Stats

Comments Posted By MurphTheSurf3

Displaying 691 To 720 Of 3,237 Comments

Another Money Making Conspiracy Con by a Right Wing Huckster

Why does the article seem out of place here?

I have been told that we should not give D’Souza any attention. My problem with that is that we on the Left are too often silent in the face of nonsense like this and then we get associated with this comment: “The Liberals cannot respond. They know the truth even if they will not admit it.”

AND, unless we robustly take propaganda apart its elements are used against us.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 1:20 pm

Good additions to my own thoughts on this.

His previous effort “2016: Obama’s America” was more focused and clear, even it was as factually wrong and off kilter as the new film. One has the feeling it was rushed to completion- hoping to beat out the plea bargain- and didn’t.

He and Ben Carson have a lot in common….they have gotten all of the benefit of an American society they want to deny to other.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 1:16 pm

Internal GOP Rift Widens With Cuccinelli’s Call To Defund The NRSC

My pleasure and privilege. Keep the story alive by checking on it regularly and when another story blip happens tag that onto the fuller narrative and then republish…I am amazed how often folks need to be told why something is worthy of their notice!

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 6:47 pm

In response to your last comment:

You live dangerously…pardner! Don’t Mess with Texas!

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 12:37 pm

I have discovered that stories like this still need to be written. I write “meh” reaction stories all the time. If they have validity, impact they percolate and bubble up. I have seen things I have written, appear as “new” or “breaking” a number of time with MY wording…..

So….do not despair….

May I suggest that your explanation here might be a good introduction to the article…Basically you are making the case for why it is an important discovery and worthy of the attention of others.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 11:51 am

Be careful, Tx rattlesnakes….beware!

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 11:30 am

Doing my best to support the possibility of both!

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 10:10 am

Very interesting- these behind the scenes struggle, the inside ball that makes or breaks a game- are the key to understanding the big picture.

Each side is blaming the other.
Each is shouting charges about ideological betrayal.
Each threatens to undermine the others base.
Each demands the defunding of the other.

This is the very definition of civil war….or rather the uncivil war.

I am hoping that each side digs trenches and fortifies for a long siege.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 9, 2014 @ 5:24 pm

Could Hillary Clinton Become the Next Republican President?

😉 Made me laugh…good on ya!

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 6:55 pm

Glad we had a meeting of the mind on this and glad to have you as someone with whom such exchanges can happen regularly.

As to the plaudits…take the bow and leave the stage gracefully….taaaa daaaaa!

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 6:12 pm

I get your point.

The justices are operating within the long standing rules of the court but three of the justices (Alito, Scalia and Thomas) have clearly decided to associate their judgments and judicial philosophy with corporatism and have been able to entice Roberts and Kennedy to join them a number of times.

A corporate vs. citizen based understanding of rights is very much in keeping with totalitarian regimes. Indeed, at its heart, fascism is defined in terms of corporate bodies (banking, manufacture, farming, labor, church, and government) first and foremost.

We agree.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 3:51 pm

Biden 1988- yes true but he does not seem to have the corporate connections and I think he has largely been fortunate not to have strong opponent in his own primaries and in opposition.

I just finished looking at his success in raising funds for Obama in 2008 and in 2012. Not bad.

Current stories, and there are a lot of them, say he is having success attracting crowds but no numbers.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 12:51 pm

I tried to find the post you are referring to from July 1…can’t nail it down. Repost with context and I will respond. I must have missed it in the flurry of comments here at the Planet, at Daily Kos and at Salon.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 12:41 pm

No flattery- just a recognition of a class act.

I think that you, I, Ad Lib, and many others here are on the same page in this.

If we can make HRC a better candidate and thus a better president through scrutiny then we will be doing an important service.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 11:54 am

I am for Joe as well. Better him than Hillary….

My guess though is that the women’s vote is going to so favor HRC that she plus, a male Hispanic would be my guess, will be the ticket.

