Political language…is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
— George Orwell
Posted by pjsauter on January 12, 2006
Posted in Uncategorized | 146 Comments
Political language…is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
— George Orwell
We are the Dreamers of dreams…
Check it
Anybody have any dreams they want to share?
Ewwwww a rerun of a rerun of Randi Rant…. Riely is up soon … hope he is better than yesterday
Hey Travis… Well turning on the stream and finding a rerun of the Randi Rant rerun was similar to a nightmare
I haven’t listened to the radio in a months….
I saw randi on the SPAN and she seemed cool. I haven’t heard her radio show though, so I don’t know what to think. Is it that bad?
Well…. In thinking about it… it would seem that if you took a cut of what I heard on AAR or the M$M from a year a go and changed the words just slightly it would still be true today.. so you probably haven’t missed a thing.
Wow, when I just got on NO ONE was on. Now we are hopin’ 😎
Hey Druid.wow man. Did you change your screen name?
Hi TravisDem_04 and Fred :banana:
I just noticed this morning that you can watch the MSNBC nightly propaganda and infotainment called the news on line.. Can you watch CNN that way ??
It was kind of interesting they had links for all five nights of this week already up.. Does that say anything ??
Yeh — I have been having a computer password trauma so when I get :billcat: I just walk away from computer cuz I have a window right next to this bloody thing = a love/hate affair with computer and internet = :billcat:
:fire: 🙁 Where oh where has my Marcy gone? Where oh where can he be!
I threw my laptop at my TV once just before the election in 2004.. It missed but the sheet rock behind the TV suffered a lot.. Good HP laptop it survived.
:bow: fred
:nod: 😆 :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:
Part of the Internets seems to have passed away in the last few minutes.. MSN is unreachable..?????
Hummm. came back up… must be the NSA monitoring my activity.
I see the rethugs genocide against the poor is proceeding on schedule.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10794536
travisdem_4 and fred speaking of Orwell (on front page) Mile or his wife said they will be starting 1984 either tomorrow or Monday :banana:
I have book in bottom of desk — but I just couldn’t — didn’t want to read again — but now I can just listen. :yuck: :40: :eek::mad: :omg:
:fire: Sorry Marc, I forgot THE FIRETRUCK LAST POST.
The Rethugs apparently can read or they are inadvertently acting out Mien Kampf and Orwell’s 1984 in minute detail totally by accident.
travisdem_4 I have been seeing you appearing a few ago — :bong: the healing teehee 😆
Mile or his wive. I’m confused. I don’t think I recognize them, those, their names. I guess I too should revisit the world of winston smith and julia. The last time I read it, it was so….not fun. That world was crazy. :paranoid:
My Bad! Travisdem_4 it truly was MIKE (as in Malloy) and/or his wife reading sometime the first hour …
:fire:
I have to wonder if Russia and China are using IRAN as bate to get GW and Israel to do something that they will then respond to and seriously embarrass the US or have cause to eliminate us.
Up north Malloy isn’t on. I’ve never heard him before. However, someone in seattle that I know said he was kind of nuts, but in a good way. I would have to stream the show and with the condition of my ears, headphones, and quality of the stream, my experience would be quite poor. I think I’ll pick the book up and give it a look though. maybe we’ll write about it next week.
Fred, I agree — So many plots — Bush always wanted Iran … BUT CHINA OWNS US/U.S.. And of course — America is Over-stretched AND WEAK
—– Divide and Conquer —
:fire:
Power-worship blurs political judgment because it leads, almost unavoidably, to the belief that present trends will continue. Whoever is winning at the moment will always seem to be invincible.
– george orwell
(italic, mine)
:yinyang: all.
travisdem_4 😮 :yuck: You are braver than I. I could not go thru 1984 again — but if Mike is going to read it, well…..:eek:
I still DO NOT ACCEPT the Liars in the Oval Office and Administration.
:fire:
tom t in tokyo, hello :yinyang:
:fire:
Hey, guess what? I found the spark notes to 1984:nod:
So, if I get the lazy bone or eye, I could cheat on my exam.:banana:
There are archives of Malloy on the AAP web site.. http://www.airamericaplace.com Listening to Mike read 1984 would be interesting unless he reads the whole book.. That might take until November .. hummmm… maybe that’s the idea..
hey druid!
missed you.
:omg: Just thinking of 1984 again, I am getting very creepy and I am not a whimp
first Marc is GONE, then global war is looming, End Times upon us (or so many say), now 1984 eek!!!!!:eek:
:fire:
Does Marc have his show up? What’s the deal man? I sent him an e-mail with a show or recurring skit title–“Epic Adventures and Explorations with Marc Maron”. I don’t know if it’s clever enough, but it sounded catchy when I thought of it. What’s the latest scoop on the show?
