uncool2pillow

A freight train fueled by the Internet bubble which was already beginning to burst. Clinton and the Republican Congress do deserve some credit for balancing the budget, but lets remember that the budget was balanced thank to increased revenues from mostly from increased incomes and job creation. A good chunk of that was smoke & mirrors from the internet bubble. Not as big or as fraudulent as the housing bubble, but still a big part of the late 90s economy.

Oh no you didn't!

I wish Wilco would bring It's Just That Simple back into rotation. Definitely the highlight of the Winter Residency for me.

I don't care for caricatures of Obama (born in Kenya, socialist, etc.) and I don't care for caricatures of Romney. I voted for Obama in 2008 mostly because Palin being a heartbeat away from the presidency when her running mate is a cancer survivor scared me. I plan on voting for Romney, though I might just vote for some third party candidate like Buddy Roemer. Lost Highway, what words, other than evil, would you use to describe female circumcision, forced marriage, stonings, etc.? I know a lot of people who consider lack of availability of safe, legal abortion evil. I make no apologies f

Or put it on Spotify.

Did I use the word "evil" in describing Arab culture? Regressive and insular are not evil. Unfortunately, the treatment of women in parts of Arab culture are quite clearly evil. That alone is responsible for much of their lack of progress. My point is not to judge their culture as a rallying cry to American xenophobia ('merica, Fuck yeah, and that kind of thing), just to point out that Romney's comment was not completely racist stupidity. I agree with you about Israel. They have their own cultural issues to be sure. But that's besides the point we're talking about here. By what measur

U.S. can get credit for Israel's military might, but not so much their economic. Who has to "give" Arab nations the opportunity to industrialize? That's seems to me a very odd notion.

I agree with this pretty much 100%. In terms of communication, if not impact, I would add Reagan to Clinton & Kennedy.

Romney's Palestinian comments are regrettable and insensitive. Palestinians live pretty much in a prison. It is fair to ask, however, why so much of the Arab world lives in poverty while Israel lives in prosperity. It's a complex issue and our support of evil regimes like Saudi Arabia in the name of cheap oil is part of the answer. But so is an Arab culture that is regressive, sexist, and insular. Tom Friedman, a liberal and no fan of Romney, has written extensively on this.

Your 2nd point may be valid. The 1st and last have little to to do with demonstrating a belief that the poor only have themselves to blame. He thinks (quite probably in error, I'll grant) that tax cuts to the rich will create jobs and grow the economy.

Speaking of Dickens, I'm reading A Tale of Two Cities. I'm taking it too slow. I love his descriptive writing.

How? His campaign seems to be built on the principle that Obama's stimulus (govt programs) have failed to help the unemployed. Elect him and he will empower the job creators to help those who are. Now, I'm not saying he's right, but how does he demonstrate that he believes poverty is one's own fault?

There's a difference between believing that poverty is one's own fault and simply believing that government programs cannot alleviate poverty.

That New Yorker piece was phenomenal. A couple of great quotes from Van Zant about Springsteen's relationship with his dad as an archetype of the 60s generation gap and another when Van Zant confronted Bruce about writing songs for his fans, not for himself.

Under any circumstances? I'll assume this is either a misstatement or ignorant ideasm.

Liriano v. The Twins should be fun tonight.

I know this is a joke, and I appreciate it, but (and it's easy to say this now as a 41 year old) wars should include drafts and bonds. If it's important enough to go to war, it's important enough for all of us. And when we go to war we should expect sacrifice through service or financial burden to pay for it.

That's a serious concern. I think it's much more likely, though, that he stand aside to let Israel bomb their reactors. Obama could very well let Israel do the same thing. I don't see Iran's quest for a nuclear weapon ending well at all.

I saw the Smithereens in college. I'd forgotten about them until I saw your post. Added 'em to Spotify. Thanks.

Well hello there.

Yes, and it goes both ways. Romney misspoke, Obama misspoke. Just like LouieB pointed out about Romney's Olympic foot in the mouth, this will happen 100s of times before the election.

IRDB doesn't hypothesize what other people think, he tells us based upon little evidence at best. In the past few pages of this thread he's done it to me, Jules, and now the presumptive Republican candidate. Mitt Romney's policies are clearly based upon the idea that if the rich pay less taxes and have more money they will help stimulate the economy. You certainly can argue that that's wrong and that it hurts the poor and creates bigger deficits. I would agree with much of that. But to say that Romney sees poverty or struggling as a sign of personal weakness is crazier than Obama seeing

Does he have more than one of those jackets? What does it smell like at this point? All those hot, sweaty outdoor gigs.

Once again you demonstrate expertise at knowing what other people think.

But you don't go to our most reliable ally in the world the day before the Olympics opening ceremony and say they're not ready. Diplomacy means knowing how and when to state the truth.