The Geezer's Official Political Blog

Making Sense of the NJ Election

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:30:11 -0500

It’s all clear to me now. As I voted last night, I was handed my ticket to the booth: number 666. Code, I learn, for Nero. And that’s who we’ve got this morning. Over time, I’m not expecting that he’ll do the GOP much good, but that means NJ’s got yet another problem. Where are today’s Millicent Fenwicks?

Global Economy

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:38:27 -0400

I was very fond of the late 2008 vintage Kool Aid that swept the country to very good effect. Such a surprise to hear this morning that that same vintage may be helping us in our balance of trade. Clearly the brand has made its mark in Oslo.

"Republican Party has been dominated by radicals — ideologues and/or apparatchiks who, at a..."

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:57:39 -0400

“Republican Party has been dominated by radicals — ideologues and/or apparatchiks who, at a fundamental level, do not accept anyone else’s right to govern.”

- Paul Krugman, NYT this morning.

"Talk radio contributes to the right’s less constructive tones… When asked about Glenn..."

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:31:25 -0400

“

Talk radio contributes to the right’s less constructive tones… When asked about Glenn Beck…Graham said:

“Only in America can you make that much money crying…I mean, you know, what [do] I think about Rush Limbaugh? Well, I think he makes hundreds of millions of dollars being able to talk on the radio.”

…. “how many people in my business are going to be controlled by what’s said on the radio or in a TV commercial…Glenn Beck is not aligned with any party as far as I can tell. He’s aligned with cynicism, and there’s always been a market for cynicism.”

”

- It’s a conspiracy! Two Republicans casting doubt on the idiot fringe commentators. This one from Lindsey Graham

"The rise of Beck, Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and the rest has correlated almost perfectly with the..."

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:12:55 -0400

“The rise of Beck, Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and the rest has correlated almost perfectly with the decline of the G.O.P. But it’s not because the talk jocks have real power. It’s because they have illusory power, because Republicans hear the media mythology and fall for it every time.”

- David Brooks, NYTimes

"Complex arguments are being batted around in this health care debate, but the central issue isn’t..."

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:45:21 -0400

“Complex arguments are being batted around in this health care debate, but the central issue isn’t technical but moral. The first question is simply this: Do we wish to be the only rich nation in the world that lets a 32-year-old woman die because she can’t get health insurance? Is that really us?”

- Nicholas Christoff, NYT

I Thought We Were So Over South Carolina

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:14:29 -0400

August 21, 2009: “The latest weather projections indicate that Hurricane Bill could spoil some of President Barack Obama’s vacation plans this coming week in Martha’s Vineyard.”

End of Life Planning

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:09:57 -0400

The Washington Post reports that “One of the foremost advocates of expanding Medicare end-of-life planning coverage is Johnny Isakson, a Republican Senator from Georgia.”

So shouldn’t he be speaking up more? OK… in this interview he’s characterized Palin’s “Death Pannel” as “nuts.” That’s a start.

"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have..."

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:11:31 -0400

““The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.””

- Sarah sez. What would I do without her? Yet, it’s not been a year. Egad.

"I believe he didn’t serve in government long enough to understand really how things work."

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:00:10 -0400

“I believe he didn’t serve in government long enough to understand really how things work.”

- Congressman Chuck Grassley quoted at The Hill’s Briefing Room Blog. Ummm… maybe that’s because so often things don’t really work. Get with the program, Chuck.

New Jersey Goes for Recognition the Old Fashioned Way

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:37:09 -0400

Our Congressmen and Governor being unable to match the performance of their bretheren in SC, NV, MN, etc., this fro the NYT: The mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus, a state assemblyman and dozens of others were rounded up by the F.B.I. Thursday as part of a two-year corruption investigation …from the iPhone

Sorry but the Senator from OK(!) will be unable to oblige...

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:30:00 -0400

Frank Rich in the Times today, writing about the Senator Coburn’s eagerness to be heard at the recent confirmation hearings but reticence with regard to another matter involving a brother Senator: “Coburn maintains that he has immunity from testifying in any Ensign inquiry because he counseled Ensign as “a physician” and an “ordained deacon.” Coburn is an obstetrician and gynecologist, but never mind.” …from the iPhone

Passing

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:41:03 -0400

From the NYT, speaking of LBJ… The president flipped off the set,” Mr. Moyers recalled, “and said, ‘If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America …from the iPhone

Took rime out from my meeting to hang with a friend.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:02:11 -0400

Took rime out from my meeting to hang with a friend.

What Real Estate Bubble? At a convention center 10 miles south...

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:53:00 -0400

What Real Estate Bubble?
At a convention center 10 miles south of Washington, DC in a “town” called “National Harbor.” Ammenities include dancing fountains, huge rooms, some 18th century-styled buildings under the skylight and tasteful admonitions about how to behave “green.”. Egad.

Maybe this is why POTUS extended Cheney's Secret Service protection: less likely to escape.

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:57:39 -0400

The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday. …from the iPhone

It's the Economy, stupid!

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:17:23 -0400

Palin has a special-needs baby, an unwed daughter-mother and a fisherman/oilman husband. She says she has 500K in legal bills. She can choose to be a politician or a celebrity. Which serves her needs? Which is the better platform from which to launch a presidential bid if she chooses? The major conservative voices are all gazillioneers; why not SP? …from the iPhone

Done!

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:01:14 -0400

59 60! Ummmm…. 58 (+/- 2). Sigh.

Mark Sanford and John Ensign: Perfect together.

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:54:59 -0400

Is there something mysteriously erotic about the 2009 Republican Conservative Family Values platform that wires men’s brains to go all soap opera? Sanford should have gone hiking.

"We’ve built an entire health care system (maybe an entire government) on the illusion of something..."

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:07:17 -0400

“We’ve built an entire health care system (maybe an entire government) on the illusion of something for nothing. Instead of tackling that basic logic, we’ve got a reform process that is trying to evade it.”

- David Brooks in the June 23 NYT. Reflective of Paul Krugman’s comments in that same paper six years ago: “And California’s slide into irresponsibility, in which politicians refuse to acknowledge any connection between the government services the public demands and the taxes that pay for those services, is being replicated all across America.”