Morning all — who has the coffee? *YAWN*

activists portrayed the coming confirmation hearings as a chance to peel the bark off of the president’s bipartisan image

More evidence that they are the Stupid Party. I don’t think blindly obstructing qualified candidates, like Johnsen, will yield this result.

Ahhhh, but in their minds, they aren’t blindly partisan. They are simply right and the rest of us are wrong.

There is no middle ground. Only the ground they have — and the ground they want.

G’Morning Christy,
Two things:
I just called Sen Reid’s office and thanked them and asked for Dawn Johnsen to be added to the list of votes.
Secondly, is that a carrot in your post or are you just happy to see me?

It is rather a “perky” carrot, isn’t it? *G*

Girls just want to have fu-un.
I love calling DC first thing in the morning. I feel like I’ve done my civic duty and I can go back to bed. Not really.

Hard to figure out what the goops are up to- probably figure that this is the season to raise campaign cash by firing up their crazies- and that they are resolved to go sane later?

That’s a lot of blockage from the Party of No.

Wonder if mineral oil was ever used in waterboarding?

Thanks, Christy, Dawn Johnsen is essential. Also, besides being my favorite nominee because he is local to me, Fugate is incredibly important because we are now less than a month away from hurricane season.

Naughty, naughty demi … which is what I love about you ! *g*

G’Morning Christy, good news about Dawn and all the other nominees.

I wouldn’t put it past them, really.

Wish I could “cartoon”. The Rush/Cheney love affair deserves a great one—two big ol dogs sniffin each other’s assholes and going bonkers about how great it smells!

Elliott !

It’s all they have left. They are flailing about, desperately looking for something to cling to as they circle the drain.

Hey Petro. I have been accused of being an enigma. Go figure. :)

PETRO!!!

Whatever you are, keep being the same …

Do take the time to click thru and read the whole article on SCOTUS tactical maneuvering pre-nominee. If anyone thought this would be a walk in the park, they were high on bi-partisanship fumes.

I don’t get it. Why does he sound upset about bringing the vote to the floor? Do they not have the votes?

Again, here’s katymine’s list:
1 (800) 828 – 0498
1 (800) 459 – 1887
1 (800) 614 – 2803
1 (866) 340 – 9281
1 (866) 338 – 1015
1 (877) 851 – 6437
Pick up the phone. Go ahead. Make his day.
One proactive deed can start your day in the right direction. Action is the antidote for despair.

My $0.02 is that Obama keeps talking about bipartisanship knowing full well that the Repugs are obstructionists. This allows him to spotlight their M.O. in a very bad light, for them. IOW, he’s using their perceived strengths to bash them into oblivion or submission.

He’s upset about having to do a cloture vote for each and every nominee rather than an agreed ersolution whereby there would just be a straight up or down vote. The GOP is refusing a joint resolution to allow for that on these nominees, apparently, so they are having to go through each nomination, one by one, and have a cloture vote first and then a stright vote on the nomination — so it becomes a tedious process rather than a streamlined one.

It’s especially annoying given the level of caterwauling that went on from the GOP about having to do just that on more controversial nominations like John Bolton’s to the UN, etc. — given that a number of the aforementioned nominees are neither controversial nor ideologically scary even for the most partisan of hacks, it’s really hypocritical.

That is most likely true for Obama, I think. But I think Harry Reid may be a true believer in bi-partisanship, which is why this move on his part was a nice surprise. It’s something I know has been recommended to him before — but I’m awfully glad he’s actually doing it — or saying he will, anyway — this time.

I wonder what Mitch McConnell finally did to royally piss him off?

Christy: I wonder what Mitch McConnell finally did to royally piss him off?

Now that is a question I’d like answered ? *g*

Me, too — especially if we can get McConnell to keep doing it. *g*

where do our new favorite ”Democrat” from PA, and our old favorite ”Democrat”, from CT stand on the Dawn Johnsen nomination?

and another (old) question: When will the Spineless Senator from Searchlight make someone actually carry through with a filibuster?: and (new) – what are some opinions as to best issue upon which to make the repubs both follow through with the filibuster and look incredibly ridiculous while doing so?

Man, are you smart!

I was just thinking earlier today that Obama is the Muhammad Ali of politics:

Not overpowering, but almost always wins.

And uses his opponents perceived strengths against them.

btw, how is everyone doing these days? I’ve been out of the loop a bit dealing with a lupus flare the last few weeks, but it’s finally beginning to ease back enough (today anyway) that I’m hoping to get out and plant a few things in the garden and my yard with The Peanut.

Gorgeous here today. Hope everyone else is having some fine weather as well…

Arlen has said he doesn’t support her nomination, or at least is leaning that way, I believe. But he hasn’t said a word about how he’ll vote on cloture — which is really the key vote here.

