US POLITICS SPRING 2011: Let's just call off this country.

From the campaign on, Obama has rarely paid much lip service (fellatio or otherwise) to Israel. It just hasn't seemed anywhere near the top of his priorities, and when he does talk about it, it's pro forma palaver, devoid of much passion. So if he was going to stand-up to anyone, it'd be Israel/Netanyahu. If only he were so "tough" about domestic issues he and his constituents purportedly care about.

I think part of it is that he doesn't perceive any political risks from being kinda dickish to Israel (ie, they need us WAY more badly than we need them, especially in the currently rapidly shifting political landscape of the Middle East)

quick question: which is more radical, a US president making explicit reference to the "1967 borders" in a speech about the middle east, or an Israeli PM calling the west bank "judea and samaria" on the floor of the US congress?

did he really do that

jesus

no irony intended

did he call Iran the Persian Caliphate

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israeli-prime-minister-binyamin-netanyahus-address-to-congress/2011/05/24/AFWY5bAH_print.html

Now, this is not easy for me. It’s not easy...

... because I recognize that in a genuine peace, we’ll be required to give up parts of the ancestral Jewish homeland. And you have to understand this: In Judea and Samaria, the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers.

We’re not the British in India. We’re not the Belgians in the Congo. This is the land of our forefathers, the land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace.

No distortion of history -- and boy, am I reading a lot of distortions of history lately, old and new -- no distortion of history could deny the 4,000-year-old bond between the Jewish people and the Jewish land.

ugh fucking noxious bullshit

so "giving up" the land that doesn't already have settlements, walled roads or military installations on it will be painful for bibi! i guess that makes it even then.

http://i.min.us/icAP9I.png

NetanYahoo! Answers

How far back does Netanyahu's "dibs" go, exactly? Because by his standard there's got to be a whole lot of giving back around the world, if multi-millennial rights trump the present.

oh thx a lot Bill

this fucking guy

Cockblocker-in-Chief

i had to spend a minute thinking abt grassley to figure out whether "Netanyahoo" was #shotsfired or not

bill's not wrong...?

he's not wrong, but saying that at this time = thinly coded message that Medicare being gutted is a likely Dem proposal

We’re not the British in India. We’re not the Belgians in the Congo. This is the land of our forefathers, the land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace.

real far-sighted there, isaiah!

ahahaha

Clinton then told Ryan that if he ever wanted to talk about it, he should give him a call.

"it" = "forcing the Democrats to abandon their we-have-a-plan-it's-called-Medicare proposal," not "French whores."

are you sure you mean "not" and not "as well as"

is Ryan an expert in French whores or something

French manicures maybe

I am still getting petition emails urging my reps to push for Medicare-for-All. What planet are these libs living on?

Bacteria? Domestic companion animals? Clouds? Intangible concepts? Bad dates? Mets' economical situation?

"a bit of a Republican-on-Republican rumpus"

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/us/politics/26medicare.html

Really could go without ever hearing this phrase again, thnx nytimes

But after a 2010 election that seemed to signal not only a Republican resurgence but also a rejection of big government and a need for bold, Tea Party-type steps to slash spending, the politics now look much more complicated. Both parties are being reminded anew that voters like the idea of budget cuts, but that they often recoil when those cuts threaten the programs that touch their lives.

NO SHIT

Droppin' knowledge.

dang -

http://www.scribd.com/doc/56293824/Patrick-McHenry-330

Obama needs to make Warren a recess appointment. McHenry and company will never let her get an up or down vote.

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/joshua_green/santorum_richard.jpg

little bit aero if you ask me

voted most likely to become a euphemism for anal froth

The main target of the Democratic attacks, Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, who authored the GOP Medicare plan, conceded his proposal does give Democrats a political tool to hold up next fall.

"If you're willing to lie and demagogue Medicare and scare seniors, then yeah, they have a political weapon," Ryan told CNN.

awww pobrecito

All he and the Republicans have to do is repeat that often enough and everyone will believe it; the news media think that actually judging statements on their merits is either beneath them or overly "partisan"

/broken record

the media's power has its limits, a whole section of the GOPs constituency is genuinely freaked out by drastic changes to medicare, and that 'message' ie actual real thing has already percolated out there

what ryan is mad about is that his plan is supposed to lock in anyone who is 55 now (i think?) and start taking it away to anyone younger. and democrats are making it out (are they?) like it's going to be shut off next week for everyone.

but then ryan and his defenders are saying that nothing bad is going to happen to medicare, ever! it's just going to be cheaper and better and choicier.

in truth i'm never happy when politics swings on the touchy selfishness of old people but it's working for "us" in this instance i guess /generationalgrievance

in the meantime cornerites et al are making a deal out of how the WH-proposed budget got 100% no votes in the senate. i'm kind of assuming this is a procedural thing, but i don't know? anyone?

total procedural thing AFAIK; the Democrats want to start over so all of them voted no

as an aside, WI is still interesting:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/26/wisconsin.collective.bargaining/index.html?hpt=T2

Judge Maryann Sumi

you can find really terrific things written about her on some very informative websites and blogs! especially comments!

Posted this on The Corner thread:

Instead of being intimidated by the demagogues and their compliant MSM, find ways to out-message them. It's time to start explaining how messed-up Medicare already is. Somebody elaborated on this on the comment boards here just the other day. Also, find people over 55 who would rather have Ryancare than Medicare. They definitely exist, and their reasons will be illuminating.

Ron Wyden: more secret shit in the Patriot Act than you're all aware.

x-post re medicare

Karl Rove said the same thing in his Wall Street journal column:

Next year, Republicans must describe their Medicare reforms plainly, set the record straight vigorously when Democrats demagogue, and go on the attack. Congressional Republicans—especially in the House—need a political war college that schools incumbents and challengers in the best way to explain, defend and attack on the issue of Medicare reform. They have to become as comfortable talking about Medicare in the coming year as they did in talking about health-care reform last year.

There needs to be preparation and self-education, followed by extensive town halls, outreach meetings, visits to senior citizen centers, and the use of every available communications tool to get the reform message across.

http://nation.foxnews.com/karl-rove/2011/05/26/rove-op-ed-why-republican-lost-ny-26

Democrats won only because a third-party candidate—self-proclaimed tea partier Jack Davis—spent a reported $3 million of his own money.

More balderdash from the master.

The Patriot Act stuff is so depressing. It's pathetic how few senators will support reform. Reid's eagerness to extend it with no changes is incredibly disappointing. Naive me expected a little better.

Harry Reid has been an asshat.