The Washington Nationals might have bitten off more than they can chew by naming William Howard Taft as their next racing mascot. If you aren’t familiar with the controversy, the baseball team features four mascots dressed as U.S. presidents that race around the Nationals’ stadium during home games to entertain fans.
“Teddy has handpicked the next president for the Presidents’ Race,” Nationals COO Andy Feffer told the newspaper on Friday, a day before the Taft mascot was rolled out. “There was a great amount of banter and discussion back and forth, but Teddy won out with his recommendation.”
On Saturday, the sanitized Taft mascot made its debut at a fan event, looking at least 100 pounds lighter than its real-life counterpart.
The reaction in the media, so far, is that even sportswriters who aren’t historians know the two men hated each other.
The Post’s Dan Steinberg asked a local historian how bad the blood was between TR and Taft.
Allan Lichtman, distinguished professor of history at American University, told Steinberg that each man considered the other a backstabber, and they had no qualms taking down each other in a presidential election.
“The rivalry was as bitter as it gets in politics,” said Lichtman. “There’s nothing like the feeling of betrayal, and both men felt betrayed by the other.”
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But I stand by my assessment of the BLS-truthers as total nutcases.
Just in time for Super Bowl weekend.
This article is worthless without pictures.
So it is not surprising to see a part of the American Political prospectus to justify the Holocaust to some extend.
On NRA list : if the anti gun crowd has any sort of brains of backing of money they'd run a huge ad nation wide for several month based on this.
In other international News, the PM of Japan Shinzo Abe said in Parliament yesterday that he would consider putting permanent installation and public officials onto the contested islands with China, well if he's serious about that, then the CIA better assassinate him before he goes through with it. there is a 100% chance that war will happen if that happens.
Happened to be rewatching Ken Burns' The War this week. If I were the Japanese, I don't think I'd be in any hurry to give the Chinese an excuse to make up for Nanking et al.
Has anyone ever gone from respected opponent to rank embarrassment to the country faster or farther?
And of course, Jeeze, it was just a joke!
This is where I register my disgust with Arizona's voters. However, I don't see John losing his next race (if he decides to run again).
Post 2008 McCain has become untethered from anything other than AZ politics. He has no incentive to think beyond "what gets me votes in Arpaio country?" That, combined with his raging bitterness at having had his natural right to the Presidency upended by that uppity boy from Chicago...
So... from straight talk express to maverick to loyal opposition to bitter to crazy uncle you hope stays quiet in just 4 years?
Man, when the demographic numbers finally hit the tipping point in Arizona, there are going to be either a whole lot of sudden converts to brotherhood or a whole lot of migrations to heated gated communities in Idaho.
It should probably involve monkeys, and space.
//Daily Kos link, but just so all the tweets would show up on one page.
If you were Japanese you probably think that the "Rape of Nanking," is either a complete hoax or grossly exaggerated - it's what they were/are still taught in most schools there. Historians there who deny Nanking (and a few other things) are not ostracised from the profession the way Holocaust deniers are in the west.
In the south? You know the answer to that question. This guy is a GOP player from South Carolina. The only notable thing that happened here is that he said in public, via Twitter, #### he says to his inner circle all the time. This is the southern GOP/TP at its heart. It's no surprise.
This is particularly odious, because it means we're sinking to the level of the anti-semetic pigs in European academia.
I may be missing something in the question, but in what sense is the Senate Majority Leader the head of a branch of government?
There can't really be a "head" of the legislative branch but, if there is one, it is the Speaker of the House. If there is a leader of the Senate it is either the VP or the President pro tem. Yes, the president pro tem is not a very powerful position but is the head of the Senate in the absence of the VP.
And, likewise, there is a president who served as president pro tem. Who was it? (Bonus question: who is the current president pro tem?)
Double bonus: one man (oops - two men) has presided over both House and Senate. Who? (Helps explain his most famous quote).
But, while the Senate Majority Leader wields a great deal of political power, he/she is not officially the head of any part of government.
what is odious?
What Sam decided to name the link?
Or the behavior of the pro-Israeli lobby in attacking Brooklyn College?
If it's the latter I agree with you
If it's the former I agree with Sam and think that your invocation of antisemitism is disgusting and contemptible.
Let me say something nice about the GOP for a change of pace...
I'm down with the Republicans on this... Obviously, the tax-and-spend liberal in me wishes to winnow down the sequester in some areas - but I'm 100% A-OK with saying "fine, no new tax revenue -- and the DoD cuts STAND!"
There's a lot in the South China sea and that's actually where the biggest mess is, China / Japan thing was actually stable for the last 35 years or so until crazy Japanese right wingers decided to try to change that . (which is stupid as hell seeing that they had the advantage in that status quo)
The list of East Asia island dispute is...
