Vanity Fair's Holler Back Cover

The Obama cover was just satire-- although not very good satire. It wasn't a big deal to begin with, and it is even less important now. Vanity Fair is just stirring the pot to perpetuate a media circle-jerk over something very few people care about.

The real media story is how CBS cut and pasted a different answer John McCain gave to a question posed by Katie Couric about the surge to make McCain look good-- or to keep him from looking bad.

It wasn't the image of Obama that bothered me. It was the image of the burning flag that bothered me.

I agree. What is that burning in McCain's fireplace? I can't make it out.

Is it Arabic writing?

Have to admit that I'm getting tired of McCain being depicted as a disabled, addled old man.

I think it's the Constitution. Har-de-har-har. No really, it says, "We the People" on it.

Thanks, I guess I need to clean my screen.

I still don't get it. They are giving the knuckle pound.
OK, I get the pills and the walker, and the Bush picture.
Not as cutting edge as the last one.

"Have to admit that I'm getting tired of McCain being depicted as a disabled, addled old man."

Maybe the media should treat him as a young sexy, really sharp, hip guy. In a Ronald Reagan sort of way.

In fact, the media has done an absolutely remarkable job NOT portraying him as a failing older man. I saw footage last month of him walking on a tarmac towards a copter and was floored how weak and frail he looked. I had never seen him look like that anywhere. Without any intent of being cruel towards him, he actually looked like he was going to stumble and fall. He's a good man, but the repubs made a fatal mistake picking him at this point in time.

"Solidarity" with all the OBAMA LOVERS in the media?

Or in the (continued) defense of Obama (can this guy fight for himself)?

I guess either one works.

As everyone knows, I don't like The Chosen One, so take this where it comes from, but this media-lovefest is embarrassing and furthers my opposition to any reporter's privilege.

And don't get me started on Freedom of the (Printing) Press (Owners) vs. Freedom of the Reporters.

(What has he done again? Oh, yea. Nothing, sorry, "community organizing" that's Presidential prep-work.)

(And shouldn't it be HOLLA Back cover? Not HOLLER?)

With all his gaffes of late McCain has been behaving a lot like a disabled, addled old man. Iran/Pakistan border? Iran is training Al Qaeda? Sudan/Somalia. Shiites/Sunnis, 57 states? His campaign is a mess. He's a mess. It's almost too painful to watch.

I dunno. It's not cool to make fun of people based on their race, ethnicity, weight, sex, but it's stil Ok to poke fun at seniors. I don't get it. We're all gonna get older one day, if we're lucky, that is.

He's great! Smart, confident and full of youthful vigor. And since he admittedly knows little about economics, he and Phil Gramm will be the perfect duo to turn around the ecomony! We'll get to stay the course in Iraq and we can get all those whiners to shut up.

My fave senior politician is Lautenberg, whose dossier is replete with stories of him falling asleep while in the Senate. (When he bothers to show up, that is.)

I also have a hard time imagining him at a Springsteen concert, re that ticket flap.

Jerseygurl, you're being noisome again. I'd happily place McCain's general grasp of economic issues vs., say Obama's own experience there. (We are not talking John Maynard Keynes here in either case.)

Or vs. his, ah, extensive experience with military matters or even with the concept of "national service" in general.

But you do love to post, don't you, lass?

Really! The Dems are fine with Lautenberg but they love to throw barbs at McCain. Hypocrisy at its best.

I only make fun of the seniors in my inner circle - with the exception of cathy's constant confusion as to his location and Bob Doles pen. I love the pen!

State Street Pete,

57 States is an Obama statement.

I put that right up there with his Harvard Law educated Constitutional knowledge on the Presidential length of term .

(And am I alone is hating him saying NOTION all the time? Moreover, his swallowed "you-know" he says when he's off teleprompter, searching for a soundbite is telling of his calculation. Haven't heard anyone pick up on this one yet, but it's there whenever he speaks without a script. You-know?)