Hey man! we’re missing some :sheep:le
Nicki must have slept in this morning. Krista is not usually here this early. Don’t know about Jason.
ok now this is a warning for everybody who ever has even the slightest urge to ever and i mean EVER go see the movie wolf creek or rent it on video or watch it on cable DO NOT WATCH IT unless you have a funny friend to watch it with it is the least scariest “horror” movie ever EVER and uh the acting is absolutely horrible nobody even dies in the first hour of the movie and only two people get killed only TWO damn it stabbing myself in the leg would of been a better experience than watching that movie it was basically a nature film with a little torture and mutilation thrown in anyway the guy lives at the end and stays living in southern australia one of the girls gets shot in the head a guy trying to help her gets shot in the head and the other girl gets her spinal cord severed but we never see her dead just paralyzed so she does not officialy count as killed and all three of the main people in the movie are douchebags the two girls shoot the killer in the neck and then dont make sure the guy is dead because they dont know how to load a bolt action rifle and are too fucking girly to bash him in the head with it instead they hit him in the ribs with the rifle because that will kill him if the neck wound doesnt!!!!!!! hmmmmmm yeah i HATED that movie so much i threw my pop at the screen when the credits started to roll anyway its the worst horror movie ever and if you still watch it youre a fucking stupid cunt and i hope someone stabs you in the neck while youre watching it with a fucking tetanus infected icepick and you bleed to death you stupid motherfucker
P.S. the scariest part of the movie is that there is a solar eclipse that they show and looking directly at one of those can BLIND you and then you will never be able to see again NEVER EVER you will go blind from it and be BLIND blind i say ok ummm everybody have a nice day know im gonna go get a lobotomy so i can forget that movie even exists
:bow::priest:damn it you know what? that movie is just another sign of the apocalypse if only the cardinal had been around to warn me!!!!!!
Speaking of the Scalito hearings (we were?) …
did anyone else want to upchuck when The Loyal Wife broke into tears and left the room when Kennedy was questioning Scalito about his prior record in the He-Man Woman and Minority Hater’s Club? Please. BOO FUCKING HOO.
Blondie (the comic-strip character, not the band) would have been proud.
And WTF is the Chimp in Chief doing talking about accountability? He’s never been accountable for ANYTHING in his life. Especially this bullshit war.
I miss the funny. Thirty seconds of Kent Jones doesn’t cut it.
DOWN WITH SCALITO!!!
IMPEACHMENT!!!
VIGILANCE!!!
:fire::fire::fire:
Well, there’s Jason, K K, FarmerKat, Kevin, Gypsy….others..and how could I forget, Quietgirl. There’s more. I always forget someone.
Sean! Man, what is the address for the kindergarten teacher. I lost it, but I bought some post cards.
Mornin’, Seditionists!
Totally agree on 1984. I’ve been thinking for some time that it would do me good to reread it, but I just can’t go through that again. Glad to know I’m not alone in that feeling.
Malloy is okay. When I used to listen to AAR (my radio has been silent since 9am on 12/16), I would sometimes catch a few minutes before bed. My husband couldn’t stand him, but I think you have to take him with a grain of salt. He is definitely “out there” but I think in being so outrageous, so maniacally blunt about his distaste for the state of things, he gives listeners permission to feel their own distaste–which, presumably, is far milder (at least as expressed) than his.
(If that makes any sense.)
I could never listen to him but I guess from what was said on the Majority Report blog last night that Hannity made a very big deal of the dems making Alito’s wife cry. The Reich wing media will stop at nothing.
Malloy gives me acid indigestion which is not good when you you are trying to go to sleep. Having him in Randi’s time slot would be a better choice.
Travisdem 04 I got mesmerized by the Dreamers of the Dreams…
What’s the story? Spark Notes? Like Clift (sp) notes?
If you ever feel like sharing more regarding your ears … I would like to know more … The good and bad, cuz nothing is definite. But all is to your time.
Fred, yep, the book will take MANY MOONS. I think they said they would do a chapter a show. They said cuz of having short chapters. Eek.
:fire:
hey i forgot all about the kindergartners wow im a douche ok here it is people send some postcards and uh ill give you a dollar for doing it when i come to your town yeah a whole dollar WHEN i come to your town but you have to come to where i am to get it ok uh yeah send postcards and be optimistic i know we live in scary times and all but dont scare the kids the sedition party is gonna fix everything domi arigoto mitsubishi
ms carlsons class
Union Pleasant Elementary School
150 Union St.
Hamburg, NY 14075
why the fuck isnt there a sammy the stem cell smiley? what the fuck? oh yeah um everybody call your senators and demand a filibuster tell them that no matter how much you like them you will work for an oppisition candidate if they dont vote for cloture viva la revolucion:fustrate::priest:
kevin – yes, i heard on npr (yes, i’m back to npr) about his wife leaving the room. i thought that HAD to be scripted.
