Election 2010: Teabaggin' the Ds & Rs

[Adder]

Originally Posted by LessinSF

Russell Feingold, Joe Manchin, Ben Nelson, Jim Webb, Joseph Lieberman, Dick Durbin, Tom Harkin, Jay Rockefeller

One of these things is not like the others. What's Russ's issue?

[LessinSF]

Originally Posted by Adder

One of these things is not like the others. What's Russ's issue?

He makes over $200K?

[Gattigap]

Many of you may recall my plans for the offshore banking center/data haven/brothel-casino/all around destination of awesomeness known as "Gattigapania."

Plans have been in a slow-roll so far, but I was excited to see the rise of an ideal anchor customer, global assjack Julian Assange. These are the kinds of jerks from whom contractors can make some serious coin, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

So I was halfway through a term sheet for my Series A funding for Gattigapania with Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins and DFJ, but then what happens?

Someone stole my thunder.

New evidence that Julian Assange is actually in training to be a character in a James Bond movie. Behold these photos of Bahnhof AB, Wikileaks web hosting service whose facilities are carved into a rockface near Stockholm.

Here's the front door.

More pics of the place here.

Sigh.

[LessinSF]

Originally Posted by Gattigap

Many of you may recall my plans for the offshore banking center/data haven/brothel-casino/all around destination of awesomeness known as "Gattigapania."

Plans have been in a slow-roll so far, but I was excited to see the rise of an ideal anchor customer, global assjack Julian Assange. These are the kinds of jerks from whom contractors can make some serious coin, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

So I was halfway through a term sheet for my Series A funding for Gattigapania with Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins and DFJ, but then what happens?

Someone stole my thunder.





More pics of the place here.

Sigh.

No, Misser Superman no in.

[Cletus Miller]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

Scenario 1: Senator A earmarks funds for project B.

Scenario 2: Congress appropriates funds, and Senator A threatens hearings on X or to block funding for Y unless the Department of C agrees to devote the amount of funds in Scenario 1 to project B.

Much harder for the public to figure out what's going on in Scenario 2.

Before the hullabaloo about "pork" and "earmarks" (largely pushed by Johnny McC), earmarks were pretty opaque, too. You're assuming that the relative openness of the current earmark process will continue in the future.

[Hank Chinaski]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/tvb...garet-cho.html

bristol palin/ Margaret cho fight

[Cletus Miller]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/tvb...garet-cho.html

bristol palin/ Margaret cho fight

Why does Margaret Cho want to give them free press? Can *everyone* who dislikes the Palins just. stop. feeding. the. trolls.?

[Sidd Finch]

So I've been away for a few days, again. And now I see that the Rs and Ds are approaching an agreement that would trade (1) continuation of the Bush tax cuts for 2 years more than Bush and his GOP-controlled Congress voted for in the first place, in exchange for (2) extension of jobless benefits.

So one side demands to decrease government revenue from what they voted to approve (for stupid, political, dishonest reasons), in exchange for the other side getting to spend more?

We are fucked. This country is completely fucked. All of our taxes will soon go to debt service.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by sidd finch

so i've been away for a few days, again. And now i see that the rs and ds are approaching an agreement that would trade (1) continuation of the bush tax cuts for 2 years more than bush and his gop-controlled congress voted for in the first place, in exchange for (2) extension of jobless benefits.

So one side demands to decrease government revenue from what they voted to approve (for stupid, political, dishonest reasons), in exchange for the other side getting to spend more?

We are fucked. This country is completely fucked. All of our taxes will soon go to debt service.

2

[Cletus Miller]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

So I've been away for a few days, again. And now I see that the Rs and Ds are approaching an agreement that would trade (1) continuation of the Bush tax cuts for 2 years more than Bush and his GOP-controlled Congress voted for in the first place, in exchange for (2) extension of jobless benefits.

So one side demands to decrease government revenue from what they voted to approve (for stupid, political, dishonest reasons), in exchange for the other side getting to spend more?

We are fucked. This country is completely fucked. All of our taxes will soon go to debt service.

Because one side is spineless, feckless fucks and allows the other side to constantly lie about what's really important to them--which the spineless, feckless fucks then allow them to have, without *any* subsequent consequences.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Cletus Miller

Because one side is spineless, feckless fucks and allows the other side to constantly lie about what's really important to them--which the spineless, feckless fucks then allow them to have, without *any* subsequent consequences.

But at least we the voters get to choose between the despicable and the pathetic (nevermind that we always get the policy of the despicable either way).

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Cletus Miller

Before the hullabaloo about "pork" and "earmarks" (largely pushed by Johnny McC), earmarks were pretty opaque, too. You're assuming that the relative openness of the current earmark process will continue in the future.

I think many things about the legislative process that used to be opaque are now more transparent. That said, the only sets of people who care about earmarks are those who are getting the money, and those who look for embarrassing examples to complain about the process.

[Cletus Miller]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

I think many things about the legislative process that used to be opaque are now more transparent. That said, the only sets of people who care about earmarks are those who are getting the money, and those who look for embarrassing examples to complain about the process.

But politics--as currently practiced--is about appearing to care deeply about something either immaterial but popular/unpopular or something that is important, but professing almost exactly the opposite of what you intend to do. And the Ds have ceded the entirety of the airspace to the Rs. On earmarks, from the beginning, I've been thinking of the politics of it (important), rather than the policy of it (not very substantial, either way).

[Cletus Miller]

Originally Posted by Adder

But at least we the voters get to choose between the despicable and the pathetic (nevermind that we always get the policy of the despicable either way).

Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Cletus Miller

But politics--as currently practiced--is about appearing to care deeply about something either immaterial but popular/unpopular or something that is important, but professing almost exactly the opposite of what you intend to do. And the Ds have ceded the entirety of the airspace to the Rs. On earmarks, from the beginning, I've been thinking of the politics of it (important), rather than the policy of it (not very substantial, either way).

Plausibly Obama is getting exactly what he wants.

eta: Also, this.