Mid-Week Open Thread

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Good for Sarkozy.

(#171127)

Makes me again wonder about French law

(#171162)

Is Sarkozy saying they're going to pass legislation against wearing burkas?

Is this only going to be at state schools like the headscarf or every public place?

What about veils at funerals or as warn by nuns? How do you differentiate and is there any genuine protection of veils or nun outfits?

I like the idea of combating burkas in the open market of ideas. But I can't see how such ideas could be appropriately codified into law.

Wow! Check out that graph half way down...

(#171044)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124458888993599879.html

Is someone at the Fed taking consulting from the Central Bank of Zimbabwe?

I doubt it's that simple either

(#171104)

though I don't have a Nobel of course. Or any sort of qualification in economics. I guess we shall see.

Well

(#171122)

when something like $15 trillion goes up in smoke, something has to soften the shock.

I blame it all on the Internet

I went back and read the Laffer article

(#171138)

(after Zelig's ringing endorsement :) ) - I wouldn't worry about a few trillion sitting in bank vaults and reserves. I think everyone's pretty much gorged on debt now so if this stuff actually makes into circulation as loans I'd be surprised. My feeling is that we haven't seen the end of the downturn in employment by a long stretch. With masses on the dole and a lot of dollar denominated debt wether gov or privately held I just don't think it will be politically possible to resist the urge to inflate it away. Once that cat gets out of the bag ...

It might take them a few gos but they'll figure out a way to get that money from the vaults to the streets.

Uh, no thanks. It's another Laffer.

(#171048)
Zelig's picture

This man and his ideas have been thoroughly discredited. I'm not interested in his observations. We may have printed too much currency, and that may lead to inflation, but I'd rather hear about it from some non-insane, actual expert.

Me: We! -- Ali

I only know him for

(#171059)

having a curve named after him... it was the money supply graph that I found startling. I didn't really read the article.

I found it startling also.

(#171061)
Zelig's picture

And a tip of the hat to your wisdom for not wasting your time reading his lies.

Me: We! -- Ali

Weather!

(#171033)

I was in MN the same time as this - there were some very impressive thunderstorms out that way.

Godspeed, Your Magnificent Bast**d

(#171023)

Your triumph will never be forgotten.

“Two clichés make us laugh but a hundred clichés move us, because we sense dimly that the clichés are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion." - Umberto Eco

American bizarria. Thanks, Harley.

(#171067)

Btw, I missed your comments on ham in Spain. How did it go?

It Was A Festival Of Ham

(#171121)

Iberico, iberico. It was lovely from start to finish. I expected Barcelona to be wondrous. Lisbon took me by surprise.

“Two clichés make us laugh but a hundred clichés move us, because we sense dimly that the clichés are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion." - Umberto Eco

If you'd ever had sex

(#171069)

on one of those babies, you wouldn't dismiss it as "bizarria" ;)

A girlfriend and I once stayed in a motel

(#171072)

in the middle of nowhere when I was around 22 years old. They had one of these on the bed.

It didn't work. Out of order. I was devastated. I have not seen one of these since, and that's going on 16 years ago.

Anyone ever "try" a waterbed? A girlfriend's sister once let her house sit, and she had one. Not really all that great, IMO.

Tempus fugit.

I've never seen one

(#171073)

Except in the movies.

And it ain't b/c I stay in fancy hotels.

The place that had it

(#171074)

was a complete dump. And again, it was 16 years ago.

I could see some upscale Ian Schrager type boutique hotel putting these in for a retro-kitsch appeal to wealthy hipsters.

Hey, I'd throw in a few quarters if it was there!

Brilliant idea

(#171076)

Pabst in the fridge, magic fingers on the bed, and jukebox full of indie rock.

My favorite line

(#171068)

"The earliest vibrating beds predated the Industrial Revolution and were powered by household servants."

Ahem.

So this was the male vibrator?

(#171070)

It seems to have predated the female one.

Dept. of Crime Does Pay, the Question is For Whom

(#170883)

Woman fined $1.9 million for illegally downloading $23.76 worth of music.

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

Obama's plan for gay rights

(#170873)

funny. NT

(#170896)

nt

Member of the Forvm Five

Link swap

(#170877)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/06/19/gay_rights/

Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson

Stay classy, Pat!

