Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/15595

This family values Republican getting a divorce after winning a seat from a Democrat:

And this moronic democratic mayor of Kansas City who can't go to work without his wife.

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/880584.html

by americanforliberty on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 03:42:44 PM EST

He's still having her "volunteer"? I thought that was settled months ago.

~~~THIS SPACE FOR RENT~~~

by fabooj (fabooj [at} mail [dot} com) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 04:54:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

nope the City council banned her and so he moved the Mayor's office to his house. It is really an embarrassment to all Kansas City residents, especially when his wife called a female African American staffer "Mammy."

by americanforliberty on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 06:23:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What is the reason for keeping liebercrap?

by billjpa (billjpa@aol.com) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 03:53:32 PM EST

Something along the lines of "comity," I expect.

But I am not at all happy about it. One of the things I least liked about Obama was his talking about "bipartisanship" and "working together." I feel a real need to see the Democrats marginalize the Republicans the way they marginalized us, and for us to ram through progressive legislation the way they rammed through their stuff.

But then I think, hmm: "Democrats" and "ramming"? We don't do that so well... We can't even all walk in the same general direction, I think.

by Marc in KS on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 04:34:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The thing to remember is - how well did that work out for the Republicans in the end? Not necessarily saying that marginalizing them is wrong on the face, just that it wasn't actually a very good long-term strategy for the GOP even if it seemed like a good short-term one.

According to something at the front page of the GOS, even Clinton (Bill) is out there calling folks to keep Lieberman. If Obama and Clinton are both making calls, then I suspect Lieberman will be kept - much to the consternation of the base. If this leads to a tamed Joe who stops trashing other Democrats to score points with his Republican buddies, I'll gaze in wonder at the impossibility lying in front of my eyes. More likely he'll do something outrageous in the next two years that will lead to more anger and consternation from Democrats. Such is life - I just hope he doesn't use his committee chair position (if he keeps it) to enact revenge on Obama for beating his buddy John in the election. That would be completely in character for a backstabber like Lieberman, so I'm not making any bets on it.

by nonynony on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 05:06:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

With regard to Lieberman, I don't quite get the vendetta that many on the left seem to have for him. The need for a blood tribute sort of creeps me out.

Sure he's an ass--so what? We need to stop the cut-up-our-face-to-spite-our-nose notion that some liberals have been voicing after last Tuesday. Lieberman will never not be a political joke in the party from here on out, and if he chooses to run for re-election, he'll get blown out of the water.

But the shrewd political move is to squeeze every drop of usefulness we can from him before he leaves the Senate. Does that mean giving him a plum chairmanship? Nope. Does it mean allowing him to return from the darkness to the outer ring of the campfire, where he can catch some warmth and maybe a scrap of meat or two? I don't see why not.

I can't see much of an upside to telling him to bugger off. Sure, it'd feel good, but this is politics. Feelings should be left at the door.

by castanea on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 11:15:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Americans save their deepest levels of scorn for traitors. Treason is the only crime defined in the Constitution, and its definition boils down to "making war on the United States, or giving aid and comfort to the enemy."

It might be a bit of a stretch (although it's arguable) to say that supporting McCain was "making war on the United States," but as far as the Democratic Party is concerned Lieberman gave aid and comfort to the enemy by speaking at the Republican National Convention, doing his level best to get McCain elected and trying to tear down the Democratic nominee while doing so.

I am OK with Lieberman staying in the caucus, should he choose to do so. But in my opinion he should be stripped of the Government and Homeland Security chair. If there's a chairmanship that he could move into that would keep him more in line with the Democrats, that would be fine, and he can serve out the remainder of his Senate career there. This might be much more charitable than he deserves. And if he leaves the caucus because he's been stripped of his chairmanships, that's his choice. I don't think he'll receive all that warm a welcome among the Republicans, and they won't have any chairmanships to give him.

I for one welcome our new Twitter overlords. @Omir55

by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 01:18:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I don't want Lieberpuss to given yet (none / 0)

another opportunity to shit on Democrats. He should be stripped of all power-wielding until he can be trusted once more not to. But I don't think that he is trustworthy at all.

It's all about him these days. Issues be damned, it is all personal. If Gore didn't get him the vice presidency, McShame would have. Going to the GOP convention and dissing Obama. Behind McShame at almost every whistle-stop.

No mercy and no pity. He'll find one way or another to piss on Democrats; and he shouldn't be given any opportunity to do it. Bust his wheels.

An untypical Negro

http://thisblksistaspage.wordpress.com

by blksista (gab1954@gmail.com) on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 07:44:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Actually, I'm wondering about that Obama bit. I'm wondering if Obama gave Lieberman a call and told him he'd put in a good word for him to Reid. With the implicit (or maybe even explicit) understanding that Lieberman keeps his committee gavel as a personal favor from Obama.