Re: Alito’s wife crying.
Guess I missed that part. I was listening to the hearings in the car most of the day on NPR (so my radio hasn’t exactly been silent, just silent of AAR), and I didn’t hear any commentary or watch the news last night.
I will let my reps know (but they are Schumer and Hillary, who presumably are in the same camp) of my opposition, but with the Repugs controlling everything, I’m fearful that unless the Dems can dig up something truly, truly horrible, we are in for a confirmation. (As hubby pointed out, Clarence Thomas was confirmed, and there seemed to be more substantive charges against him.)
😡
its strange this blog gets more posts per day than the morning sedition blog was getting those tapes must really be circulating
Mornin’/evening fellow seditionists! tom t, I’ll write you back later tonight. Sorry, been busy…I need a :40:
Travis Dem, feeling any better? I hope so…:alc:
Do you think we’ll see more tears from Mrs. Scalito today? 🙁
That reminds me SeanMS, I need to get back to the editing board myself. Maybe I’ll do that later on…4 or 5 shows a day…:fire:
The dreamers of dreams…It’s Gene Wilder from Wonka land.
Sparknotes are the Barnes and noble equivilent to cliffs notes, I think. Harvard students write them.
And as for my “side effects” from surgery. I’ll have to think about that for a while. But the short list is this: pain in the gulliver, change in taste, vertigo, blood clotting in my legs, neck pain and limit range of motion, loss of hearing…there’s more, I just can’t remember them all. Did I say brain damage damage?
Woe…that’s rough there Travis, take it easy buddy, you’ll find your sedition stride in no time! :yinyang:
… it truly was MIKE (as in Malloy) and/or his wife reading sometime the first hour …
In spots, Malloy has taken on the mantle of funniest bits on AAR. Mike was brilliant yesterday, absolutely mawking Mrs. Alito’s staged crying. He himself started balling to garner sympathy. It would make Lawton Smalls proud.
Mike’s wife, Kathy is also brillient and owner of the best sultry voice on the radio. She has been doing an impression of cable talk show diva Rita Cosby that is over the top. Its funny because you can tell that Cosby just about drives her crazy.
The strangest part is that Kathy only comes on occasionally, says something bitingly funny, and Mike barely reacts. It’s part of the act, Mike being serious and all.
But I agree, reading anything is the death knell of radio. Unless you know how to read without letting on you are reading, it puts most listeners to sleep. For example, Riley can reactively discuss things quite well but doesn’t have the knack for reading anything on air, but Malloy can do it because he gives it dynamics.
SeanMS, I have the postcards, I now have stamps, I have the address, and will be sending when I go to Post Office …
:fire:
Have a look at Franz Kafka’s “The Trial,” written in about 1925, I think.
Hey Jason. Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better. I missed all the explosions:rant1: on the span. I didn’t know the Lion made somebody cry. I’m way out of the loop.
oh by the way has anyone else seen wolf creek? damn i hate that movie:doh:
I probably got this Ricky Gervais podcast link from someone on this message board. If that’s the case, THANKS. I’m afraid it will become addictingly funny if they keep it up.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/rickygervais
Ricky Gervais plays the straight man. It’s the guy Pilkington you have to listen for. He does a routine kind of like Slander Minute on MS, but it sounds completely improvised.
Nope, never even heard of it Sean.:ear:
By the way, Gervais is the guy behind the original The Office, playing the boss in the British version.
He also does the Flanimals books, which would make great emoticons.
http://rickygervais.com/flanimals.php
So, I guess the Dems should let up on poor Alito so his wife doesn’t cry anymore.:roll:
WHT – thanks for the bumper music list. i listened to all the clips but didn’t find the music i’d been wondering about for months now: the one that uses what sounds like a manipulated sample of “long, long, long” from the beatles’ white album. do you have any idea what that was?
travisdem_04 I was close — I haven’t seen the current Willy but I thought it sounded “Dreamy”
What I said before about The Mock Tears when I thought I was the only one on this Blog.
🙁 Anyone can cry Mrs. Liar Alito — we Dems had to hear again the Republicans Lies AGAIN! (But now I scream, growl, and stalk you yellow belly LIARS and ’s pathetic twisted minions)
…By Your Actions You Are Damned — BY YOUR ACTIONS
Marc, I NEED The Funny (The Caustic Sharp Libra Wierd Wit) Sniff Sniff
Have I told you recently how much I love the Emoticons
Comment by Druid_666 — January 12, 2006 @ 5:17 am
danger mouse grey album its a jay-z album completely redone with beats made from chopped up beatles songs
Another Idea for music on AAR’s stream-
promote an online music site- like emusic.com, who themselves promote “indie” artists like Aimee Mann
PASS IT ON!
:40: I haven’t done that in month.