(#170865)

Listen to Buchanan talk about foreign policy, and -- agree with him or not -- he sounds like a perfectly reasonable guy. Then he goes and writes a column entitled "Miss Affirmative Action 2009", in which he characterizes Sonia Sotomayor's academic career as "a fraud from beginning to end", then accuses her of harboring "race-based bigotry against white males" and believing that "the advancement of people of color over white males is justice". Says that with judges like Sotomayor on the bench, "persons of color can receive the rewards of society that they could not win in free and fair competition".

He finishes up the column, ostensibly an advisory document to Republican Senators about how to fight her nomination, with "No need for name-calling." Well, that's a relief.

Somehow it's fitting that he was good friends with Hunter Thompson: both of them seem about equal parts genius and utter, barking madness. At least with Pat it's a little easier to see the line.

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

Buchanan Lost Me

(#170874)

Back when he started talking about what a bad idea it was for the U.S. to have gone to war against the Axis Powers. And when it comes to foreign policy, I think that his motives have always been less than pure when he goes off on how Israel is driving American wars in the Middle East. I put him in the same bucket as writers like Joseph Sobran and Samuel Francis (sorry Vinteuil). Even when they've got a good point, it's too wrapped up in their larger worldview, which is not a little problematic.

That even with the Southern Strategy the mainstream right has at least publicly embraced racial equality and rejected Jew-hating is something that we ought not take for granted. There's a nastier strain of thought out there in conservatism that should positively not be let back in.

Good economic news from Britain.

(#170864)

Even in these times.

In a release, the British Deputy High Commission said these findings are based on the UK inward investment results 2008-09 announced by the British Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and Trade, Investment and Business Minister Lord Davies.

Vicki Treadell, British Deputy High Commissioner, Western India, said: "As the UK government's representative based in Mumbai, India's commercial capital, I am delighted that the figures confirm that Indian businesses have agreed with our proposition that the UK, with its open, liberal economy, creativity, innovation and strong RandD, provides an excellent global platform from which to operate".

Creon Butler, Acting High Commissioner, British High Commission, New Delhi said, "The results illustrate that Indian investors have confidence in the UK economy".

Meanwhile, the release said defying the world economic downturn, the UK has maintained its position as the number one destination for foreign investors in Europe, and second in the world, as demonstrated by the UK inward investment results 2008-09 announced by the British Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and Trade, Investment and Business Minister Lord Davies on Wednesday.

The UK is being seen as an attractive commercial destination by more nations than ever before. Over the last financial year (2008-09), foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UK has risen by 11% with 1,744 investment projects from 53 countries deciding to locate or expand in the UK. Every day the UK attracts nearly 5 FDI projects. Every week 673 jobs are created.

Librul Media Strikes Again

(#170850)

Fred Hiatt version. Feh.

“Two clichés make us laugh but a hundred clichés move us, because we sense dimly that the clichés are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion." - Umberto Eco

Yeah

(#170862)

Froomkin was pretty much the only independent, interesting voice at the Post, though George Will has his moments.

My guess is he accumulated a little too much moral/political street cred. Some people feel threatened by that.

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

It's the Coolest Cred There Is. nt

(#170867)

.

“Two clichés make us laugh but a hundred clichés move us, because we sense dimly that the clichés are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion." - Umberto Eco

Another Obama broken promise

(#170829)

Probably posting this serves no real purpose, but what the heck:

I've chosen to support the current [FISA] compromise. I do so with the firm intention -- once I’m sworn in as President -- to have my Attorney General conduct a comprehensive review of all our surveillance programs, and to make further recommendations on any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future.

-- Barack Obama, 7/3/08

Well, I mean, [the FISA compromise] is obviously something that was debated at great length months or so ago, many months or so ago, I think, and a determination made that given what the telecom companies had done, the reasons why they had done it, their interactions with the government, that the immunity provision was appropriate. We have been conducting ourselves on the basis of what I consider to be, at this point, settled law. And as I said, I think the debate was a robust one. There are people who certainly have disagreed...

-- Eric Holder, 6/17/09

(h/t to Greenwald for the links; the entire article is worth reading if you care about this stuff)

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

Oh, Okay

(#170831)

THe broken promise would be if the Obama admin. was in no way reviewing our surveillance programs in hopes of preserving civil liberties, etc. The Holder quote is specifically about the FISA compromise. Did he speak to the admin's desire or lack of it when it comes to reviewing our surveillance programs?