I'd still prefer not to have Lieberman chairing the Homeland Security committee - he's been a waste of space on the committee for years, and it has the potential to give him a platform to cause a lot of mischief. But if this is some kind of jujitsu on Obama's part to corral Lieberman back onto his side, it might not be a horrible idea. For the time being, I'm willing to defer to Obama's judgment on things political - until he screws it up. (Not policywise though - he's already had a screw-up with the FISA nonsense this summer).

by nonynony on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 03:56:39 PM EST

What's pissing me off?

This, mostly.

The United States military since 2004 has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks against Al Qaeda and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, according to senior American officials.

We're playing Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell with the world. Lovely.

More at Zandar vs. The Stupid.

by Zandar1 on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 03:58:36 PM EST

The election has been a miraculous distraction, no?

Declaring the bottom is the only way back up..

by anarchronarchist (mincers (-at-) hotmail (-dot-) com) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 04:05:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What does having Lieberman "caucus with us" do for us? Hasn't he declared himself an Independent? If so why doesn't he caucus with Sen. Bernie Sanders? Or himself, if he does not find comfort conferring with Sen. Sanders? In other words, what is in it for us, other than being a target of his self-serving barbs??

We need to push for Progressive change, now more than ever.

by keepinon (jaukkuri@sbcglobal.net) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 04:04:03 PM EST

Sanders caucuses with the Democrats, as well he should. Lieberman can caucus with the members of the ~~Connecticut~~ Lieberman for Lieberman party.

I for one welcome our new Twitter overlords. @Omir55

by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 01:20:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Bernie is worth caucusing with (none / 1)

Lieberman isn't.

An untypical Negro

http://thisblksistaspage.wordpress.com

by blksista (gab1954@gmail.com) on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 07:44:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Election's over ,folks (none / 0)

Obama knows that 1 vote in the Senate is just totally important. And that is what he is looking at.

Joe Lieberman, Chair, Homeland Security Committee

I hate Joe as much as the next, but he will remain chair of this committee. That's because Obama is a politician, not a theologian

by dataguy on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 04:17:01 PM EST

Scenes from "that shithole" (none / 0)

What's pissing me off, as always, is ignorant, bigoted jerks who pretend to be progressive or liberal, and are fond of displaying their ignorance by making broad, sweeping, ugly jingoistic statements about regions of the world they have never seen, and human populations they have never met.

View of the Nile through the sitting room window in Cairo (near Kubri Al Gam`a).

View of the stage of the second century Roman Theatre, Bosra, Syria, considered to be the best preserved Roman theatre in the world.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 04:33:43 PM EST

Re: Scenes from "that shithole" (none / 0)

That is a glorious theatre! Really exceptional.

I looked at the wikipedia entry (more pictures there, too) and will have to do some more exploring. In another life, I would have been an archeologist.

by hauksdottir on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 05:43:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Hyper-religious psycho (none / 1)

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 04:43:05 PM EST

Yo, man. Where's this coming from? I'm not getting your point here.

Recommended by Hideo Kojima

by robertdsc on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 05:21:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hyper-religious psycho (4.00 / 2)

A fairly regular commenter here recently described the Middle East in an exchange with me as "that shit hole" and characterized the people as "hyper-religious psychos". I just thought I would share the other side of the story - you know, like the Middle East is a normal place filled with normal people, and the United States has more than its share of hyper-religious psychos, many of whom have been running, or would like to run, the country.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 05:41:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I chastised him for that. I don't think you need to bear a grudge and bring it into other threads. But, I agree, it was an assholish comment.

by BooMan on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 06:04:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hyper-religious psycho (none / 1)

Yes, I saw your comment, and meant to thank you. Thanks BooMan.

And I have only brought it into open threads because I thought they were - well, open.

I thought a few photos now and then might be of interest to some people.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 06:08:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Butting in here (none / 0)

I just wanted to say that I enjoyed your photos in the cafe (I followed the bad link back to your flickr, hope thats okay).

"Little people are very stuff-intensive."

by CabinGirl on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 06:41:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Thanks, CG. I uploaded a bunch more photos over the weekend from Cairo, Oman, and Syria. Some are not so good, but some are interesting. I put some of them in sets, but not all yet. Feel free to have a look any time you like. I've been slow getting pictures up there because I was trying to pick and choose, and finally I decided to just upload them all and delete the bad ones later.

My Pakistan pictures are not available to the public because most of them are of a wedding, so I have kept them private, at least until now, but I might make some of the public eventually.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 08:03:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I, too have enjoyed a rare look into the daily lives of others not often provided by the MSM. Thank you Hurria!

