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November 30, 2006 04:17 PM UTC

Thursday Open Thread

  • 50 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Brr (redux).

Comments

50 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread

  1. I like Jim Webb for President…..I like the way he wouldn’t let bush use him or his son for photo op…..he doesn’t seem to have that vietnam vet passivity…
    Plus, he is being attacked by the right wing cardboard clowns for his lapse of “manners.” That is always a good sign…Let’s see what he does in the Senate……

    1. Not sure what “…vietnam vet passivity…” means. I agree with your thoughts on Webb, but am wondering where you’ve gleaned that vietnam vets are passive. Being a vietnam era vet myself (although never serving in combat), your ipso facto conclusion is, in my experience, quite invalid.

      1. that I read online recently… I didn’t pay it too much mind so I can’t quite recall it well, but it said something about how Vietnam vets became generally passive as a result of losing the war, and said that passivitiy was exhibited by vet politicians like Kerry and McCain in their campaigns against Bush – how they essentially didn’t fight back against the slimier charges lodged against them. It was some blogger somewhere who said that, so it’s probably a stereotype given life by the web.

        1. I can introduce you to about a million Vietnam Veterans who would strongly disagree with the both of you.  Talk about generalizations!  If anything, your average Vietnam Vet (not you average misled politician) is at the top of their game, and proud of their service, proud of what they did.  If anything, the Webb incident with the President showed me that Webb tried to throw politics into Bush’s face at a moment where politics wasn’t needed.  If you want to accomplish anything as a freshman Senator, don’t go into a room with the President and start throwing furniture at him. 

          1. the difference when someone reports what they heard as different from what they believe, but you do not know what happened at that event.

            Webb claims he tried to avoid Bush, and was quite successful, until Bush hunted him down. 

            Bush needs confrontation, it is one of the simpleton languages he understands.

            So, how’s Fox News doing these days?

            1. It has been reported by most news services (I saw it on CNN) that their exchange was brief and that Webb and the President were short with eachother.  I can see it on both sides, so don’t try and paint me into a corner as a political hack.  I can see why Webb would feel the need to say something to the President, and I can also see that the President would prefer the the freshman senator not try and plant his foot (army boot foot) in his face at a “get to know you” event.  If anyone has been around politics, you know that there is a time and place.

              1. And that was the time and place. Webb made a statement, and a clear one at that. Don’t get personal, and especially don’t talk about his son who is in the chaos called Iraq,  due to the missteps of Bush’s administration.

                Webb,  showed a lot, and I mean a lot of backbone, which we need more of in D.C. No more of this chicken haw shit.

          2. “Webb tried to throw politics into Bush’s face at a moment where politics wasn’t needed.”

            RIIIIIGHT.  Bush never does that.

            Bush is a joke and deserves no respect.

            1. You refuse to respect the President of the United States of America and other to respect you? Is this what you teach your children? That the President of The United States is not to be shown respect?
              The Office demands respect. This is one of the hardest jobs in the country and it does not matter if you agree with the current office holders Politics he deserves respect for doing the job he was elected to do – twice! 
              I do not agree with Mr. Bush 90% of the time and while I rarely disagreed with Bill Clinton I have deep respect for the Office and I respect Mr. Bush for the dignity he has shown the office.I remain seriously angry at the Clinton’s for their lack of respect for the same Office.

              1. what the hell are you talking about? How did clinton disrespect the office? What about bush’s signing statements? If you respect Bush, than you have little regard for the constitution of this country.

                1.   All things considered, I’d rather Clinton’s sexual pecadilloes to Bush’s crimes.  Bush lied and thousands have died, no one died because Clinton lied.

                  1. Im sure that is what he meant. I just wanted him/her to say it, so the easy, obligatory response from me would be: “hmmm…blowjob v. defiling the constitution…blowjob v. quagmire…blowjob v. disappearing middle class. Yeah Clinton is much more disrespectful.”

          3. …”How’s your son doing?” to a guy who’s son is doing just fine sunbathing in the warm Iraqi sun his patriotic best to support this President’s stupid policies – when Webb has been so vocally outspoken against this war – is injecting politics in a moment where politics weren’t needed.

            Bush is socially tone-deaf when he wants to be.

            Oh, and Webb tried to avoid the President; it was Bush who initiated the conversation despite Webb’s best polite efforts.