Thanks, oh promise keeper.

“Two clichés make us laugh but a hundred clichés move us, because we sense dimly that the clichés are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion." - Umberto Eco

Not only is Holder not speaking to a

(#170870)

"review of all our surveillance programs", he isn't even speaking generally of the FISA compromise. He is addressing a very narrow question from Specter:

I begin on the question of the immunity for the telephone companies. It's been subject to a lot of analysis and a lot of consideration by the Congress. I had pressed an amendment to substitute the government for the telephone companies as the party defendant. The provision on immunity I thought very troublesome. Because what it does in effect is take away the jurisdiction from the district court to determine what has happened. It's a more sophisticated way for court-stripping, which on constitutional issues I find unacceptable. It's not the Supreme Court, but Marbury v. Madison established judicial primacy here.

And the position which I pressed was to have the government substituted as the party defendant. I thought the telephone companies were good citizens. They ought not to be subject to damages, not subject to the cost of litigation. What's wrong with that as a preferable course to immunity, which keeps the courts open to determine what happened, and not deprive the party plaintiffs of their constitutional rights and let the government bear the costs of whatever is involved, because it's something for the benefit of the government?

The plain meaning of Holder's answer (immediately following, and even more obviously when Specter asks again "Have a substitution?") is that the administration is taking the position that it is settled law that the telecoms have immunity and that Specter's alternative proposal is currently irrelevant, whatever its merits. Which seems consistent with my understanding of how the legislative process operates.

If you also go back and look at the larger context framing Obama's quote, it seems to me clear (and rather logical) that he is discussing reviewing surveillance techniques, not contemplating revoking telecom immunity or transferring liability to the government.

The ability to monitor and track individuals who want to attack the United States is a vital counter-terrorism tool, and I'm persuaded that it is necessary to keep the American people safe -- particularly since certain electronic surveillance orders will begin to expire later this summer. Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, I've chosen to support the current compromise. I do so with the firm intention -- once I’m sworn in as President -- to have my Attorney General conduct a comprehensive review of all our surveillance programs, and to make further recommendations on any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future.

In summary, I find stillnotking's editing to be misleading.

That said, until the administration concludes a review and takes concrete steps in response thereto, it seems fair to say Obama's promise remains unfulfilled, anyway.

Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson

Someone is certainly being misleading

(#170878)

I'm going to go out a limb and suggest it's the politician. There seem to be some short memories around here, so perhaps a brief recap of the events of last summer is in order.

The "FISA compromise" was not a compromise. It was more akin to an act of political extortion. In August 2008, the PAA directives allowing the government to eavesdrop on foreign-to-foreign communications routed through American networks were set to expire. Renewing those directives required an act of Congress, which was completely uncontroversial on both sides of the aisle. (It turned out later that so-called "foreign-to-foreign" comunications were often nothing of the sort, but that's another story.) However, President Bush told Congress that he would veto any such bill that did not also include a provision to retroactively immunize the telecommunications companies that had illegally assisted him in his considerably more expansive warrantless wiretapping scheme of the previous several years. The Democratic Congress blinked and agreed to include retroactive immunity, lest they be painted as weak on national security -- even though it was the Bush administration who was playing chicken with the nation's current surveillance capabilities.

"The FISA compromise generally" was, precisely, the inclusion of retroactive immunity in the FISA legislation. This was something that a few liberals got very upset about, so Obama threw us a bone by promising to have his AG review surveillance legislation, specifically including retroactive immunity, after he became President. That seemed reasonable, given that the defense of his actions at the time was that he had no choice but to vote for immunity, because Bush's veto threat had backed him into a corner. Now he is President, and his AG will say nothing but that retroactive immunity is "settled law", meaning that no such review is going to take place. This goes far beyond accession to Bush's arm-twisting: it is a straightforward affirmation that Obama agrees with the final bill.

That's not an unexpected outcome at all. But it is a broken promise, just like Obama's original, unconditional pledge to filibuster any bill that contained telecom immunity was a broken promise.

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

Short memories?

(#170885)

"The FISA compromise generally" was, precisely, the inclusion of retroactive immunity in the FISA legislation.

