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Post by Spaced Out Looney on Oct 11, 2012 22:51:44 GMT -5
THIS! news.yahoo.com/politicians-are-people--too--the-tragedies-that-shaped-biden-and-ryan.htmlI’m almost 40 years old, and one life truism I’ve discovered is that it’s virtually impossible to hate someone you bother to get to know well. Our national discourse would be far better off if we made an honest effort to think of our politicians as men and women with verifiable histories and complicated humanness rather than as phantasms of ideologies we hate. Doing so might also make us more willing to see the best in one another, which would be nice, seeing that habitually assuming the worst in others remains a fine way to ruin what’s best in oneself.That's the final paragraph. Great piece. Does not, of course, mean you need to vote for the guy, or trust the guy or like the guy or agree with the guys policies. But it would be nice to not irrationally hate the guy. Also, I was not aware that Paul Ryan's dad died when he (Ryan, not the dad) was only 16 and Ryan discovered his body. Although I have to appreciate this line also: This stuff never made me like or admire Bush, but it certainly--and usefully--kept me from hating him. There is nothing so poisonous to the tree of antipathy than an honest effort to imagine the how and why of another human being. Except for Dick Cheney, since I fail to see how understanding the mindset of the alien Skrull race who carved him from space rocks and rocketed him to planet Earth would in any way enrich my understanding of the former vice president.*nods* very well said.
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Post by S'ewing S'cubie on Oct 13, 2012 2:32:45 GMT -5
Y'all are so lucky to have PR on now so you can skip Paul Ryan telling Joe Biden he "doesn't have a record to run on" when Biden was first elected the year Ryan started the first grade. Julia, Martha Raddack is scrappy, though. I watched it with you, Julia. Y'know I miss watching Prime Minister's Question Time with Ian. The Brits know how to inject some humor in their politics while savaging each other on the floor of Parliament. Wouldn't a "no confidence" vote be useful here? Wait. On second thought... they'd have to build revolving doors into the White House and the Capitol.
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Post by SpringSummers on Oct 14, 2012 21:23:47 GMT -5
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Oct 16, 2012 10:47:48 GMT -5
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Post by SpringSummers on Oct 16, 2012 17:14:01 GMT -5
Clever. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by Sue on Oct 16, 2012 17:44:50 GMT -5
[url=http://www.romneytaxplan.com/This says so much, so elegantly [/url][/quote] Love it.
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Oct 16, 2012 21:14:00 GMT -5
Mitt, did you read the part of the Bible that says "he who justifieth himself condemeth himself out of his own mouth?"
Julia, the man has such a case of baby-brotheritis
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Post by SpringSummers on Oct 16, 2012 21:29:23 GMT -5
Again looking for fun live blog of the debate, as I again simply cannot make myself watch it. I found this: Ta-Nehisi Coates from The Atlantic, and it is OK, but not as amusing as I had hoped. I loved that British live blog last time and can't find anything nearly as fun. This one is OK, too: Rich Ungar at ForbesI will continue my hunt.
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Post by S'ewing S'cubie on Oct 17, 2012 5:16:45 GMT -5
During the debate I amused myself by turning to Bill Maher's Facebook page.
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Oct 17, 2012 12:05:52 GMT -5
Again looking for fun live blog of the debate, as I again simply cannot make myself watch it. I found this: Ta-Nehisi Coates from The Atlantic, and it is OK, but not as amusing as I had hoped. I loved that British live blog last time and can't find anything nearly as fun. This one is OK, too: Rich Ungar at ForbesI will continue my hunt. Thanks, I hadn't gotten to Ta Nehisi Coats yet, just Charles p. Pierce and a bunch of other stuff inked through the Metafilter live blog thread for last night's debate. Julia, or why I haven't gotten my day started yet: that MeFi thread is almost 3,000 comments long, and it opened just before the debate last night. Such threads are typically jammed with links to analysis on the day after, and I've been reading them for two hours! PS: it is also true that I'm beat from weeks on end of running flat out, and have to work cattle this afternoon, so am husbanding my energies, so to speak
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Post by SpringSummers on Oct 17, 2012 13:44:33 GMT -5
Again looking for fun live blog of the debate, as I again simply cannot make myself watch it. I found this: Ta-Nehisi Coates from The Atlantic, and it is OK, but not as amusing as I had hoped. I loved that British live blog last time and can't find anything nearly as fun. This one is OK, too: Rich Ungar at ForbesI will continue my hunt. Thanks, I hadn't gotten to Ta Nehisi Coats yet, just Charles p. Pierce and a bunch of other stuff inked through the Metafilter live blog thread for last night's debate. Julia, or why I haven't gotten my day started yet: that MeFi thread is almost 3,000 comments long, and it opened just before the debate last night. Such threads are typically jammed with links to analysis on the day after, and I've been reading them for two hours! PS: it is also true that I'm beat from weeks on end of running flat out, and have to work cattle this afternoon, so am husbanding my energies, so to speak Here is a twitter feed link that combines a bunch of "follow these tweets" suggestions from the Huffington Post: twitter.com/huffpostpol/debates
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Post by Spaced Out Looney on Oct 17, 2012 18:33:38 GMT -5
OK, I filled out my absentee ballot yesterday and mailed it in. I find that my motivation to watch the vp debate and the second president debate has completely fizzled.
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Post by Sue on Oct 17, 2012 19:54:59 GMT -5
OK, I filled out my absentee ballot yesterday and mailed it in. I find that my motivation to watch the vp debate and the second president debate has completely fizzled. And I early voted today -- the first day to vote in TN. Mostly because I picked Allie up at the airport and it was something we could check off the list quickly and easily. We also randomly went out to lunch at a place I've driven by and never noticed for 25+ years. And they make wedding cakes and when we expresses an interest she brought us 7! sample slices. Amazing cake too. Allie really doesn't care much about flowers and is thinking of having an invidicual cake as the centerpiece of each table. They charge by the slice so don't care if you order one giganormous cake or 25 small ones. Then we went and she tried on a dress. Much busier than I might have guessed by simple in it's own way (lots of tiers but otherwise little adornment).
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Post by SpringSummers on Oct 17, 2012 20:30:02 GMT -5
OMG - the President actually came here and talked on our campus and Marine 1 landed right in town! Everything was successful and even most Romney supporters were caught up in the excitement of getting to see the President. There was a huge, packed, packed, packed turnout. We're just all aglow. I only saw aftermath and heard from friends who went, and saw pics, and of course, saw the set up before hand. Oh - squee, squee, squee! And squee again!! The POTUS, here! I mean, I know Jon Stewart made fun of Ohio last night, because both candidates have been spending tons of time in Ohio, but that never includes SE Ohio. We are the least populated, and we have no large city. This "college town" county always goes blue, and surrounding sparsely (for Ohio) populated counties always go red (town vs gown). So - I feel pretty, oh so pretty. Link to the local story: Obama rocks the College GreenSome pics from a friend:Marine 1, as seen from one of our main intersections: Speaking in the College Green (OMG!):
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Post by Sue on Oct 17, 2012 20:31:36 GMT -5
Very cool, Spring.
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