I have, like four bucks and I think a fourty is all I can afford. I lost most of my taste, so…well yeah.
Man, I’m startin’ to fade. I’ll go dream the good dream.
Title–epic adventures and explorations with marc maron. What do ya think?
Atrios on the Alito Debates
“…I don’t expect Wolf Blitzer or any of the other “objective” anchors to take sides in thes debates, but I do expect them to manage to communicate that the debates matter. I admit that Bloviating Biden and his Princeton cap (he put it on his head during his questioning of Alito) don’t make it easy, but no matter what the shenanigans of some of the senators the issues matter..
Whether you think outlawing abortion will make the baby Jesus stop crying or whether it’ll relegate women to second class status and end up causing countless death from unsafe medical procedures, it matters, whether individuals have the right to go to court to sue big institutions – corporations or state/local/federal government – and have a chance of winning matters. Whether or not racial discrimination lawsuits have a chance of succeeding matters, etc…etc
No matter what the show put on by senators or the mockery of the show staged by our media, these things matter.”
wow, that was fast! thanks sean. i’ll check that out.
to be honest, i’ve got one more if you’re interested. (and i promise this is the last).
the one that uses the telephone tone sample from penguin cafe orchestra.
Okay, made my calls to senators and reps for the day.
what the fuck is a penguin cafe orchestra?
it’s from the 80’s. i’m showing my age.
thanks anyway sean. you’re batting 500.
no problem man no problem
:bow::fire:
ok well im going to sleep while the anger i have over how horrible the movie wolf creek is is at a low point as it now is that way i dont get myself all worked up over it again so uh laters people and someone send me a goddamn penguin orchestra song because i need to hear that shit seaniesean5@aol.com ok well laters people love yas keep hope alive fahrizzle my nizzles
have you ever sipped. Check it
I think some of my teachers did. Hell, I did. We had a mutual understanding, I think.
Quick Drive-By, Boat People :fire:
So listened to a bit of Riley today. Guy phoned in and said he missed the “maron monster” – riley didn’t seem too pleased :barf:
:fire: Vigilance! :fire:
Kristapea, I am glad hearing of your calls. I have done this also, but I am so tired of being decent …. I called even Hatch’s Ofc in Utah (since Wash D C ofc was busy yesterday) to be immediately hung up on, so I called them back and told them I take offense to the constent negativity spoken about the dems by Hatch and rethugs.
:paranoid: 🙂
:fire: Mark, where r u? Can you hear us? :billcat:
tom t, just sent you that delayed email…
This last segment of Rachel was pretty good. I’m glad she replayed the questioning with Sen Kennedy and Specter. I think I have both ammunition and sheild to deal with any rethugs on this issue now. Thanks Rachel!
Great news! Someone called in to the Riley show and said they missed Marc! We all should be doing that! I don’t wanna make Riley feel bad though…but why in the world has he not uttered a single word regarding Marc? I mean atleast Rachel, Kent, and Sam have. Riley was his co-host for nearly two years….:mad:
Heads up guys…I posted the new Bob Herbert op-ed: The Lawbreaker in the Oval Office. See it here
Happy reading! :fire:
Druid_666: loved your call to Hatch. My two Senators are Kit Bond :yuck:and Jim Talent :yuck:. How horrible is that? They aren’t on the judiciary Committe but I am going to call them today and tell them what I think of Alito. The New York Times has a good editorial this morning on the hearings.
I sent an email to Marc this morning saying we on the blog are anxiously awaiting his return to the airwaves and that we need his voice concerning Sammy “tiny brain” Alito.
The Alito hearings are just now getting under way. You can stream at http://www.cspan.org.
Bork Alito!:mad:
Make that cow cry again. Can’t stand the heat..:omg:
Gobbledygook answer.
Unitary executioner!:rofl2:
This Al;ito hearing is boring. I think I will switch back to Tyger Thom.
Don’t confirm that freeper fukk!:rant1:
Re Kennedy , also everyone when one calls around the Senators and Representatives also call Kennedys office and say great job today especially today. :nod:
Well it was great today on this Blog … I hope I can get caught up in reading your blogs. They were Grrrreat! I have to get the fire going stronger cuz I must GO Night Night (Morning, Morning). Rat Cages change will have to be while listening to hearings. :doh: Cuz I liked the BLOG 😆 and I FINALLY got on this Blog AGAIN. 😉
My cats and monster hybrid were not as near of a bother. But I love them all. The cats were strays and even the rats who were on their way to the Animal Control aka the “pound”.
Shut up, you Warren Court hack!
Oh Shit! It’s the Stormin’ Mormon!
The Man From Mass.
Stop lying, Borkalito!
The Hearings — I stayed up with only 2hrs :yawn:
now Iam turning it on but it is Here And Now — Rats
Isi, and my Senators are Boxer (Yeah) and Finestein (sp) I also called the three of the “turncoats” Dems — who voted for Closure re hearings of the drilling in Anwar (sp?) And I have some Native American blood and two are from HI.