No idea on Lieberman — his office is playing coy across the board on her, at least to me.

(((((Christy)))))

Take care. It’s good to hear that things are improving.

We’re preparing for a high school graduation. Big changes here!

Hey Dood !

That’s something that is in my realm of knowledge and since last Jan., I have seen Obama use rope-a-dope with uncanny skill.

Good to see you after a long time.

Oh wow — we’re getting ready for a kindergarten graduation. I’m having momma trauma. I can only imagine dealing with the high school one. *g*

Please find time for some meditation classes. I wish that I lived closer, I would have taught you 2-3 very simple ones that give a big energy boost.

I’ve been doing a bit of meditation lately, via a guided meditation CD that I got and it’s wonderfully helpful. I have just been overdoing it of late and my body is telling me to slow down. So I’m trying to do that.

Not so easy when you are a “type A” person. But I’m working on it. (Just not to strenuously. *g*)

Just to add that we’ve had a rough year and a half with both of Mr. ReddHedd’s paretns becoming ill and then being hospitalized for months at a time. After losing his mom in October and his dad moving in with us, it’s been a huge change and a lot more work for me since I’m home all day trying to do several jobs at once.

But I’m becoming more adept at managing everything more efficiently — and in finding ways to cut my load down to a manageable size. Plus, trying to be more conscious of taking care of me, which is helping a lot.

You’ll be happy to know I finally scheduled my “spa day,” demi. *G*

Good to see you after a long time.

Same to you.

How’s that fine city of yours these days?

Thanks Christy.

This is ridiculous, the Republicans have almost no power right now, yet things are still being blamed on them. When you all get your Minnesota Senator, is everything still going to be the Republicans fault? How many Senators do you need?

See if you can get some CDs by Louise Hay – meditation or otherwise. Her voice is incredibly soothing all by itself.

I’ve been doing a bit of meditation lately,…

Not so easy when you are a “type A” person.

So you can knock out an hour’s worth of meditating in what – about 20 minutes? *g*

You know I love you because you are a smartass, right? *G*

We had a chilly weekend but are returning to wonderful Spring days. All the kids have grown so much over Winter, when we couldn’t see them … lots more fun to come this year. Our Blue Jays are winning … for now, so it kinds makes up for our other Sports teams who are teh sucketh ! *g*

707 !!!

I’ll have to remember that one.

heh. Like my momma used to always say sometimes – ”find something you’re good at and stick with it”.

she regrets that now….

It’s been a chilly spring here, too — with lots of rain. We’re finally getting a bit of sun today and I’m soaking it up. Windows open with a nice breeze blowing through the house. It’s heaven.

Most of my neighbors planted last week and we got frost two nights in a row.

I told them to wait and now, I’ll have to help them uproot their dead plants and put new ones … all the while, resisting the temptation so say, “I told you so !”

Good Girl! Which meditation CD do you have? My sister gave me one led by Venerable Thubten Lhundrup. I’m proud of everyone who is taking positive steps for their spiritual and physical health. Speaking of which, I do believe it’s time to go to the gym. I can go anytime I want, but certain gals are usually there at certain times and half the benefit is from the support group aspect.
Go Pups! See you all later.

Hi Christy,
I hope to be visiting both Casey’s and Specter’s offices on Thurs. when I’m in DC. I will most definitely mention this.

SO pissed that Yoo has now been given a regular column in the Philly Inky. Sent a LTE—whoopie—but we need a full court press from all over.

Hmmm…I don’t remember who it is, but it is an incredibly soothing voiced woman who mellows me out from the moment she starts speaking.

If you can get an answer out of either of them on the Johnsen votes, do let me know. Much appreciated — and have a good time!

It’s a complete disgrace, isn’t it?

I was stunned to learn this.

If I can I will. I’ll be there for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice but in some ways it is all related.

Maybe we should have a contest to name the column for Yoo? *g* I can think of a few choice names for it off the top of my head…

shocked, shocked I tell you . . . . not really which is the totally sad and disgusting part of it all.

Steve Benen has a piece up about Yoo’s new gig, with excerpt plus his usual snark.

Columnist Yoo

Don’t drink the water while you are in DC – there is something funny in it. *g*

“Torturous Thoughts”

It’s all bottled.—so wasteful.

But yes, there is something in both the water and the air— the feel of power and money in deecee is palpable. And corrupting.

OT – it’s comin’ up on an interesting weekend here in Golden Dome country. There’s a guy with a truck all gussied up with a cross and billboards depicting (among other things) an aborted fetus and otherwise forecasting hell and damnation, and a small plane circling campus pulling a banner showing a fetus and some words I can’t make out.