            1. Webb goes to a formal event at the White House, the event being the President greeting and congratulating the new members of Congress, specifically to avoid him?  If Webb did not want a confrontation he could have declined to attend the function.  I would consider it rude of someone to come to my home in order to snub me. 

                1. what do you call your domicile?  I tend to call the house I live in my home.  While George Bush is only there temporarily, it is the place to which he returns from his travels and has been the traditionally granted home of the president.  It may belong to the people of the United States, but it is where the president lives.

                  1. Ok, maybe it isnt fair that I currently reside in a dorm, but there is a big difference between the home that you live in and presumably own, and the one that bush resides in and will only be his domicile for the next two years. It is the people’s house, not his or Clinton’s or Polk’s.

                    But let’s, for the sake of argument, say that it is his “house.” Do you normally invite guests who have opposing views as you do, and then try to play politic?

        2. I take responsibility for that comment. I posted it earlier.  I meant no disrespect. Quite the contrary. I think war, even when necessary, is god awful and veterans who survive have all kinds of long lasting consequences. Losing is painful and I think that McCain, Kerry and Powell, are essentially patriots who are still conflicted over what happened in Vietnam. I don’t think that vets were responsible for that fiasco. I think that all of us who voted and who did not work hard enough to get a better outcome are responsible. I observed that McCain let bush walk all over him in South Carolina and Kerry let the swiftboaters do the same. It is my observation.  My call.

          It was good to see Webb’s reaction to Bush. I wish that McCain could have done that six years ago when Bush went after McCain’s family.

    2. Wow.  I have to disagree with that assesment of Vietnam Vets.  Bob Kerrey and Chuck Hagel are two quick, bi-partisan examples of non-passive vets.

      Granted, I was quite disappointed with John Kerry performance, but I’d hardly say he is representative of Vietnam vets as a group.

      As much as I loathed their tactics, the “Swiftboat Veterans for Truth” were certainly not passive…

  2. I posted this under the McInnis-Allard thread but am posting here as well as I’m interested in a discussion.

    Colorado Pols reported early on in the Governor’s race that McInnis had some “pretty scary skeletons in his closet,” but after McInnis bowed out, it never came up again.

    See:
    The Original Big Line
    http://www.coloradop

    and

    Early entry from January ’05
    http://coloradopolit

    Care to bring it up again CO Pols?

        1.   Oh yes, Jim Ryan (a/k/a “Seven of Nine’s” ex-husband….for my fellow Trekkies)  It seems he wanted Jerri to have sex with him on stage at a nightclub.  How very un-Republican!
            He was replaced as the Senate candidate by the very family values oriented Alan Keyes who publicly denounced his lesbian daughter and engaged in a heated debate w/ Barack Obama over which of the two of them was more black.

      1. Agreed – no sense in knocking him off when he’s only a potential contender.  However, CO Pols hinted at this several times when it was a year and a half out from the Gov’s race, but nobody took the bait back then either.  I just wonder what they know that nobody else seems to know.

        1. Any hint on what those scary skeletons look like?  Any of them bigger than a bread box?  Or do any of them involve Mike Jones and/or Reverend Ted?

  3. http://www.rockymoun

    Every other jurisiciton in the Metro area had their plows out early, but Denver didn’t?  And they are blaming it on faulty weather forecasting – the same forecasting that other jurisdictions relied on in order to get their plows out on time?

    First the election ‘snow storm’ now this snow storm?

    It only took one snow storm for McNichols to lose an election.  What about this guy?

    Maybe, the Mayor should appoint a blue ribbon task force to look into how to prevent future snow storms.

    1. Methinks hizzoner needs a primer on what the concept “strong mayor” means. Hick feeds on the consensus of committee/task force/good ol’ boy/girl assemblages. A wee lesson on Charter-mandated “core responsibilities” would be helpful also.

    2. The problems are only going to stick if the Post and News stop protecting Hick and actually REPORT what is going on in this city.

      I know they, and the rest of the biz community, are enfranchised with this fantasy that a business man makes a good mayor, but come on!! If they had reported the issues with the Denver Election Commission prior to the election – and who DIDN’T know that the problems were there?!?!? – then maybe things would have gotten fixed before the election day fiasco.

      Thats just one example of NUMEROUS problems in the City that Hick isn’t dealing with. Come on Post and News, report what is going on!

