So, that's something my kid would have to live with for potentially half his lifetime.

Getting back to the abortion issiue... just because states have codified something doesn't make it permanent. The whole damn south codified slavery, and then racial segregation after slavery was outlawed, if you recall your history.

The 2006 ruling was limited in scope, and while it is evident that the current makeup of the SC wouldn't overturn RvW, a replacement of 2-3 pro-choice justices - which is entirely possible in the next 4 to 8 years - could do the trick.

Furthermore, HOW laws are interpreted by the SC and other courts can make a huge difference in the availability of safe and legal abortions. One of the tactics used by abrtion foes is to institute laws and regulations which make it difficult for providers to make their services available, for example. But it also requires a court system full of judges who defend those laws and regs... not just SC judges. RvW can be undermined gradually, rather than directly - and indeed that is the strategy, since a direct overturning of RvW would outrage the public. Death by a thousand paper-cuts is the thier short-term goals for RvW.

So, while you may critique RM's post as being simplistc, the underlying point remains accurate.

Posted at August 26, 2008 7:29 AM in response to On Selective Hearing

Pig On the Wing (think Pink Floyd)

Pampered Out-of-touch Wacko (you could think of "Pampered" in two ways... so this counts twice.)

Product Of Wingnuts

Posted at August 26, 2008 7:02 AM in response to KJMA(w) - The McCain POW Contest

Crankypants used the same phrase ("Crap. Depends.), if I recall correctly. But I'm too lazy to check.

Posted at August 25, 2008 6:04 PM in response to I Have a Dream Too, My Friends

Or, maybe tonalli could explain it for you... she got it.

Posted at August 25, 2008 5:59 PM in response to McCain's Blonde Ambition

You talking to me?

First, go to your local comedy club and see if you can find a spare sense of humor lying around.

Second, The link tells the story - including the Hitler bit.

Humor... "Blonde Ambition" was the name of one of Madonna's tours. Humor... McCain's obvious preference for young blondes. Humor... aw, forget it. If I have to explain humor to you, then you're too far gone to get it.

Posted at August 25, 2008 5:58 PM in response to McCain's Blonde Ambition

Welcome to politics.

Clue-in: the vast majority of the electorate is not as 'left' as you are. Even Kucinich couldn't muster a single delegate in the Dem Primary.

By the way, if you've paid any attention at all, Obama has always been from the moderate side of the Dem Party... not the Kucinich side.

Here's how it works: win the primaries, then win the general. Two different games with two different strategies.

Also, one must pick and choose the battles. Obama has a presidency to win. Should he win, he'll have far more influence on FISA and privacy protection than he ever would have by spending his time in an ultimtely futile (and politically risky) fillibustering of the FISA bill, for example.

He's good. Have a little faith. Worried about losing? Send more money. Volunteer for a phone bank. Do something constructive instead of undermining your only shot at winning by turning potential supporters off to Obama with your negative assessments of him.

Posted at August 25, 2008 6:54 AM in response to No hope of audacity

It's not that bad. Changing the rules of the primary at the end in a way that would substantially alter the nature of the race as it was, is completely different from making amends and soothing bruised egos (for the sake of party unity and votes) AFTER the nominee was a foregone conclusion. Clinton didn't get ripped off. She got more than a fair deal a few months ago, and she still lost. Game over. The new game is beating McCain, and that requires unification of the party.

Remember, its all an illusion anyway. The party maketh the rules, the party changeth the rules. Welcome to politics.

Posted at August 25, 2008 6:34 AM in response to I call shenanigans!!

"Crap. Depends."

Nice touch.

(Ghost-writer for McCain and Crankypants???)

Posted at August 25, 2008 6:11 AM in response to I Have a Dream Too, My Friends

Eh, OK. Good to see McCain tied to Bush.

But, I believe that wouldn't be as powerful as taking a tack that McCain is "out of touch" - which could be interpreted on many levels. Overtly, it is easy to point to McCain's wealth and lobbyist connections to indicate how out of touch he is. Even the "same as Bush" meme can be used to point out how out of touch McCain is: "like Bush, he supports x, y, z despite what the the American public says it wants, despite what economic experts say, despite the failures of the neocon policies during the Bush administration..." etc.

They can even begin to disprove the assumptions that McCain is strong on foreign policy: he's out of touch when he doesn't know the difference between Sunni & Shia, or that Yugoslavia hasn't been a country for years: "entrenched in Washington culture too long, and now he's out of touch with the real world that's rapidly changing, stuck in policies and strategies of the past..." etc. The hidden message, of course, is to question McCain's mental acuity in the context of his advancing age... out of touch: as in befuddled, living in the past, a bit slow and stale... not unlike some grandparents we've known in our own lives.

This begins to change nature of the question: "who's ready to lead?" In that context, Obama is the man who's up to speed, quick on his feet, ready with fresh ideas and a new perspective (change), someone who's "in touch" and understands the world outside the beltway.

Given the current dustup with Georgia and Russia, a truly smashing add might talk about the era in which McCain learned his chops: the world of the (60's?) 70's and 80's - the cold-war mentality - all while showing images of the old and teetering Soviet leaders (Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko) walking slowly and stiffly, and sitting there looking corpse-like in front of military parades. (Announcer says: "Do we need to go back to that?") Done right, McCain's age and military background become a real liability.

Posted at August 13, 2008 3:06 PM in response to New Obama Ad Hammers McCain, Blames Spending On Iraq For Poor Economy

He should go soon - on the way back from Hawaii would be best. Many Alaskan 'residents' don't winter there. The peak is now while the long days (and tourists) of summer are still around. When the tourists leave, so do many of the locals.

Posted at August 12, 2008 5:55 PM in response to Poll: Obama Leading In Deep-Red Alaska!