I am fading, so I have to listen a bit for C-Span before I disappear.
:fire:
Wow. Pigs that glow in the dark. What would Milf Cardinal Milfington have to say about that?
Shameful. Ignominious.
Does anybody remember Uncle Clarence’s hearings? How did that close-minded jerk get through this process?
This man is troubling.
So, Senator Kennedy. Are you going to vote for him?
C.A.P. troubling. Yes. The Reagan fascists love that sort of stuff. White male power. OOYaw!:omg:
Morning, :sheep::sheep:les!
Good,Teddy!
Yeah Teddy is not backing down! :no:
Can Orrin Hatch put his hand up Scalito’s ass any further? 😡
Yes, Senator Kennedy was magnificent again this morning!:banana: He reserved a few minutes at the end of his questioning and put the smackdown on Alieto.
THANK YOU SENATOR KENNEDY!
In a hurry as usual but I’m on a soup kick today so here’s one for my blog sibs:
Tortilla Soup – Recipe
Adapted from The Vegan Family Cookbook, By Chef Brian P. McCarthy (Lantern Books, 2006).
INGREDIENTS
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup light olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 garlic clove, finely minced
3 cups good-quality vegetable broth
1 cup mild salsa
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Salt to taste
6 6-inch corn tortillas, cut into 8 wedges each
1. In a 3-quart saucepan, saute the onions and peppers in the oil until tender. Reduce heat to low.
2. On reduced heat, add the chili powder and garlic and continue to saute for 2 more minutes.
3. Add the vegetable broth, salsa, corn, and cornstarch. Stir well.
4, Heat the soup on medium-high heat until near a boil, then simmer on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Two minutes before serving, gently stir in the tortillas.
Serves 4.
BTW, lest I forget (and I’m sure others here have already noted this but I’m in a hurry…) I heard something intelligent out of Tyger Tom Hartman today. That shot of Mrs. Alito crying, the one the reichies are saying proves that the Dems were evil meanieheads to make the nominee’s wife cry…? That was a Repig talking to Alito when she burst into tears. He was saying NICE things about the schmuck at the time. Now ask yoursef, “Why was that woman crying?”
Isi, I can beat that! Santorum and Spector! Man-on-dog and MagicBullet. :barf:
Does anyone have a picture of the scene Randi was referring to, of the hearings on the first day, where she said Ms. Alito was doing everything but rolling her eyes at the BS her husband was saying?
Travis, you asked earlier about Randi’s show. No, she isn’t always in Scream Mode. She is very well-read, very intelligent, and will direct you where to find the info yourself. I have come to love the very informative but boring Thomas.loc.gov where you can read the bills before Congress yourself, and see how everyone voted.
I’m at a client’s today, so I’m not listening to the hearings today (or blogging–except for now, while I’m eating lunch).
Gypsy, in response to your query about Alito’s wife, check out this post on Daily Kos.
BTW, I think Borkemada is the best name yet for this asshole.
Alito Appears Headed for Confirmation
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito seemed headed Thursday toward Senate confirmation, defending his judicial record to skeptical Democrats and praising the justice he would replace — Sandra Day O’Connor.
Sadly, I believe its game over. Another Righty on the High Court. :fustrate:
My Senator, Jim Talent (R) has a poll up on his website asking if the Judiciary Committee should approve Alito? Would anybody like to respond to his poll?
Tom Oliphant is a straight talking, informative liberal.
Alito was proud of his C.A.P. membership.
Bork the bastard!:mad:
Smash Benito Borkalito!:fire:
:fire:
Good day :sheep::sheep::sheep:le:
I hope all dems vote against confirmation and that they conduct a filibuster and that Frist imposes the nuclear (pronounced new-cue-ler) option. This will at least give them a platform upon which to stand when the figurative walls of Jericho come crumbling down. Capituation is not a character trait I admire but going down screaming and fighting over every lost cause is something I can rally behind. Vigilence!
:fire:
al franken played kissykissy nicenice to :bow: alito this morning. al said that it was sad that alito’s wife was in tears and that it was understandable that she cried because someone had accused alito of being a racist and al sincerely hoped she wasn’t embarassed by her tears. :yuck:
al also said several times that he did not think alito was a racist, that alito had just put the princeton club on his resume to get a job, that it was a perfectly understandable thing to do in those days to brag about being in the racist-sexist club, and just because you brag about it to get a job doesn’t mean that you’re a racist.
i have never ever been so thoroughly disgusted with al as i was this morning. up to today i kind of liked his show. not any more. what an idiot. 😡 :rant1:
Time to circulate some tapes!:nixon:
Out here.:peace::sdavid::jesus:
Filibuster! Go out with a Bang:omg:, not a whimper!:no:
Fuck Lindsay Gracchi!