Ummm, not to point out the obvious... but Lautenberg isn't the Democratic candidate for president. So what's he got to do with anything?

It may not be 'cool' to make fun of people because of their age, but it's entirely relevant to question whether someone is up to the task of the highest elected office. Sorry, but I don't believe McCain is that guy.

.. yeah, the 'Obamster may lack genuine substance, but you have to love that mellifluous baritone voice. It's so very soothing. Plus, and this is a very, very big plus, he can go to his left, drive the baseline or pull up short for a sweet little fade-away jumper. Nice touch and good looks upcourt.

Miss M, I voted for Andrews because I thought Lautenberg was too old. I would also suggest that a president that is too old is more of an issue than a senator that is too old.

But really now, the GOP brought us Strom Thurmond, the 100 year old senator, so what else is there to say?

Hey, as long as someone doesn't have organic brain disorder (such as Reagan) and is in good overall health (unlike Cheney), I say age shouldn't matter. McCain is not my cup of tea, either (I wanted Duncan Hunter) but if you're going to attack the man, attack him for his ideas, not his age.

(And shouldn't it be HOLLA Back cover? Not HOLLER?)

I've seen it used both ways, prof, but I ain't no holla back girl.

I agree Mrs M (sorry about the Miss thing, not used to that yet), age shouldn't matter as long as he can do the job. But he's not being attacked for his age, he is being attacked because he keeps saying dumb things. And it seems to be a pattern.

The Vanity Fair illo is missing McCain's first wife, the abandoned one. She would be the rug that he walks all over.

(Funny, I tend to want a "guy" with some, what is that thing, where you do something and you gain from it.... Right! Experience. Obama is NOT that guy.)

And I'll ask you Obama-lovers the question again: what has he done?.......

Has he led anyone? Has he sponsored any substantive legislations, is he a war hero (like Kennedy, to which he is so wrongly compared to)...

Right. Nothing.

But he loves him some Obama!!! 2 books on his favorite subject: OBAMA.

You-know?

So while I was a Hillary supporter, I will happily pull the lever for McCain. At the very least, I believe he's an honest guy (who can't go online..... But he can fly a plane.)

prof, thanks for the correction.

Mccain is only 72, but at times he seems a bit flustered.

MMM,

And Obama seems naive.

So there you have it. An older, experienced guy who has gone against his party many times.

Or a slick (teleprompter only) talker who has no experience, but acts like he does. And oh, yea, has NEVER gone against his party or "reached across the party line".

Not the best choices, but an easy one for me.

Very funny, mets2008, unlike the performance of your eponymous baseball team in the ninth inning last night--sweet Jesus! Must they always melt down in the second half of the season?

McCain is a good guy and a strong candidate in many ways, but boy he sure does look old when the lighting isn't quite right.

(Mr. Roo, NO ONE needs remember last night. Tonight is another game.... Just as this is another season....)

And if McCain looks old (he is 71 afterall), I bet he could beat Obama's ass in a fight.

No lie.

I bet that old man could KICK Obama's little, pretty, know it all ASS.

I don't even think it would be close.

(Obama would be crying to all the news anchors, "I'm a lover not a fighter".)

Hillary too.

Have you noticed that on this trip to the mideast by Lord B. Hussein Obama most of the articles wax poetic about how he speaks and carrys himself but not much if anything on what he says? Its simply cause he is clueless and doesn't know what he's saying or what is goin on over there. His responses to questions show him to be almost willing to lose the war to win the election. I don't care if he's not Bush...this Senator is a dope and should scare most people if he gets anywhere near the White House.

Now that's rich: a Bush supporter complaining that Obama --or any candidate, or any human being for that matter--is stupid. Sorry, Iceman, I love you like a brother, but that's just too easy to ridicule.

I ain't no holla back girl.

Yeah, yaw much too ra-fayned.

One can imagine the prof having a bumper sticker on his car that reads, "My nominee can beat up your nominee!"