First, Specter is not even asking about telecom immunity in general, he is asking about his particular proposal to have the government "substituted as the party defendant." Next, telecom immunity was not the only topic of debate in that bill (which, by the way, I agree wasn't much of a compromise). I'll let Glenn Greenwald handle this, with his usual enjoyable seasoning of hyperbole:

It is absolutely false that the only unconstitutional and destructive provision of this "compromise" bill is the telecom amnesty part. It's true that most people working to defeat the Cheney/Rockefeller bill viewed opposition to telecom amnesty as the most politically potent way to defeat the bill, but the bill's expansion of warrantless eavesdropping powers vested in the President, and its evisceration of safeguards against abuses of those powers, is at least as long-lasting and destructive as the telecom amnesty provisions. The bill legalizes many of the warrantless eavesdropping activities George Bush secretly and illegally ordered in 2001.

We could also check with the left-wing rawstory take:

The Senate gave President Bush what he wanted Wednesday, sending him a bill expanding his surveillance authority and granting legal amnesty to telecommunications companies that facilitated his warrantless surveillance program.

There was substantial concern as to the surveillance issues, aside from the telecom immunity guarantee. Obama attempted to address that concern, as evidenced by a plain reading of his statement in context.

You state: "Obama threw us a bone by promising to have his AG review surveillance legislation, specifically including retroactive immunity, after he became President." Could you please provide a statement from Obama to this effect? The quote you gave above and for which I provided the larger context does not support such a claim.

It is worth recalling the manner in which Obama "threw us a bone" at the time, after indeed breaking his promise to support a filibuster of legislation containing retroactive immunity. He vowed to fight to strip telecom immunity (FWIW he did later vote for that amendment, which predictably failed) and he also distinguished his potential executive response from his then-current legislative response:

"Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as president, I will carefully monitor the program.

"[The bill] does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses."

To emphasize: as President, he promises to "carefully monitor the program" while as Senator, he promises to "work... to remove this provision."

Now he is President, and his AG will say nothing but that retroactive immunity is "settled law"

The title of your original post is "Another Obama broken promise" and it appears to me that you view Holder's reply to Specter as the breaking of that promise. Even putting to the side for the moment the above discussion as to what, precisely, was promised, your argument seems to be illogical with respect to timelines, since Holder already made his position on telecom immunity clear, prior to Obama becoming president, way back in January:

January 15, 2009: The incoming Obama administration will vigorously defend congressional legislation immunizing U.S. telecommunication companies from lawsuits about their participation in the Bush administration’s domestic spy program.

That was the assessment Thursday by Eric Holder, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for attorney general, who made the statement during his confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. A court challenge questioning the legality of the legislation is pending in U.S. District Court in San Francisco — where the judge in the case wanted to know what the Obama administration’s position was.

"The duty of the Justice Department is to defend statutes that have been passed by Congress," Holder told Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah), who asked whether the Obama administration would continue the legal fight to uphold the legislation that the Electronic Frontier Foundation is seeking to overturn.

Finally, I cannot help but notice that you provided, in your original post, a subsection of the Obama quote that is shorter but otherwise precisely matches the selection from the Greenwald piece you link. I also notice that Greenwald glosses over the precise question Specter asked of Holder, and that you do not provide or discuss Specter's question yourself. I am sure you took the time to ascertain the relevant context for yourself, but I am curious as to your opinion regarding why Greenwald might have chosen to present his argument in such fashion, and why you apparently decided to follow suit. Particularly when there is a very strong argument, with which you'd get no quarrel from me, that "until the administration concludes a review and takes concrete steps in response thereto, it seems fair to say Obama's promise remains unfulfilled, anyway."

Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson

I Can Answer Your Question

(#171024)

A little inelegant fudging in order to make one's morally pristine argument more pristine.

“Two clichés make us laugh but a hundred clichés move us, because we sense dimly that the clichés are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion." - Umberto Eco

You can have the last word if you want

(#170899)

as I now find myself behind at work.

Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson

Like I said

(#170832)

No real purpose.

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

Heh- nt

(#170890)

nt

"We should not tie the hands of law enforcement in the effort to bring these terrorists to justice"- Leon E. Panetta

I'm Assuming there IS a Purpose

(#170840)

I'm just trying to figure out if a promise has actually been broken. And am not interested in assuming one has been in order to bolster my own moral/political street cred.

The coolest street cred of them all.