I listened to the lasy 1/2 hour of Franken. He did not seem to be sucking up to Alito at all. Perhaps he was being ironic. Irony-challenged is a problem with us bloggers, critics and metaphysicians note.:doh:
isi, i went to senator jim talent’s website and voted no to alito’s confirmation. thanks for letting us know about it. :doh:
foggyblue, that is so cool. It started out 80-20 it’s not 70-30. Yea! :banana:
nickirose, in al’s 1st half hour today he wasn’t being ironic. i like al’s irony but he didn’t use it when he talked about alito’s wife crying and alito’s membership in the princeton club. catch it on a rerun this weekend. it was awful to hear. especially today of all days.
Changing the subject (slightly): Corporations as citizens.
Open letter to Scalia
By RALPH NADER
and ROBERT WEISSMANN
Justice Antonin Scalia
Supreme Court of the United States
Washington, D.C. 20543
Dear Justice Scalia,
We are writing to inquire as to how the application of Bill of Rights and related constitutional protections to the artificial creations known as corporations can be squared with a constitutional interpretation theory of “originalism.”
In a debate in January of last year with Justice Breyer, you concisely explained that, “My theory of what I do when I interpret the American Constitution is I try to understand what it meant, what was understood by the society to mean when it was adopted.” Similarly, in a speech to the Center for Individual Freedom in March of this year, you said, “Our [originalists’] manner of interpreting the Constitution is to begin with the text, and to give that text the meaning that it bore when it was adopted by the people.”
In light of this approach, can you explain why you have adopted the jurisprudence under which the Fourteenth Amendment is applied to corporations?
Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment stipulates that:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
This provision was notable for extending due process protections and equal protection obligations to the states, and has been used by the Court as the vehicle to apply most of the Bill of Rights to the states.
As you know, the Fourteenth Amendment was a post-Civil War amendment focused on ensuring the rights of African Americans, not corporations.
The text of the amendment is not limited to prohibiting discrimination on grounds of race, nor has the Court so interpreted it. The text specifies that no state shall deny due process or equal protection to any person.
Yet the Court has interpreted the language to apply to corporations, and you have joined with this interpretation. . .
http://www.counterpunch.org
foggyblue, I find Al Franken INFURIATING. And, its not because I don’t catch his irony. Toward the end of yesterday’s blog, dip67 mentioned similar observations about yesterday’s show.
I think he has huge blind spots about certain issues and seems naiive. For example, he was angry at Mark Crispin Miller for even bringing up the issue of election fraud in Ohio. He really likes to cozy up to the powerful. I can’t listen to him anymore.
isi, i’m amazed it’s taken me so long to come around about al. with maron gone and riley wimping out on the real issues and franken bowing down to the rich an powerful, aar is starting to look like thin gruel. it could have been so much more. :fustrate:
I heard Franken’s first half-hour also. He seemed to feel sorry for Alito’s wife. WTF? Lindsay Graham, who was speaking when she left the room (not Kennedy, as I erroneously claimed this morning), COACHED Scalito, so all three of them knew what Graham was going to say.
Honestly, I haven’t seen such bad acting since Lateline. :crap:
Al is smelling Norm Coleman’s Senate seat in 2008, and seems to be willing to suck up to whoever he has to in order to get it. Only the quality of his guests keep me from tuning out his show entirely.
And he sucks without a co-host. I miss Katherine Lanpher terribly. :fustrate:
I haven’t listened to Franken since he failed to side with the majority of the left on the issue of the stolen election in 2004. I agree that Franken is moving in the direction of Hillary and the corporate money just like most of the other Dems.
You need to email your senators and tell them to filibuster Alito… The vote will probably be early next week.
Hey :sheep::sheep::sheep::sheep:le,
I’m seriously jonesin for some funny. Has anybody heard a word from Marc? Any word from any current AAR voices? Any email messages from Jon Sinton? The Alito hearings were ripe for satire yet the one most capable is silent. WTF
:fire::-(:billcat:
ok, my take on al’s first 1/2 hour. I took his comments to mean that everybody has a family that loves him. But that the fault lies with her husband. I believe he said that a couple times. He did say he didn’t think alito was a rascist, but I think al’s other comments regarding alito demonstrate that al thinks alito is a rascist.
==
i made my phone calls but I live in a state where we could save buckets of money by closing the senators’ offices; they are mere rubber stamps for the christo-fascist zombie brigade. i didn’t leave a very nice message on isakson’s answering service. (that guy bugs the sh*t out of me for some reason) So, if I don’t blog for a while, look for me in gitmo. Please send cookies and red wine (Italian preferrably). :priest:
fred, here’s a funny cartoon re alito from the washington post:
http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/ta/
thanks for posting that letter, Nickirose.
Using similar reasoning, Scalia is patently wrong on views regarding abortion. Opportunistic pseudo- intellectualism nauseates me. :barf:
Ms Rhodes keeps iterating on all these immaterial facts about Bush, Alito, Alito, Bush, Cheney and on and on and on. By this point in time AAR is pretty much preaching to the choir and anything they say that doesn’t have something that looks like a solution attached is just going to make people turn it off and go get out the bottle. :40::rant1::fustrate::fustrate:
Thanks for the cartoon… The artist left out the jackasses … err… Democrats in the audience.
some more good cartoons about alito from the washington post (we need the funny!):
http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/sc/
http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/gm/
Is something going on with the archives? I can’t access the MS archives on AAR (well, that’s not surprising), on airamericaplace.com, or on seditionparty.org.
Help, help, help, help me, Rhonda!!
For what it’s worth, sent Chambliss and a similar version to Isakson (Georgia’s senators – both Republicans):
Dear Senator Chambliss,
I realize that it is a virtual impossibility to convince you to vote against the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States. However, as a lifelong conservative, Republican, and former military officer, I feel duty bound to at least attempt to bring one vital point to your attention. Certainly, some of the opposition to Alito is the usual noise from the party out of power. But there is one vital, overriding, conservative reason to oppose his nomination.
The concept of a “unitary executive”, which Judge Alito advocates, should be repugnant to any conservative. For over 200 years, the United States Supreme Court has been viewed as the final arbiter of what is and what is not the law. “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is,” declared Chief Justice John Marshall in 1803. “This is the very essence of judicial duty.” Yet you are about to confirm a Justice to that court who does not believe this. Judge Alito apparently holds the view that the President, as Chief Executive, has virtually no limits to his to executive power. This is utterly opposed to the conservative notion of limited government, or the idea that powers not specified in the Constitution are not permitted the Federal Government.
By voting to confirm Judge Alito, you are furthering a betrayal of the conservative movement within the Republican party that has been underway since the party gained control of the Congress and Executive Branch. The party that once urged limited government and maximum personal freedom has become a party big spending (remember the Transportation and Agriculture bills??), intrusive law enforcement tactics, and limited accountability. And, unbelievably, a Republican President who claims to be a conservative has nominated an individual to the SCOTUS who adheres to the odious and unhistorical view that the American Executive has virtually unchecked power should he choose to exercise it. Truly shameful and ignominious.
Again, I urge you to reconsider your position on this matter, and consider if this is a matter where loyalty to principle must outweigh loyalty to party. In my opinion, it is truly such an instance.
Sincerely,
Just checked – seditionparty.org is up:
http://www.seditionparty.org/
AAP seems to be up as well – but I think as of 1 Feb it will be gone.
fred, here’s one last alito cartoon for ya:
http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/po/
no jackasses but worthwhile nonetheless.
we’re at such a loss without maron! i’m starting to understand this boat sheeple thing cause that’s how it feels. marooned in a boat without maron.:(
Wow, Methaz that letter was terrific!
Weren’t we suppose to hear something about Marc’s new show by mid month? That’s next week. I wonder if DG realizes the mistake he made in cancelling MS. It is such a loss not to have Marc and the gang on during these eventful political times.
My sister just sent me a link to this statement from the YWCA about Alito. It’s 12 pages so I won’t try to summarize it. But when the freakin’ YWCA (!) comes out against a judicial nominee, you know there’s something bad going on…
:omg:
methaz, your letter is so powerful. i’m going to use its arguments (and much of its phrasing, if that’s ok with you) to compose a letter to my senator feinstein urging her to filibuster alito.
aar news always says that the dems are opposing alito because of the roe v wade issue, but there are other compelling issues at hand such as the concept of unitary executive.
we’re on the brink of 30 years of fascist unitary executive rule if alito gets on the court.
:fustrate:
Speaking of AAR news…I haven’t heard Wayne’s voice in the morning lately. Anyone know whuzzup?
Thanks for the kind words. Couldn’t resist the “Truly shameful and ignominious.” I try to use “ignominious” often in my daily verbal wordage. I miss the War on Brains!
Steal away if any of it seems useful. The unitary executive argument should be enough to sway any true American – liberal, conservative, libertarian, whatever. It’s a betrayal all around.
A link to Harry Reid’s statement today is at Majority Report website. He mentions that Senate Democrats will meet next week to discuss the Alito nomination. Time for us to let the Democrats know what we think.
Hey methaz, here’s my editing of your letter so that it fits my lukewarm dem senator. any suggestions for improvements are warmly welcomed.
Dear Senator Feinstein,
I realize that you are concerned about the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States. However, because I am not certain that you are willing to go as far as filibustering his confirmation vote, I feel duty bound to at least attempt to bring one vital point to your attention.
The concept of a “unitary executive”, which Judge Alito advocates, should be repugnant to any conscientious American. For over 200 years, the United States Supreme Court has been viewed as the final arbiter of what is and what is not the law. “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is,” declared Chief Justice John Marshall in 1803. “This is the very essence of judicial duty.”
Judge Alito does not believe this. Judge Alito apparently holds the view that the President, as Chief Executive, has virtually no limits to his to executive power. This stance is utterly opposed to the idea that powers not specified in the Constitution are not permitted the Federal Government.
President Bush has nominated an individual to the Supreme Court of the United States who adheres to the odious and unhistorical view that the American Executive has virtually unchecked power should he choose to exercise it. Truly shameful and ignominious.
By refusing to join a filibuster against the confirmation of Judge Alito, you are furthering a betrayal of the ideals of democracy as outlined in the Constitution.
I urge you to consider your position on the filibuster matter and consider if this is a matter where loyalty to principle must outweigh loyalty to party. In my opinion, it is truly such an instance.
Sincerely,
At this point i’d really like to paste a butch-the-cat icon on the letter to diane but i don’t think she’d know what it was all about.
repugnance, odious, and ignominious are terrific words these days. i’ll try to use all of them more often.
Vigilance :billcat:
randi rhodes just said we should all call diane feinstein’s office to urge her to filibuster!
I won’y defend Franken’s namby Pambiness when it comes to such things as Alito’s crying wife, etc. He always tries to play the concerned sympathetic one to the Republicans.. Yes I believe he is planning to run against Coleman. (Duh!) Still, I like his show. Good guests, humor, he is honing his radio skills. Superb intros. Ads. (I recently saw him live in Portland–book signing. A real performer. I thought he was great in LOTD.) He is usually on in an hour that I am not usually awake (or barely awake). I don’t always “get the funny” in real time. But then I hear reruns. I have been a big Franken fan since the Saturday Night Live ’70s. As kids, we planned our weekends around staying up late and watching the show. So, I am not a good one to be critical. Still, he does have annoying political traits…:rofl2::nod::mad::omg::-(
Ralph Neas, President of People for the American Way just said on MR that if the democrats on the Judiciary Committee stick together and vote no there is a good possibility the nomination can eventually be stopped. He said contact your senators both republican and democrat now.
Thanks for everyone who helped out in voting in my Senator’s poll.
Good letter, foggyblue.
1 thing that bothers me is people urging us to call a senators office in general if that senator does not represent me i have absolutely no business calling his or hers office there are three senators that i can think of that i have any business calling harry reid because he is majority leader and chuck and hillary no last names needed for them and you all know what state that makes me from I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS CALLING DIANE FEINSTIENS OFFICE AND URGING HER TO DO ANYTHING anyway if shes your senator call her ass repeatedly ive called schumer and clinton every day since the hearings started and will be calling every day till alitos bitch ass gets confirmed
:bow::rabbi: wheres the damn jew when we need him?
foggyblue – nice job! Only suggestion is the last two paragraphs. Maybe something along the lines of:
—
Politically, it is virtually impossible for Republicans to oppose Alito, despite the fact that he represents a betrayal of the ideals of democracy as outlined in the Constitution both parties hold dear. Thus, the burden falls on Democrats.
Opposing a presidential nominee through filibuster by the minority party is not an action to be taken lightly. There is a political calculus that says it could be harmful to Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections. However, I urge you to consider your position on the filibuster and consider if this is a matter where loyalty to principle must outweigh such political calculations. In my opinion, this is truly such an instance.
—
I’m not so sure that it is a political negative for the Dem’s to show they are not in fact invertebrates (and lack exoskeletons as well), but they seem to think so. I sure hope they don’t roll over on this – the R’s have sold their souls already.
Sean – I disagree. Most senators have wider ambitions – they may not put as much weight on input from other states, but I bet they track all input carefully. Especially letters/input that are not form letters. If you are in a state like Georgia with double R senators, writing Feinstein and saying something like “although I do not live in California, Democrats like myself look to you for leadership and as an example of what Democrats should stand for”, etc. Lots of folks say it doesn’t matter if they vote R or D – when they see D’s in other states cave, it just reinforces that.
whoa methaz, very cool last two paragraphs. i’ll use them intact in my email to feinstein.
then i’ll call her tomorrow. seanms is inspiring me to contact her every day now.
Thanks for that succinct explanation of a unitary executive. It is the most compelling reason for anyone who claims to be an American, to be against this confirmation:smile:. I was going to use it myself, as well as ignominious. Maybe that should be our “marc” as Seditionists. We use the word ignominious in all of our correspondence to congress. I also like to use Vigilance!
Also, when they serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, they go beyond just representing their own state, and are, in fact, representing (and, ideally, advocating for) all US Citizens – not just the ones who elect them.