They’re bound and determined to ruin commencement for the graduates. No commencement ceremonies will be held outdoors this year, security will be a nightmare (probably would have been anyway since Obama will be here). Demonstrators have been removed from various locations.

This is CHRISTIAN?

I stayed at the Mayflower once for a conference at which I was speaking. And had a “power breakfast” with an aide from the Hill while I was there. Their breakfast room is gorgeous — truly — but the people in it were just reeking of power and entitlement. It was creepy. The ostentatious french cuffs, the power suits, the gilded and bejeweled or monogrammed cufflinks, the pearls upon pearls…all designed as much to catch the eye of the people at surrounding tables as to impress the people with whom these folks were dining.

And it was breakfast. Who wants to give a crap about any of that before you’ve had your coffee?

Wow — how classy. I bet parents and grandparents especially will be so appreciative of them turning their baby’s graduation into an “it’s all about me and what I want” circus.

great idea!

we could use another one of your fun “Name-The-_____” contests

Quite often, the beliefs of Christian and Christ are dimensionally opposite to each other.

Oh, and I wonder if it’s the same jerks with the truck that drove around Denver during the DNC with the same billboard photos plastered on the side, clogging up traffic by driving as slowly as they could past the blogger tent. Over and over and over until the irritated drivers behind them honking just about deafened everyone.

Considerate.

I vote for “Flinging Poo”

It is truly sad. And, to me, incomprehensible. Obama is not going to deliver a commencement address about abortion or stem cell research. And he’s far from as extreme as he’s being painted by those making such a fuss. And nobody is thinking about the grads and their families and the thrill of having your commencement address delivered by the POTUS.

I don’t know, but it’s possible. This is a red pickup and from the cab back it is totally painted sheets of plywood with sayings and pictures (painted) of aborted babies, and a huge cross on top.

Nah — the folks in Denver had a huge moving-truck-sized vehicle with billboard-sized fetuses all the way down both sides and a huge cross painted on the sides of each billboard, too.

Must be some home-grown imitation there. The folks in Denver were from a national organization. I’m sure KLo loved them.

Just heard from the interim minster in our church down the road from Notre Dame. It seems that the wingnuts are getting virulent in displaying their lovely posters. She’s worried about how they can deal with it since the wingnuts are getting really revved for this.

I’d like to think that the local law will be on the job, but in states like IN and KS and the south, the law seems to be way more sympathetic to the wingnuts. It’s a lose/lose situation.

Oh, sorry. That’s probably our truck guy from No California. I choose to believe that there cannot be more than one guy like that. :(

He is a major nuisance. Believe me, he’s as misogynistic as one can be. It is not about saving babies as much as controlling women. Used to park his d&mn truck at our school where all the kids could get traumatized looking at the pics. A few parents got creative and held sheets up around his truck while everyone drove by to drop off the kids.

It’s really about getting attention in the name of the Lord.

in Wichita several years ago when they gathered and drove their fetus-mobils around the block I blew bubbles at them. It was about all I could do without letting it get to me.

Obama’s clean and articulate (H/T Joe the Biden) response to this will be something to behold. This guy took on his own Black Ministers and their vitriol and silenced them. The Catholic Church is about to get an intelligent smackdown, by design.

Ok, thanks. Now the only question is why did Reid ever think it would be any other way.

The thing is, though, it’s not the whole of the Catholic church. A lot of our local Catholics do an enormous amount of good work with a food pantry and work with the poor and folks who need a hand up, as well as with community beautification projects and such.

Every family has it’s black sheep. I choose to think of the fetus-mobile nutters as the publicly proclaimed Catholic versions.

I so wish I had a dime for every time I asked myself that same question. *g*

Parents here made the argument that these abominable posters were forcing children to view something that they did not want to see ie. a form of child abuse. The posters are practically pornographic in their violence.

It may not be a winning legal argument, but you might win over public opinion to get people thinking about the small children in the community.

Hey Christy, can we just call the GOP the Contrarian Party? I nominate Boehner as Mary Mary, Miss Contrary.

Since Sen. Specter abstained rather than vote against her in committee, I’d hope that he would vote for cloture. When he abstained, he was a Republican facing a primary opponent from the right. Now that he is a Democrat, I’d hope he would allow an up or down vote, whether or not he intends to vote for her.

If Dawn Johnsen is not confirmed, it will be a huge victory for the antiabortion-rights activists. Johnsen’s pro-choice views are fairly popular, so they have had to make noise about everything else, but it’s just a smokescreen.

This is a warm up for the confirmation of the next Supreme Court Justice. If you want the next Supreme Court Justice to be able to have firm on the record pro-choice views, you want Johnsen to be confirmed.