Personally, I think Hilary could kick all their asses, yours included prof.

I bet that old man could KICK Obama's little, pretty, know it all ASS.

Every once in a while, among the reams of patter that comes from your keyboard, prof, you can let loose a zinger. LOL.

Phil Gramm is right - Americans are all a bunch of whiners. Come on, McCain is learning to use email and he has a few months left to learn about economics. So let's stay the course, the economy is in great shape, better than it's ever been. And the war in Iraq is also going well. He'll have to figure out what to do about Afghanistan, but since he's had military experience that should be a no brainer for him.

The age debate has more to do with the way McCain thinks. He thinks like an old guy. There will be nothing new coming from a McCain administration. Nothing.

jersey,

McCain knows how to fly a plane.

Any idiot can wear a blackberry on their belt (Ugh!!! Like Obama).

But it takes actual knowledge and ability to fly a plane.

Then again, Obama can play basketball. That's something...

You prove my point prof. The guy can fly a plane but he can't use a computer. He is learning to use email. How do most people communicate today? By plane?

Oh, and jersey,

Your idea that "nothing new" will come from McCain is, well dumb.

How about Nuclear power plants? Drilling HERE (instead of outsourcing our energy needs).

And those young kids of his, more than Obama's little ones, they will help keep in touch.

But who cares about "new"?

I just want someone with a clear vision to allow citizens to pursue their happiness.

(And just what are Obama's "new" ideas? Right health care brought to you by the folks who screwed up Katrina. No thanks!).

Unfortunately, Obama has a PLAN for everyone's happiness (one that will involve raising my taxes even more).

Those are new ideas--- drilling here, hmmm let's see where have I heard that before? Nukular plants...sounds familiar. So things will stay the same...meaning they will continue to get worse.

jersey,

Any real energy "plan" that does not have increased drilling and nuclear power in the mix is no real plan.

In the future, we will rely on clean nuclear energy to power our electric cars, homes and transportation system.

If you think a wind mill or Solar array in Nutley is going to save us, the ship is already sunk.

Or perhaps we can just run some jumper cables from the Chosen One's brilliance to every home in America.

That's change I can believe in!

(Still waiting for anyone to tell me what the guy has done. This fairly simple question has yet to be answered here... I wonder why?)

Prof - here's where we differ. Additional drilling will not provide us with any new oil for many years to come and does nothing puts our resources into existing technology - we can leave global warming out of the discussion. The CEO of Exxon Mobile has acutally publicly stated this year what industry analysts have known for years, there is not enough refining capacity because oil companies do not want to invest in them. They will not see a return on that investment soon enough and they make record profits when the prices are high. Yeah they've been blaming the high cost on envrionmental standards that are too restrictive and costly but I think it's plain to see they have the money to build new plants but they WON'T. I don't have the time to google the articles right now.

A solar array in Nutley won't save us - but investing in a combination of solar, wind and hydroelectric power (turbines under water in tidal areas) will move us away from almost total dependence upon a fossil fuel and new renewable sources that will become less expensive as they become more prevalant.

Nuclear discussion is too long for this post.

ugh. typos. sorry. gotta run.

Sorry you have to leave.

But what you are forgetting is that while it certainly will take time to get to our oil, we can increase our refining capacity during that time (walking and chewing gum).

But you cannot believe that solar, wind and hydroelectric power will be enough to satisfy our needs in the future, do you?

Again, no serious discussion about the topic can exist without nuclear energy. And drilling.

(Nothing on Obama' past, huh?..... Anyone?)

New technologies are being sought as we speak. There is a very good chance that the oil companies are correct in not investing because they'll be obsolete before there is a return on investment. Onesource might be right around the corner.

We cannot increase our refning capacity if oil companies do not want to invest in upgrading existing refineries or in building new ones. Period.