I don’t see him getting the Big Money backing that he will need- he has never gotten that backing, ever.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 9, 2014 @ 7:44 pm

I copied and pasted your excellent response to Ad Lib. Thanks for the backup on this. I am for a thorough examination of Hillary’s claim to be ready and if she proves that this is so then she will get my primary vote….and, bottom line, I am voting for whoever the Democrats nominate. For SCOTUS sake if nothing else.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 9, 2014 @ 7:40 pm

JUST IN CASE YOU DID NOT SEE THIS….

NoManIsAnIsland says:
07/09/2014 at 2:27 PM

I agree with Murph, AdLib, and think it
would be helpful in the coming fight for
the heart of the Democratic Party to give
your case against Hillary Clinton the
widest readership it can get.

Vital as your superb indictment is, if it’s
not seen and read by as many people as
possible it will be little more effective
than a voice crying in the wilderness in
terms of letting Hillary and her backers
know we have no welcome mats in front
of our doors for her. Our mats read
“Stay Away,” and the sooner she and
they realize it, the sooner we can begin
the process of selecting a genuine,
caring Democratic candidate we will enthusiastically vote to be our next
president in 2016!

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 9, 2014 @ 7:38 pm

It would take too great a personal shift on her part or some great external scandal to convince her to set aside a long time dream….to have Bill as HER FIRST GENTLEMAN.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 9, 2014 @ 7:36 pm

Welcome. How about getting your excellent effort to a wider audience? Are ye fer it or agin it?

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 9, 2014 @ 1:10 pm

I don’t, in any way, regret my choice then. Having said that it will not stop me from supporting her if she is our only viable choice.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 9, 2014 @ 3:47 am

You know the answer. If she is our nominee, she will have my vote, my voice, my support in the campaign, and left leaning point of view pushing my progressive agenda.

Since my simple philosophy has become- vote Democrat, any Democrat – no matter how good the GOP candidate might be because the Republicans, as a party, are bad for America.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 9, 2014 @ 3:46 am

A+++++++++

I gave you 10 Stars out of 10 Stars.

Ad Lib, this story deserves to be seen widely. How about cross-posting it at other site?

=========================

I chose Barack Obama initially as a fall back position.

I was living in SC in 2007 and went to the state Democratic Convention as a delegate in May of that year. The two leaders of the pack were Hillary Clinton and John Edwards but Hillary was ahead of Edwards by a mile.

As I drove up to the Columbia SC convention center I noticed that the streets were lined with dozens of large signs – 30 feet tall, kept erect by huge fans at their bases each proclaiming “Hillary”. At the Convention center there was a sea of yard signs and scores of volunteer lined up outside.

At each of the entrances there was a common display- A stand alone white door, framed by flowering plants, with a set of brick steps leading up to the door. The door had a nameplate that read “Madame President.”

On the main floor, in the area set aside for candidates the Hillary “table” was an entire pre-fab control center with computer check in for volunteers who got color coded name tag linked to a staff member who coordinated the work to be done by each group. There was a training area screened off from the floor for new volunteer to train them in how to chant “Hil-La-Ry” which differed for men and women. Each volunteer got an itinerary telling them what to do and where to be at precise times.

When Hillary arrived there was a high school band outside and a local choir inside…..as she moved through the crowd, the volunteers chanted her name while the members of the choir called out: “You Go Girl, You Go Girl.”

It was all so slick, so well organized, and obviously expensive.

Her speech at the Jefferson/Jackson dinner was carefully nuanced to appeal the Blue Dog Dems and as I think back on it THIS is Hillary’s natural audience- an Arkansas audience. Democrats who are really old GOP.

The next day I picked up “Dreams of My Father” by Barack Obama.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 8, 2014 @ 9:54 pm

Why Democrats Lag Behind Despite Growing Population Advantages

THE MYTH OF THE DEMOCRATIC SENATE SUPER MAJORITY….

In January 2009, the Senate had 58 Senators caucusing with the Dems. Lieberaman and Sanders were part of that group although one is a left leaning independent and the other a right leaning independent, In addition there were 7 Blue Dogs who leaned GOP because they were from states that tended to vote Red or leaned to the right: Evan Bayh (Ind.); Mark Pryor (Ark.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Jim Webb (Va.), and Mark Warner (Va.). Their votes required that that any proposal be sellable to their red/purple constituents .