Maybe we could ally ourselves with the faculty and student body at Berkeley. Many will not take his classes and there was an attempt to get him dismissed. And maybe the California (?) bar association? Where is his license. I bet it isn’t in cali.

One has to wonder how much these people do to care for the homeless and/or at risk kids that are the outcomes from their idiocy.
This is the pro miserable life group

I’m a UU and am a member of that church, although I don’t attend much. It’s much smaller than my former churches and doesn’t have the range of activities, but it’s a nice group.

We (ND) host the Fischoff Chamber Music contest every year, and on Friday two of the groups played their music in the Main Bldg. (the “dome”), and I just learned today that some protestors outside had to be removed. I think they’re keeping demonstrators off campus, but can’t do much about them otherwise.

I just hope nothing ugly happens on Sunday.

And I heard last week that the city of South Bend plans to bill Notre Dame for the additional security (although they didn’t when GWB spoke here in 2001. There’s always been an uneasy relationship between ND and the city. I’m sure this won’t help.

Naomi Klein said it outloud and best on Maher last week:

the GOP is not so much a party as a personality disorder!

lol
thanks for the post Christy and I’m off to the phones!

I don’t know about CA, but it seems he has a license in PA. Oy.

Perhaps we can get Adam Bonin and some of the ACS people to try to get him disbarred.

the other problem we had in Wichita was that the cops were on the side of the wingnuts and made it all the more difficult for US. Now there’s a surprise, huh? Are the South Bend cops any where near enlightened?

“It’s all About Yoo”
“Yoo Suck(s)”
“Yoo Can Never Seem To Get It Right”
“If Only Yoo Knew”

etc…
lol – I know I’ll think of the best ones later after it doesn’t matter anymore.

I don’t really know whether they’re enlightened or not. I’ve heard that a big majority around here (both adults and students) are supportive of Obama’s commencement address and honorary degree, and that it’s the Catholic wingnuts who have gone off the deep end. I’m sure there are some sympathizers, but hopefully not many. The hatred emanating from them is palpable.

One of my colleagues gave me an email “letter” to “alumni” from Fr. Jenkins that purported to alert them that he had withdrawn the invitation and that Bishop D’Arcy (the local bishop in whose diocese (??) Notre Dame is located) would substitute. It looked pretty authentic until examined closely, and of course it was completely bogus. There’s a lot of crazy in the air here.

Apologies to Christy and pups. I didn’t mean to hijack the thread, but I had just passed that truck and had to tell someone about it!

Yoo is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar, does not belong to the California Bar.

John Flung Dung.

Yoo talks, why do we listen? (Apologies to Vine deLoria, Jr.)

Yoo ought to know better.

What answer do Yoo want? I can get it for you wholesale!

Hmm. Is that an actual photo of the carrot you’ll offer Harry? It looks more like the kind of “carrot” certain stallmates would offer Larry Craig.

Lots of good topics here. I would wonder why the party of No thinks blocking appo intments will make them look good, but I’ve given up trying to understand them. Obstruction – it’s just what they do.

I’ll try Reid’s office – there’s just no point bothering with Cornyn. Maybe Hutchison – but she won’t risk her primary nomination for governor, either, I’m sure.

Given the incredible popular support for Obama and his policies, I don’t think their actions will “peel the bark off O’s bipartisan image…” Amazing.

Protesting Obama’s commencement speech – pathetic. The Notre Dame grads I know – from a different era, of course – would be talking about freedom of speech, and respect for the President of the United States. The arguments made by the protesters (such as a ND law professor [!]heard on the radio) are beyond lame. Sigh.

The Mayflower Hotel in D.C. – not so good memories for me, either. I had a marathon day of interviews with law firms there my third year – 4 of us packed into my car and drove down, stayed with my cousin in suburbs, and drove back the next day. Vague memories of luxe surroundings – nervousness interviewing – and much clearer memory of driving home to Boston with my friends. ; ) (oh, for the curious, no offers ensued, either. Which is how I wound up in Oklahoma, instead of D.C..)

Here’s what I sent to Corker and Alexander in TN… hope I got it right!

—————-
It is my understanding that Majority Leader Harry Reid is (finally) considering filing cloture on several Republican-blocked Obama nominees (Craig Fugate, to head up the Federal Emergency Management Agency; David Hayes, for deputy secretary of the Interior Department; and Cameron Kerry, selected to serve as Commerce Department counsel, as well as the imminently qualified Dawn Johnsen for OLC).

As one of your constituents, I strongly urge you to vote for both Cloture and Dawn Johnsen, as well as the other nominees at the first opportunity. Do the right thing and help (don’t hinder) in restoring the Rule of Law to our country.

Best regards – and we’ll be watching.

David Foster
Constituent
—————————-

Thanks, Christy, for all the good work you (and all the other FDLers) do here!

David