"I never trust people who don't laugh." Maya Angelou, March 5, 2009

by Indianadem on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 08:16:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I thought a few photos now and then might be of interest to some people.

No doubt, they are. The one overlooking the Nile is my favorite so far.

Recommended by Hideo Kojima

by robertdsc on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 11:45:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I as well, these have been great.

"Some men see things as they are and say why - I dream things that never were and say why not." George Bernard Shaw.

by benjamink on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 11:52:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The photos were cool! I wish I could have been in both those places. Lovely view of the Nile, and wow, that theater looks amazing.

"If you look for the social economic motive, you will not have to wait for history to tell you what was propaganda and what was truth." - George Seldes

by Real History Lisa (lpeaseRemoveThis@gte.net) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 11:51:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I don't know about any others, but I like those two. Those pharaohs, they had a sense of style to build a hotel looking out on the Nile like that. :)

And being an unreconstructed drama geek since junior high, I love that theater picture. I'll have to remember to ask my Syrian/Canadian coworker about it.

I for one welcome our new Twitter overlords. @Omir55

by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 01:23:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Yes, those Pharoahs had great taste. But just for the record, that is not a hotel, it is the apartment where I stay in Cairo. There are no hotels in that area of the city, it is a residential area.

Your Syrian/Canadian co-worker will absolutely know about that theatre. It is very famous, as is the ancient city that surrounds it. The depth and breadth of history that is visible everywhere you go in Syria and Lebanon is something you have to stand upon and see for yourself to begin to appreciate. There is another smaller Roman theatre in Jableh, which is on the Mediterranean coast (the photo I posted a couple of days ago of the people in the water taxi was taken in Syria between Tartous and the island of Arwad. Ask your Syrian colleague about that too).

I cannot wait to go back to Syria. I intend to spend a month or so there this coming spring, and if all goes well eventually I might end up there, though I am not in as big a hurry for that as I would have been had the election gone differently. I certainly hope that Bush will not do anything more to make it more difficult for me to go there. I also hope that Obama will decide it is a good idea to talk with Bashar Al Asad. He is really quite a reasonable man, though not exactly the leader every Syrian dreams of.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 03:17:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hyper-religious psycho (none / 1)

Thanks everyone for your kind comments about the photos. As long as people enjoy them, and it is OK with BooMan I will post a few of them when there is an open thread or if it is appropriate to the topic.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 03:43:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Hyper-religious psycho schoolgirls (none / 0)

"Bosra, Syria

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 04:47:17 PM EST

Re: Hyper-religious psycho schoolgirls (none / 0)

Hey, Hurria, these are great. Keep them coming.

Suppose you scrub your ethical skin until it shines, but inside there is no music, then what? Kabir

by Dongi 2 on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 02:11:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hyper-religious psycho schoolgirls (none / 0)

I guess you like the pretty girls the best, yes? :o}

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 02:59:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hyper-religious psycho schoolgirls (none / 0)

Yea, that doesent hurt :) That girl in the red shirt is really beautiful.

"Some men see things as they are and say why - I dream things that never were and say why not." George Bernard Shaw.

by benjamink on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 09:30:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hyper-religious psycho schoolgirls (none / 0)

Yes; I've always been appreciative of feminine pulchritude. Cheers!

Suppose you scrub your ethical skin until it shines, but inside there is no music, then what? Kabir

by Dongi 2 on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 09:59:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Rahm Emmanuel as the AIPAC enforcer in the White House, that's pissing me off.

Share. Share resources, share delight, share burdens, share the healing. Sharing will bring us back from mass suicide. www.share-international.org

by Isis on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 08:30:16 PM EST

Yeah, me too. And he never met a military conflagration he couldn't endorse.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 09:04:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Well, hopefully there's some comfort to be had knowing that as Chief of Staff it's Emanuel's job to enact Obama's agenda, not his own.

I for one welcome our new Twitter overlords. @Omir55

by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 01:28:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Howard Dean is stepping down? I'm sure he wants to do other things. But he was so good there.

Where's he going next? I wish Obama could find a plum job for him!

"If you look for the social economic motive, you will not have to wait for history to tell you what was propaganda and what was truth." - George Seldes

by Real History Lisa (lpeaseRemoveThis@gte.net) on Mon Nov 10th, 2008 at 11:53:05 PM EST

He laid the foundation, I'm sure others can build on his success. I have to wonder who can follow him, though. It will almost have to be one of Obama's associates, won't it? I hear rumors of Claire McCaskill and/or David Plouffe taking the job. I'm not sure who all is out there.

I for one welcome our new Twitter overlords. @Omir55

by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 at 01:26:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]