“Two clichés make us laugh but a hundred clichés move us, because we sense dimly that the clichés are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion." - Umberto Eco

lack of desire

(#170863)

"We have been conducting ourselves on the basis of what I consider to be, at this point, settled law."

"The administration has taken the position that we are now dealing with a determination that has been made by Congress. We're dealing with existing law, and we are proceeding in that way."

They will conduct no review. They will just keep using the powers bestowed upon the executive branch by the Congress last year.

WhatEVS, Harley.

(#170861)

Have a good night.

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

Life is good. - nt.

(#171145)
Bernard Guerrero's picture

:^)

-“It is unwise for the government to tell people how they can spend their money” - Barney Frank, Chairman House Financial Services Committee, on on-line gambling, 2009

I guess this means Biden shouldn't talk about Iran

(#170797)

Kerry's op-ed is titled "With Iran, Think Before You Speak". So with other countries, it's OK to speak before thinking? It's one of the dumbest op-ed titles I've seen.

As to the substance, Kerry's advice reflects his Senate career: Do and say nothing.


"I think BDog would make this place interesting." --catchy

awwww

(#170825)

i'm disappointed you didn't decide to make this comment into a full diary, given your full and qualified substantive disagreement with the wording of an op-ed headline.

Member of the Forvm Five

Why disappointed?

(#170828)

You can make the same jackass remark in reply to a comment or diary.


"I think BDog would make this place interesting." --catchy

thanks for the

(#170834)

f*ckwad response.

Member of the Forvm Five

Hey Hank.

(#170851)

When do we start the nomination process for the new mods again?

Bene vixit, bene qui latuit

I usually give the whole process a week

(#170853)

so on the 23rd. I'll be sure to renominate you, though.

I blame it all on the Internet

You are....

(#171146)
Bernard Guerrero's picture

....playing with fire, dude.

-“It is unwise for the government to tell people how they can spend their money” - Barney Frank, Chairman House Financial Services Committee, on on-line gambling, 2009

If only we could enshrine that advice

(#170820)

into binding and official foreign policy for the US, we could save a lot of $.

So, you're all about giving advice, but I just wanted to float the idea that perhaps the Obama admin knows what it's doin:

-- Iraq in January punishes the hard-line clerics

-- Kuwait in May elects 4 women MPs and hardline Sunnis lose ground

-- Lebanon 2 weeks ago increases its pro-western majority.

-- And now hundreds of thousands of Iranians are on the street in favor of a reformist.

On the assumption that these events are affected by the US, maybe Obama should just keep doin whatever he's doin.

FWIW

(#170816)

Authors don't generally get to write their headlines.

They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist...
-- General John B. Sedgwick, 1864

You're right

(#170827)

I credit the dumb title to NYT editorial folks. I didn't intend to ascribe it to Kerry.


"I think BDog would make this place interesting." --catchy

Republicans speak before they think all the time nt

(#170804)

.

I blame it all on the Internet

At What Point Do They Think? nt

(#170823)

.

“Two clichés make us laugh but a hundred clichés move us, because we sense dimly that the clichés are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion." - Umberto Eco

I'm guessing

(#170826)

that they're thinking with their "little Republican".

I blame it all on the Internet

Ha ha! Good one!

(#170812)

nt


"I think BDog would make this place interesting." --catchy

If they didn't, they'd have to become mimes. nt

(#170809)

.

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

but that is Kerry and Biden's specialty

(#170807)

along with the mashing of history in their public statements.

"Perhaps we also ought to run off people who abuse our toleration of differing viewpoints."

Lord of the flies

(#170786)

President swats bug to rave media reviews-

"Today" show substitute-host David Gregory opened the show declaring: "You just have to appreciate the, the concentration and the precision! Just a few things going on in the world but it's as if everything was stopped and at a standstill for the President to lower the boom." On CBS' "The Early Show," Chris Wragge marveled: "We've also just confirmed the President is a Ninja." And on ABC's "Good Morning America," they even brought out the Telestrator to break down the video as Chris Cuomo offered play-by-play: "You see? He stares at the fly. How many times have each of us tried to do this? Look at the hand coming up. The poise. The cupping. And the quick slap...Just knocked it away, very rare."

but of course not everyone was impressed, take one guess as to who-

"He isn't the Buddha, he's a human being, and human beings have a long way to go before they think before they act."