We are not just at the mercy of OPEC - we are at the mercy of ExxonMobile, Lukoil and all the rest who actually make more money when they invest less capital. The only commodity or product in the market for which there is this odd economic trade off and we are paying for it.

And when was the last oil refinery built in the USA?

How come none since then?
(Hint-it's not because the oil companies don't want to build them as has been suggested.)

Keep waiting for that one Pokey.

And I must add that all this NOTHING was NOT done when Mr. EmmyOscarNobel was VP.

Nothing.

And now he's screaming that the floods are coming?

Nuclear and Drill.

Simple.

(Because I don't feel like paying Obama's "Give those a chance" tax so folks can buy these new electric cars. Forgot about that one, huh? Just how are those without money to spare going to drive..... Gas....)

It's all really very simple. After the nutsqueaker of the 2000 election, the Dems & Reps realized that the process had gotten too messy & unpredictable, so henceforth they would take turns in imploding.

The Dems kept their end of the bargain in 2004 by nominating an unappealing elitist patrician with a freakish chin.

The Reps are doing their part by putting a geezer out there & making sure that he starts to dodder visibly well before the election.

They even hire shills like the prof to appear on local blogs as "McCain Dems" to give his candidacy the illusion of a chance.

Think about it: it's the only theory that explains every observable fact. And it comes with a falsifiable prediction: the election is already over & Obama has won.

Remember me in November. Democracy is dead; long live democracy.

Hrhppg, that you claim to have an "inner circle," of seniors or anyone else, probably merely shows the necesssary laxity of your standards for friendship. Squirrels and muskrats nipping at your skirts do not count; nor do slugs skittering across your sandals.

Jerseygurl, you scorn McCain's ideas and proposals as if you're impossibly enamored of the word "change" as uttered constantly, and meaninglessly, by Obama. You also, with several others above (but you in particular), seem to impute comparative wisdom to the guy's basic emotional and political beardlessness. That he is short on accomplishment and so far only really big on vagueness doesn't seem to bother you one bit.

I suggest this is because of the fuzziness which characterizes your own posts here. What passes for "political thinking" in your own self-estimation is merely an array of vapidities. This is fine if one is posting here or, say, serving as a delegate to the Dems' upcoming convention in Denver. But maybe nowhere of genuine import. That McCain attempts to bring his genuine, lengthy experience to bear upon the solution of problems is all to his credit, even if it doesn't fit into the gaping maw that serves as your political semi-consciousness.

It is also Exxon/Mobil among the truly educated, and not just because the company happens not to be hq'ed in Alabama.

crank,

First: Where's my check? I only shill for money, honey.

I just can't wait to hear all these Obama lovers' faces when he loses in November.

(Remember, he's not leading if at all in most polls-- strange for someone heaven sent.)

That will be worth all this, his defeat will be too much!!!

The media will look back and say (like with Bush and the war), "maybe we didn't ask enough questions..."

(But sadly, too many Black Americans will use his loss as further proof that the deck is stacked against them.)

Nice work, prof, keeping up the front in style! ;=)

So many angry white guys - you've had your boys for eight year why are you whining? Maybe we'll get more of the same and maybe not. The deck is definitely favoring rich white guys with money. And oil stocks. So they'll probably win. I've got my retirement money, my second house and an EU passport just in case. If I had kids and had to pay for college I'd be really worried though.

jerseygurl,

I'm sure you did not mean it this way (one of the drawbacks of stream-of-consciousness postings as communication), but your comments could easily be misunderstood...making you appear to be a cross between Marie Antoinette and Leona Helmsley. Maybe the lateness of the hour will save you from the attacks...

At least I assume you do not wish to be seen in such a manner.

Ridger. No. Late, glass of wine. Tired of pushing the boulder up the hill of ignorance. I think everyone should get a fair shake, we should be forward thinking and find sources of renewable energy, we should have safety nets in place even for people like the prof. He shouldn't lose his home or be denied medical insurance if he contracts a chronic or terminal illness, loses his job and then can't get insured again because of a pre-existing condition. I do believe in public education, I live in Montclair and pay a lot to educate the children of others. I think we're all in this together.