    3. lost his re-election to Jane Byrne two years after a snowstorm closed down the city.  She was on the streets making her campaign commercials in the midst of the snowstorm—two years out from the election.

  4. There have always been rumors about this and that lurking in the Lawmaker-cum-Lobbyist’s closets, but as they are only that, I won’t repeat any that I have heard.  Still, some might bear fruit in a hot Senate race, or–better yet, for entertainment value–a bloody primary. 

    McLobbyist always liked the firely rethoric, and never shied from disparaging all you water-stealin’ land-grabbin’ liberal fools over on that side of the hill, his residency with you all for the time-being (until he can get back to DC and on the public dole) notwithstanding. 

    Running and winning a statewide seat is much different than running and winning a seat on the slow end of the Divide.  If McMenace won a primary, I think Udall would win pretty handily.  B.O. is spoiled goods, as Mick would say “…he’s in tatters…” Tancredo…as much as I hope he runs…well, I don’t think so (“don’t mind the maggots!”). 

    Shaffer?  What WOULD Bob do? 

    Udall will be formidable.  The Colorado GOP is in disarray and their current field of candidates isn’t too scary.  Maybe Pete Coors can run again?

    1. If Mcinnis got in he’d be just as formidable as Udall (I’m sure if someone digs they can find his skeletons too) same bankroll, same name id, it would be a good race.  However if Owens got through the primary he’d easily be the front runner.

        1. From the time Scott first ran for the 3rd CD, there were efforts by Dems to acquire some 911 records that were supposed to exist in Garfield County.  They were supposed to deal with spouse abuse.  The problem is that no one could ever come up with them.  If they did exist, they are long gone, otherwise they would have shown up in a previous election.

  5. First off, respect is earned….not simply given. bush has denigrated the Office of President.  But, fair being fair, I will agree to respect bush as much as the republicans respected Clinton.

  6. How distribution of capital can prove very useful”

    In a move that nearly triples the world’s richest earned cash prize, Egyptian cell phone entrepeneur Mo Ibrahim (currently based in the UK) will award $5 million to the African leader who leaves power with the best record of democratic governance. The contest will rate governance in 53 African nations each year and will grant winning leaders not only $5 million in cash over ten years, but then also $200,000 per year for life. The prize is aimed at decreasing corruption and autocracy in Africa, and has endorsements from President Clinton and Nelson Mandela, among others.

    The idea is that many African leaders cling to power because were they to depart peacefully, they would go from kings to relative paupers:
    The award will go to African heads of state who deliver security, health, education and economic development to their constituents. In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Mr Ibrahim, 60, said leaders had no life after office. “Suddenly all the mansions, cars, food, wine is withdrawn. Some find it difficult to rent a house in the capital. That incites corruption; it incites people to cling to power. “The prize will offer essentially good people, who may be wavering, the chance to opt for the good life after office,” said Mr Ibrahim.
    I think this is a great idea. First of all, it incentivizes good behavior, which is generally a good thing. Second, it draws attention to the fact that corruption is the most significant political barrier to African development (the most significant overall, of course, being AIDS), and third, it seems to provide a way to do what it actually sets out to do: The lifetime yearly salary helps prevent leaders from being democratic but then using the prize money to establish autocracy, it creates an unbelievable opportunity for positive press for struggling nations, which could ultimately help with foreign investment and development, and it helps point out that monetary aid has its limits, especially when being filtered through stunningly corrupt governments.

    I’m all for sending aid to developing nations. In fact, I’m generally for sending aid to anybody who will use it in a constructive way, or help and/or like the U.S., or any combination thereof. Am I especially happy to essentially use bribery to achieve what should be a basic right and value? No. But much of the aid money to Africa is grossly misused, and nobody is happy having their tax dollars go to the leaders of predatory autocracies, so anything creative, interesting, and potentially beneficial — especially when it comes out of the pocket of a wealthy individual — gets my vote of support.

    h/t Americablog

    1. Awarded, say, every decade?  (Or pick an appropriate span over which the average leader might rule…)

      That way the incentive isn’t withdrawn after one go-around, and the region develops an ongoing sense of pride in good governance.  Heck, make it once every 5 years, and add in Asia and Eastern Europe.  $5 mil over 10 years is pocket change in the grand scheme.

      I’d recommend it for here, but our ex-Presidents don’t seem to have any trouble setting up shop with their pensions, speaking engagements, etc..

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