Of course, PETA didn't miss an opportunity to lobby for ethical bug treatment: They promptly sent Obama a Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, a rather ingenious insect-transporting device with a trapdoor and a nice long handle so you don't have to get too close to your uninvited guest.

If there is any interest in the ‘ingenious insect-transporting device’ you can buy one here for $8. And I thought the Buddha was human, but I’m happy to be corrected on that by those with more knowledge.

"We should not tie the hands of law enforcement in the effort to bring these terrorists to justice"- Leon E. Panetta

The Buddha was (and the Dalai Lama is) non-vegetarian.

(#170872)

They ate/eat beef, even.

As are the vast majority of Tibetan and Sikkimese Buddhists. Also the Buddhists in Vietnam and Thailand. And Korea and Japan. And very good the dishes are, too.

http://www.snowlionpub.com/chapters/lhmo.htm
http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/tibet/00/rec0003.html

Title: Mo-Mos and Khotes
Categories: Tibet, Lamb, Beef
Yield: 12 servings

---------------------------DOUGH---------------------
2 c All-purpose flour
3/4 c Hot water

-----------------------MO-MO FILLING------------------
8 oz Lean ground lamb or beef
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
1 c Chopped raw kale
1/2 c Cilantro, chopped
3 Cloves garlic, chopped
1 tb Chopped fresh ginger
1 1/2 ts Curry powder
1 tb Sherry, vermouth or brandy
2 ts Flour
2 ts Soy sauce
1/2 ts Cayenne pepper or
1/2 ts Hot chili paste

I recommend the Potala Restaurant or Hotel Tibet in Gangtok for the world's best momos.

Even beef?

(#170981)

They ate/eat beef, even.

Even beef? A Tibetan without his yak is like a Lapp without his reindeer. Tibetans eat beef, sheep and chicken. That's about it. They don't eat monkey, elephant, dog, cat, pig, horse, or rat.

I was surprised that the monks in Tibet don't participate in the harvest of what may be Tibet's most lucrative agricultural product, Dong Chong Xia Cao.
http://www.tcmtreatment.com/herbs/0-dongchongxiacao.htm

The characters are instructive - winter insect summer grass. A worm sleeping underground in the winter is attacked by a parasitic lichen. Only a tiny shoot is visible in the summer. I could never find one, but 5 year old children were finding new ones every 5 to 10 minutes. Even though it's a lichen, monks don't pick it because it grows inside an insect's body.

Nothing resembles virtue more than a great crime. Saint-Just

On my way back from Everest

(#170889)

I'll have to swing by and try the momos.

"We should not tie the hands of law enforcement in the effort to bring these terrorists to justice"- Leon E. Panetta

I guess Obama has the Mr. Miyagi vote locked up -nt-

(#170813)

.

Bene vixit, bene qui latuit

The Buddha was human

(#170801)

and not much concerned with bugs. PETA was probably thinking of the Jains (who are often erroneously conflated with Buddhists). Jains will not harm any living thing; Jain monks carry brooms with which they sweep insects from their path as they walk. Some of them won't even eat root vegetables, out of a belief that they are capable of suffering.

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

Canon 2C

(#170785)
M Scott Eiland's picture

“A judge should not hold membership in any organization that practices invidious discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin.”

Any comment, Judge Sotomayor?

[insert boilerplate "it's OK for women but not for men" rebuttal here]

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--from Ulysses, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Obviously the argument would turn on 'invidious'.

(#170811)

(I say "would turn" rather than "turns" because it's an argument that's not worth anyone's time.)

Bene vixit, bene qui latuit

The banality of evil

(#170770)

It's the same everywhere:

British intelligence officers were given written instructions that they could not "be seen to condone" [American] torture and that they must not "engage in any activity yourself that involves inhumane or degrading treatment of prisoners".

But they were also told they were not under any obligation to intervene to prevent detainees from being mistreated.

"Given that they are not within our ­custody or control, the law does not require you to intervene to prevent this," the policy said.

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

Does Obama control his own Justice Department?

(#170725)

If so, does he know that the US Attorney in Nevada is trying to destroy web anonymity? Link. I wonder if Obama's supporeters thought that's what "transparency" meant.