My point is that at this point in my life I have little personal stake in what happens as it will have little impact upon me. I would personally be better off if we got rid of all social programs, public schools and had a flat tax. So I shouldn't give a crap - but I do. I find it hard to believe that hard working people with kids really want to continue on the same course we are on now.

jerseygurl,

I'm not sure that those of us on "the dark side" are as unfair and backwards thinking as you might suspect.

No one (least of all the oil companies...who invest significant sums in non-petroleum based energy sources) disagrees that it would be best to have more non-petroleum sources of energy. But there are always downsides to such changes...food prices increasing, rain forest removal etc. Pulling more oil out of the ground (if we can do so) is still very important for the forseeable future. How much can stuff like solar, wind, organic waste REALLY do to reduce our dependance on petroleum? Some, but as a panacea?

And there are safety nets for folks who have the kinds of problems you portray. For long term illnesses, long term disability insurance is certainly a possibility. Coverage denial for pre-existing conditions (in medical plans) certainly was a big concern some time ago. I don't know a great deal about all the medical coverage available in the market place so you certainly may be right about this as a concern. But my own pre-existing medical issues were covered when I switched plans. New Jersey's version of Medicaid also provides a significant safety net for many. Is it perfect? No. Filled with waste and stupidity? Probably. But it is a safety net.(Now universal health care coverage is another issue altogether, but that was not the point you were trying to make.)

And a flat tax could be revenue neutral...it does not necessarily mean that the governmental services (and probably the waste as well) will be eliminated.

Now your concern about the prof losing his home or his medical coverage due to a terminal illness...well, I guess we should chalk up that comment to the lateness of the hour, the wine, and the Sysiphusian (is that a word?) task you described earlier (pushing the large rock against the resistance of the angry white guys.)

The siren call for "Change" is strong and may be successful. But, to be fair, it is important to have a true picture of what is being "changed."

Jerseygurl, I suggest that you (who certainly sounds like a "rich white chick" who even has some 'screw you' money set aside to go with that EU passport you seem to be holding up as a token of your core moral slipperiness) just let that rock you claim to be pushing roll right back over you.

Because you sound neither that bright nor that sensitive in general. But awfully self-righteous as to what other folks should do and feel. We thank you for your suggestions, but really, they make for a sorry pass indeed at either sense or even genuine concern.

You are the worst kind of pretentious twit, jerseygurl. The moniker jerseygurl is of course ironic, as you try so hard to make clear with references to your various advantages, real or imagined. But your efforts at condescension are clumsy; you could learn a lot here from the aristocratic Brits, who've made condescension into an art form. That you peddle liberal arguments does more damage to the cause of liberalism than you can imagine. If you are a typical liberal, I would rather associate with conservatives. At least they're more intellectually honest.

Let them eat cake then? or was it really bread?

I have no particular dog in this fight, but sitting here in EU land and reading all of this is instructive. It never ceases to amaze me how many Americans believe that EVERYTHING in Europe is better, the Europeans are smarter, and the problems more manageable. Of course, many other Americans seem convinced that the continent is one gigantic failed social experiment.
The truth is quite different. As one born and raised in Europe I can tell you quite sincerely that there are plenty of ignorant folks, plenty of racists and greedy bastards, and plenty of narrow-minded idiots in every country in Europe. To think that you can run off to Europe and be saved from whatever lunacy you think you see in America is childish and actually insulting to both Americans and Europeans. We do some things better than Americans -- Americans do some things better than "we" do. But a stroll down any street in NYC would go a long way towards illustrating the point that a great many people from Europe, and elsewhere, want to come here. It is not for the food, by the way.
So while I am glad, jerseygurl, that you have your retirement money and your second home, you would be wise to twig to the fact that EU passports will not insulate you from any of the problems we all face on this planet.

"So many angry white guys - you've had your boys for eight year why are you whining?" Posted by Jerseygurl

Jerseygurl or anyone else with an intelligent answer,

Can someone please explain why one should hang their head in shame if they are a white man?

I am having a difficult time understanding why it is unacceptable to fall in this category.

Please give me a few intelligent examples and maybe, (probably not) I may understand.

Thank you croiagusanam - you're right. Not everything in Europe is better. Not everything here is worse. And I believe it was brioche, and it wasn't Marie Antoinette.

Even if not everything in Europe is better (I feel sorry for those who thought it was, croiagusanam), I would still like to suggest to jerseygurl that she hie herself off to, say, north Glasgow where you need subtitling to speak with the violent, oft-drunken locals. Or one of the Arab-filled suburbs of Paris where they delight so in burning luxury cars.

Someplace,too, where she won't even be able to get decent brioche and all the pints will be watery.

I'd almost feel half-sorry for you, lass, now that your "wad" seems spent, if you hadn't been so truly patronizing these last few months. Sic semper rich white chicks!

Croiagusanam,

Fair enough, but we should not be so fast to dismiss an idea just because it comes from the land of the euro weenies. Frances embracement of nuclear power is something we should take a long look at. Additionally, we might want to look for ideas in the EU to find a better way to handle healthcare.

MMM,

No need to "take a look" at Nuclear.

We know it works and is clean.

Likewise, if you want EU style health care raise the tax to pay for it (and if you cut some other things, I might support it--- although remember Katrina, do you want those folks running your health care?).

This is not too complicated.

But it takes leadership, something we haven't had in years, I'm thinking the last time we saw real Presidential leadership was.... when?

Cathar, that I have managed to summon your particularly smug brand of vitriol serves as proof that I am back on the right track. Realistic - there is nothing wrong with being a white guy. At all. The reference is to the "angry white guy" cliche and all the rhetoric on all the blogs. These guys have their boys in charge. If McCain wins will they be less angry? Doubtful.

MMM, the sense I get from my own sojourns among the "euro weenies" (I like your coinage) is how non-united they really are in most substantive ways. Spain, for instance, where they acquit likely-guilty terrorist bombers and display a general laxity towards terrorism, is a very different sort of place in this respect than Italy, which some time back successfully quashed its own domestic terrorists (the Red Brigades) and remains reassuringly vigilant. But Italy is also awfully bad when it comes to paying taxes, whereas the Scandinavians and Germans seem to view this as a serious religious obligation.

Then there's Malta, a place I loved, an EU member but also a backwater in most ways, somewhere where all the other considerations which obsess Europe seem to drift away in this 99% RC country. What matters there seems to be good cooking, cheap wine and, always, fireworks for their religious feasts.

I just wonder to which one jerseygurl considers fleeing (and via which nation she got the EU passport she brandished verbally above as her own equivalent to an AK-47). Whichever and wherever, I'm reasonably sure she won't be at all happy there. They all seem to have a very different attitude towards village scolds, which is what jerseygurl of course aspires to be here in Baristaville.

MMM, I am not at all opposed to ideas from "euro-weenies". If you read my post, you'll note that I originate from there myself, and still have beaucoup family and friends and offspring there. I am very much in favor of nuclear energy, and have seen firsthand how well it works in France and in the UK. I believe that the health care model is a good one, though there have been some bumps in the road (especially in the UK). I think it could be done here and that it would not be as prohibitive in terms of cost as is commonly thought, but that's an issue the next president will tackle.
There are many great things in Europe, but I tire of those Americans who spout that they'll leave if Mr. X or Mr. Y wins -- they'll off to Australia or Provence or Tuscany. First, they'd best bring buckets of cash. Second, the locals are charming quite often, but once one lives there one discovers that they have the same petty nonsense underway as anywhere else. And finally, truly important issues ignore borders. It has been true for a long time that when America sneezes, Europe and the world catch cold. The collapse of the housing market that is underway in Europe right now is directly tied to the difficulties here, and it is thus across the board.
If you bring your American retirement money over here, best bring a lot of it. Lunch for one in Paris last week, at a nice local bistro with a small carafe of wine, was $90 American.