April of 2009 Arlen Specter decided to switch from a Republican to a Democrat because he was behind Toomey in the GOP primaries. Technically that gave the Dems 59 in their caucus.

The 60th Senator, Al Franken of Minnesota, was locked up for months in recounts and legal challenges from a very close race with incumbent Norm Coleman. Finally, on July 8, 2009 after eight months of delays, the Dems had 60 votes IF the Blue Dogs could be managed and that was very difficult.

But six weeks later on August 25, 2009, Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy passed away. Back to 59.

One month later on September 25, 2009 Paul Kirk was appointed to fill Kennedy’s vacancy while the special election was going on. Back to 60.

In November of 2009 Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, in a poorly run campaign, lost Ted Kennedy’s seat to Republican Scott Brown effectively ensuring the end of a technically filibuster proof Senate in January 2010.

Depending upon which metric is used,… Democrats had a super majority for roughly six months which composed of the the seven weeks between Franken’s swearing-in on July 8 to Ted Kennedy’s death on August 25 and the four months and nine days between Paul Kirk’s swearing-in on September 25, 2009 to his replacement by Scott Brown in 2010. And when you calculate in the days the Senate was not in session or when Mr. Byrd or Mr. Kennedy were too sick to attend, the number of days is less that 50. This was just barely enough time to pass the biggest and most difficult health care legislation in generations; an event that would likely never have happened under any other circumstances and which knocked every other piece of legislation off of the docket.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 7, 2014 @ 8:49 pm

A Protest Against Nuclear Weapons You Didn’t Hear About

You got me looking for this guy. Your narrative is a fine summary of a life given over to conscience driven acts of solidarity and protest…..

This is the last thing I found on him…http://ncronline.org/news/peace-justice/trial-anti-nuclear-activists-ends-unusual-sentence

On December 13, 2013, with five other protesters, Kabat was found guilty of trespassing on the relocated National Nuclear Security Administration’s Kansas City Plant but was given the unusual sentence of writing essay responses to questions posed by the judge

I wonder what he wrote?

There is a fine letter from him here: http://www.nukeresister.org/2011/07/04/fr-carl-kabat-at-kansas-city-plant-construction-site/

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2014 @ 6:38 pm

I salute you for bringing this story to our attention.

I salute Fr. Carl and his fellow pilgrims for peace in Ploughshares.

I salute all who take principled positions like theirs and put themselves on the front line risking their freedom for the sake of a great truth.

Kudos to all.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 6, 2014 @ 9:08 pm

The Irresponsible Electorate and the 4th of July

Oh, if that is all it took!

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 7, 2014 @ 7:03 pm

Here is what I know— the Democrats are, as a Party, more aligned with my views, my hopes, and my needs that the GOP. Period. I really only have two choices if I want my vote to have a real impact on the election- i.e. to vote for one of the two who have a shot at filling a seat. So, I work hard to get good people nominated and then I push them to be best they can be.

Those who are disappointed in Obama …. well, I always ask what they wold him to have done differently…and we go from there. Most think he has a lot more power and freedom to act than he does.

They know so little of how things actually work that their opinion has very little correspondence to reality.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 6, 2014 @ 8:44 pm

Oh- it can last quite a while longer…and if the GOP continues to manipulate who can vote then the impact of their voters will be exaggerated and their voices overly influential.

History will judge Obama as a guerrilla warrior against a GOP coup…hopefully a successful one.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 6, 2014 @ 8:40 pm

I do not know if religion is a motivation for conservative thinking or an expression of it or both but I agree they are inter-twined.

As do demography- yep, it is working against them- which is why they are working so hard to limit the size and diversity of the electorate.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 6, 2014 @ 8:35 pm

Mandated voting has a real downside. A study in Sweden and Norway has shown that many so resent being forced to vote that they actually choose to vote badly- for marginal and fringe parties for example.

NOW- making voting easier – that’s another story.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 6, 2014 @ 8:32 pm