Very truly yours,

HRH Wilmer Kalika Montesque IV King Pro Tem of Kailua and Pretender to the Porcelain Peacock Throne, Lord Of All He Surveys Including The Curtains etc etc. (known online as "tomsyl")

Politicians spend our money like a pimp with only a week to live.  CJ Boxx

Probably not

(#170788)

First, I find it a little disturbing that so many people don't seem to understand that process of a new President taking over control of the government is slow and somewhat random. There's still a lot of Bush people in the DOJ. The US Attorney for Nevada is Gregory A. Brower, a Bush appointee.

Second, even a President who has appointed a US Attorney has limited control over how he or she runs their office. That's why Bush fired some of them when they wouldn't toe the party line.

Guard, protect and cherish your land, for there is no afterlife for a place that started out as Heaven.

Idiot of the week award winner: Harry Reid, of course.

(#170721)

For arguing that paying Federal income tax is voluntary. Reid can't possibly be that stupid - can he?

Politicians spend our money like a pimp with only a week to live.  CJ Boxx

Voluntary Compliance

(#170772)

American taxpayers are expected do their own tax reporting. Honestly.

Harry Reid may be stupid. But his questioner is definitely a tool.

By That Standard. . .

(#170775)
M Scott Eiland's picture

. . .the laws prohibiting speeding and murder are "voluntary," too.

Oh well--at least Harry didn't cite nonexistent entries in the Internal Revenue Code to make his "point"--he must save those efforts for the occasions he feels the need to lie about Clarence Thomas.

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--from Ulysses, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Not Quite

(#170783)

the volunteer in voluntary compliance is the part where you sit down at your desk and sift through your receipts and determine how much tax you owe the government. If you're unlucky, or a scofflaw, a representative of the government will review your work.

Were voluntary compliance applied to speeding tickets you'd sit down at your desk at the end of the quarter, analyze the logs you downloaded from your speedometer and compare the results with the logs you downloaded from your vehicle's GPS device, cross-reference that with the Table of Speed Limits, and report to the government how much you owe.

Were voluntary compliance applied to murder, you'd sit down at your desk at the end of the quarter, collect DNA samples from yourself and your victim(s), fail to provide alibi(s) for the periods of time when your victims were murdered, collate all the other evidence, physical and circumstantial, that you retained in your records as required by law if you intend to itemize your slayings, refer to the Chart of Sentences in the back of the booklet, and then report to the government how much time you owe.

Shaq. Buddy.

(#170703)
M Scott Eiland's picture

Don't go there. Seriously. Remember the humiliation of Jose Canseco and learn from it.

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--from Ulysses, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Pork As Chaff

(#170700)
M Scott Eiland's picture

The One decides to throw gays a bone--doesn't sweat the details.

Tough luck. Oh well, maybe next time you'll vote for someone whose promises are more likely to come true. Like this guy!

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--from Ulysses, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Tony Kushner said it best

(#170779)

Your problem, Henry, is that you are hung up on words. On labels. "Gay", "homosexual", "lesbian"; you think they tell you what a person is, but they don't tell you that. Like all labels, they refer to one thing and one thing only: Clout. Where does a person so identified fit in the food chain? To someone who doesn't understand this, homosexual is what I am because I sleep with men, but this is wrong. A homosexual is someone who, in 15 years of trying, can't get a pissant anti-discrimination bill through City Council. They are men who know nobody, and who nobody knows.

Gays need to stop voting for Democrats that support anti-gay legislation. That's it.

In this particular case Congress is more to blame than Obama, of course.

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

The Obvious Question

(#170790)
M Scott Eiland's picture

"Mr. President, you've stated that the Defense of Marriage Act was wrongly enacted by Congress. If the Democratic majority in Congress passed a bill designed to repeal DOMA, would you sign it?"

If he can't answer "yes" to that question today, his public opposition to DOMA has been phony all along.

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--from Ulysses, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

It sounds better in the original German

(#170771)

or so I've been told-

"It's not that he didn't follow through on his promises, he stabbed us in the back."

"We should not tie the hands of law enforcement in the effort to bring these terrorists to justice"- Leon E. Panetta

Told Repeatedly, As A Matter Of Fact

(#170777)
M Scott Eiland's picture

Yet not on this occasion. How very odd.

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--from Ulysses, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

.

(#170769)


..

"And now you run in search of the Jedi. They are all dead, save one. And one broken Jedi cannot stop the darkness that is to come." -Darth Sion

:-P

(#170776)
M Scott Eiland's picture

:-P

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.--from Ulysses, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson