporarily save the job of Tom Coughlin, but they got a well-deserved ticket to Superbowl 42 in Glendale. Congratulations, Big Blue!
I love you, man. I know I called you a monster. But I was wrong.....so wrong.
"It's a blast....BWAAAHAAHAAAHAAHAAAA!!!!!!!!"
Watch this before the Operating Thetans and their people remove it from YouTube. No, really, you gotta see this Scientology promotional video produced years ago for their internal use.
And then read this wonderful analysis by Slate's Troy Patterson.
Lindsay Lohan is Going to See Dead People: She'll be working two half days in a morgue, as part of her punishment for drunk driving.
Bobby Fischer Dead at 64: Goodbye, Grand Master. You were incredible. You were also quite mad. Your story is begging for a grand biopic.
Beware of Americans: A training manual published by the Canadian government advises diplomats to be aware of, and be on the lookout for, signs of torture in a 'watch list' of nation states. Those nations include Iran, Syria, Israel, China, Afghanistan, and the USA / Guantanamo Bay. Keith Olbermann discusses the significance of this Canadian watch list.
New York City Needs Tourists: And we're not ashamed to say so. We need tourists so the city stays financially solvent, since we don't manufacture anything, and we have a shrinking middle class. Remember The Gates? Get ready for four giant waterfalls this summer. Meanwhile, the NYC unemployment rate edges up for the fifth straight month.
Sadly, No! Ups Its Critique of Jonah: Clif over at Sadly No! has produced a magnificently researched post on how Jonah Goldberg is not only guilty of projection when he calls progressives racists, but he's totally full of shit in a very serious way. His book is currently ranked #2 in sales over at Amazon.com. It is an insult to historical research and intellectual debate worldwide, and copies of it need to find their way to bargain bins soon. I'm never for censorship. But I am against wingnut welfare and rediculous political and historical arguments. Really, if it wasn't for his mom and Linda Tripp, he wouldn't be a contributing editor at America's Shittiest Website or have this 400 page book published.
Bless the Pets: In Mexico, it is the the annual feast day of St. Anthony The Abbot.
!Tenga un buen fin de semana, amigos!
Is The UN The Root Cause Of Global Terrorism?
The UN virtually sponsors and encourages Palestinian terrorism, and I use a hypothetical Colombine scenario to drive home my point. Each UN resolution criticising Israel is a victory for the Sand People. Oh, and I still don't believe in evolution, carbon dating is a lie, and Kofi Anan is a war criminal.
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‘Shorter’ concept created by Daniel Davies and perfected by Elton Beard.
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In our efforts to push for hearings on Kucinich’s Articles of Impeachment for Dick Cheney, we have run into a number of different obstacles. Some of them , naturally, relate to the debate within my party as to the need for Impeachment and/or its effect on the agenda.While I have been making my case for impeachment hearings to my colleagues (and will do so on the House floor this evening) and disagree with those opposing them, there is at least a rationale for the debate on either side.
The virtual media blackout, however, has no rationale. I am perplexed and dismayed at the fact that - with so much at stake - the mainstream media still largely continues to ignore this movement. Few papers in the country have reported on it. Few columnists have acknowledged it.
I understand that some in the media feel this movement will fail - but when three, and now four, Judiciary Committee members call for impeachment… that should at least warrant space at some point over four weeks.
Without public reaction, however, there is little incentive for the media to change its ways. I urge all of you to continue to put pressure on national and local media alike to give attention to this movement. The Netroots has been critical in the outreach effort. I hope that continues over the coming days.
If you haven’t already signed on to www.WexlerWantsHearings.com, please do so.
Congressman Robert Wexler
Check out this interesting photo essay by Taiwanese-born photographer Chien-Chi Chang of Magnum Photos, courtesy of Slate.
The essay shows a scene from just one room in a karaoke club. But it offers an introduction to a very large, resurgent 'concubine phenomenon' that has arisen in both Shanghai and Taipei.
And the analogy she uses really sucks this time.
Did you ever go on a date with one of those guys who thinks that if one splash of cologne is sexy, eight will be positively irresistible? After you've crawled, gasping, onto the street and the blue tone has faded from your lips and fingernails, you kind of want to go back and explain to him, gently, that many things in this world are really best in moderation....I'm getting that feeling about Hillary. Cry once, you're human. Cry all the time, and it's a schtick. A schtick, moreover, that suggests you're a cynical, manipulative woman who uses tears to get what you want.
Brad, over at Fire Megan McArdle, has a nice rebuttal:
You know what? I don't like Hillary either. She's a centrist, and a political hack, and she'll do whatever her advisors tell her to do on anything important. That doesn't make her a weak female, it makes her a political hack, which is apparent regardless.
In the meantime, dissembling or being manipulative is something Megan would never, ever do. Especially not for trivial reasons.
Stop making me defend Hillary, Megan and Maureen Dowd and the rest of the Heathers. It doesn't matter to anyone in the goddamn world you don't like her as a person. That Hillary's positions and proposed policies have major flaws are more than enough cause to oppose her candidacy. Clinton derangement syndrome is never a pretty thing. Soon Megan will be talking about Vince Foster and lesbian cocaine smugglers.
It has been said that we lefty bloggers, big and small (me being very small) have picked on Megan way too much. But it is just too tempting to watch her work and produce at least one laughable post each day. I look at her and I wonder what my life could have been if I became a so-so journalist and picked-up a gig like the one she has at The Atlantic. Would I be making the same irrational comments and factual errors? Would I be giving another team of bloggers material to pick-on every day? Would it make a difference if I was a six foot tall woman, or would I still be picked-on for being a tall guy who went to a state University? I won't ponder too much, but the fact that I'm posting this means that I have thought about it.
All I know is that I joined the anti-Megan bandwagon after I learned about this nasty 2003 post, in which she basically said that her fellow young New Yorkers protesting the 2004 Republican National Convention ought to be pre-emtively beaten with two-by-fours, in a coy reference to this nation's so-called "pre-emptive" invasion of Iraq. I also cringe at her condescending response to her critics.
And yes, there are many others in this world as disgusting as she. We all meet them as we live our lives. Especially in this crazy town.