Cathar - family in Bratislava, and Croatia. On the Dalmatian coast. Nice places to visit. Not a rich girl born into money - first generation born to immigrant parents. I was a little girl in Prague when the Russian tanks rolled in in '68. I know it's not always greener, but it sure is nice.

While I agree with your tiredness over Americans (usually actors, sometimes rockers) claiming they'll leave this country if so-and-so achieves office, croiagusanam, I'm always ready to make an exception for Alec Baldwin! The problem is that he refuses to keep his word to leave, election after election.

(But we can certainly keep jerseygurl around to kick every now and then. Provided she really stays.)

Do you by any chance get the thrice-weekly "Expat Telegraph" from the Daily Telegraph? I've been reading it for years, it's always fun, particularly Michael Wright's dispatches from rural France, they always remind me that the soil may be stonier even when the grass looks greener.

"I rode a tank
Held a generals rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank"

Pleased to me you jersey!

A guide I had in Prague, jerseygurl, said that Bratislava wasn't even a nice place to visit. "There's not much there to see, do or even buy" were his words. But I can certainly understand not being thrilled to see the TU-34's moving on into the masrvelous, charming city of Prague.

"Pleased to me you," prof? Like in the old Lovin' Spoonful song "Me About You?"

I love this "nuclear power is clean" crap. Sure, it doesn't create greenhouse gasses, just highly radioactive waste that stays around a few thousand years. That's clean?

As a country we have spent decades trying to figure out where to permanently store thousands of highly radioactive spent fuel rods because no one wants that kind of waste in their backyard. Those rods are supposed to stay within a power plant's cooling pool for six months, but most sites have stored them for years, even decades, on site because there's no place yet to put them. And they keep adding more rods to these storage pools all the time, even though it is dangerous to store them close together.

So the waste stays radioactive for generations and we have no permanent solution for storage, but by all means, let make more, a lot more, and call it "clean", and then we'll just take our chances for the next, say, 5000 years that nothing really bad will happen with all of that very nasty stuff.

American needs technocrats. Most Europeans enjoy good health care and labor protections. They are doing better than we are. That's evidence enough for me.

Mikey, yes, you of all people should definitely go. You could even serve as a roomie (or a go-fer) for Alec Baldwin. Go east, young laserdimwit! And soon!!!!

I do see the EXPAT online cathar, and I enjoy it as well. I did see a nice piece in ESQUIRE some time ago, can't remember the author, about just how hard to take expat Brits in NYC are, and the author was good enough to warn folks off certain bars frequented by same.
If Alec Baldwin does decide to go, one can only hope that he'll bring his born-again brother Stephen with him.
Glad to hear from the prof again. I thought that, like Karadzic, he was on the "lamb".

I can't go and leave you with the bomb. And why would I leave. Things are looking up. 8 years buffoonery, war crimes, and economic crisis has all but destroyed the Republican party. Let's just say things may get more Keynesian.

No, laserboy, you in fact are "da bomb."

And only 8 years of bufoonery?Mikey, I've seen you in the flesh. You're chronologically much older than that (even if clearly mired emotionally and socially in pre-pubscence).

News flash, Bush administration tortures children.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/19/humanrights.usa

Now how can you expect to win an election in the foreseeable future.

Mikey, if other Democratic voters in fact are on your basic intellectual and psychological level, then it'd even be possible for Cynthia McKinney or Bob Barr or Afeni Shakur to be President.

Thank goodness most are not, eh?

But since we're on the topic, how do you expect to ever even get a date for Saturday night in the foreseeable future?

Nerf.

No Nukes.

No Oil.

I hope they come up with the wind-powered car soon....

Or one that has a long tether to those tidal currents.

Or perhaps one with a solar array on top.

Or corn, oh wait. That drove up food prices.

Sugar? Same thing.

http://www.pickensplan.com/

I'm not a big fan of the Natural Gas part of his plan but he's heading in the right direction.

Here prof, someone working on it.

Prof, your funny, but all our sources of power have issues that need to be delt with and I never said we should not consider more nuclear power. I just think we're kidding ourselves calling it "clean". Solar isn't "clean" either because of all the chemicals involved in making panels. But let's be honest about the consequences and not gloss over them just because we're feeling the pain of high oil prices.

I suppose you would prefer a car that runs on vegetables, mikey?

SSP,

Yes, we should address the problem of Nuclear Waste. France reprocesses theirs along the coast of Normandy and I believe Germany buries theirs deep underground.

I know that everybody with 100 miles of Yucca Mountain (all six of them) don?t like the idea of nuclear waste being stored there, but I never heard anybody in New Jersey complain about the oil refineries.

Nuclear power is a bad idea. Not only does it create waste that must be stored for in some cases thousands of years before it can be considered harmless, it creates the possibility of proliferation of nuclear weapons. What kind of a world do we want to live in? We must ask ourselves that question. Better to have less electricity than resort to nuclear power. Instead of building new nuclear power plants, let's close down the ones we already have. Instead of drilling for oil off the coast of Texas, let's close down all the wells and refineries we currently have. We must go back to a simpler age, when humankind was in sync with nature. Only then will we have World Peace and Inner Peace.

Can you blame the people near Yucca Mountain? The 210 million litres of radioactive waste stored in underground tanks in Hanaford, Washington has been leaking for years. It's already made it's way into the water table and clean up is about 20 years behind schedule so far. So far burying deep underground is not proving to be such a sound solution.

And that simpler time was when?

The time before Black folks and women could could not vote?

Or when we didn't use seat belts?

Or when we just burned our garbage?

Or when everyone smoked?

Or no internet?

No cell phones?

Those were the days!

(For a few...)

I could live a simpler life like my distant Celtic ancestors, but as I'm in my 40s, I'm well past their life expectancy.

A hearty fist-pump for mathilda. Pass the dutchie!

Laserlad, just all the windy fumes from your constant, helpless and hopelessly misinformed sputtering could power a semi or two.

Mathilda, you're very, very good, I'll grant you that. That you so unerringly parrot (for satire's sake) the cant of folks here like the laserboy, it's just amazing how consistently good you are at it.

And jerseygurl, what should we blame the people on Yucca Mountain for? (As a Papist, I'm sure there's lots of blame to go around out there.) Perhaps, too, you might volunteer wherever your own summer "cottage" (in the Newport-ian sense?) is located for the purpose of the disposal of nuclear waste? Or of mikey's fairly poisonous ventings?

But then, given this is Baristaville, you already have very fertile fields to plow on through.

And Cathar continues to post as if he was some kind of talk show host.
All this while he has one eye on a nearby mirror so as not to forget how much he admires his own visage.

Is Yucca Mountain a good idea or will we end with these?

Or Them:

www.imdb.com/title/tt0047573/

Well, j. perlstein, I certainly find mt own reflection far more interesting than your own redoundingly hollow posts.

Maltilda...your naivete and idealism are well suited for high school student but the times have changed and you need to keep up or drop out...gosh, i feel bob dylan lyrics arising...

Great. Now I have to look up "redoundingly".

Visage -- now there's a 5 dollar word.

Don't bother to ask Czechs about Slovakia, cathar, because they'll all say the same thing: the Slovaks are bovine creatures with brains the size of peas. Bratislava, last time I was there, which admittedly was a long time ago, had a certain charm on the Danube.

Kind of like the good citizens of Edinburgh speak about the Glaswegians, walleroo.

And Glasgow also has a certain charm. Plus Scotland's best restaurant and all that great Rennie Mackintosh "stuff."