Kuril Islands Russia holds it, but Japan claims that wasn't part of the deal after WW2.
Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japane) held by Korea, but disputed by Japan on various historical grounds. (North Korea also asserts claim)
Pinnacle isles, or Senkaku in Japan / Daioyu in China controlled by Japan, claimed by the Chinese (by that I mean both China and Taiwan)
South China Sea dispute this is the most complex of it all, since there's basically 7 country here all with various degree of conflicting claims. China (mirroring the claim of Taiwan) essentially claims the whole thing, so obviously they're the big target, but Vietnam's claim is also in conflict with other country.
There's 3 major island group in the sea, the most problematic dispute is the far south Spartly island group, to give you an idea of how bad this is, 7 different country claims all or a significant part of the islands, and 6 of them have troops / personal occupying at least 1 island or reef there (yes they're even squabbling over the reefs). there's a total of 45 islands in the this group, though only 1 is somewhat inhabitable and that has been occupied by Taiwan ( Republic of China) for the last 55 years.
Patrick Leahy since Inouye died.
The famous one is John Nance Garner. No idea who the other one is.
I could not pick any of them out of a lineup or description of their life (possible exception Fairbanks if he had anything to do with Alaska - and btw my friends tell me is is a bland and depressing city), and I am well above average in political knowledge. I suspect there are a pile in the "no one but historians and relatives know who these people are" category.
Hobart is the only one on your list that I recognize, so he can't be the answer. He was McKinley's VP before Ted R.
I'm looking at the list of VPs now. Someone named Hendricks was VP for 8 months in 1885, though he was very important in Indiana before that.
William A. Wheeler was apparently nominated ironically by Roscoe Conkling's crew who were perplexed by his refusal to take patronage. Hayes didn't know who he was when he was told Wheeler was his running mate. So why should we know who he is now?
The famous one is John Nance Garner. No idea who the other one is.
Schyuler Colfax. Speaker during the Civil War, VP under Grant.
John Tyler was both President Pro Tem, VP, and President. Not a bad run.
Zonk, I'm still sincererly curious about the phrasing of Majority Leader as leader of a branch of government. I would usually defer to your knowledge here but it still seems wrong to me.
Patrick Leahy since Inouye died.
Correct on both counts. It struck me as odd, when I went to check, that the President Pro Tem is such a forgotten position. I think zonk is phrasing Majority Leader as de facto leader because, well, in terms of getting stuff done in the Senate (you know, in a hypothetical scenario where such happened), the Majority Leader is the leader. But the actual head of the Senate is the VP and the president pro tem the every day leader. It makes me wonder, looking at recent pro tems, if we shouldn't amend the line of succession to make the Majority Leader the pro tem. The actual pro tem is usually some old guy you really wouldn't want taking over in the crisis that must have happened if the first three go down. Leahy is probably the best we've had in a long while, just in terms of still having some wits about him.
Well, deferring to me is your first mistake ;-)
But absolutely, the legislative branch really just has 'one' leader (the Speaker of the House) who only happens to control half that branch... The role of 'Senate Majority Leader' really only goes back about a century in recognizable custom - but in effect, there's generally sort of been an acknowledged Senate leader even prior to the early 20th century...
Yes- I am.... I think the VP is still actually "President of the Senate" -- or at least, conducts business on the rare occasions he's present... but both the veep and pro tem role are more honarary....
It makes the original question less fun then -- because technically, every VP who eventually ascended to President would qualify under the 'two of three' branches rule ;-)
Who knew that receiving a letter on Saturday instead of Monday was that delicate thread keeping our society together?
The PO discussion has created one of the oddest of alliances that I've ever seen...
Certainly - you have the NALC opposing this, but what do you expect? However, the USPS cannot just 'cut' Saturday delivery (they're using some clever legalese to get around a law) - Congress has to let them.... the big legislative obstacle? lots of deep red, rural Republicans.
It's uniform, of course -- some (Tom Coburn, for one) are in favor of it... and sure, there are also very union-friendly Democrats who are backing the NALC.... but it's one item where the lines truly are awfully squiggly.
I always thought that the best idea for the USPS to stay relevant would have been get more digital... I wouldn't pay a lot for it -- but I would be willing to pay a nominal fee for let's say, a "lifetime e-mail box" where delivery would be at least somewhat restrained/spam free. I would likewise be happy to have something like a USPS p2p network and delivery mechanism available -- something that would allow me to have access to a network where, yes, file sharing and digital packages would have to be 'blessed'/free of copyright/etc infringement, but also kept free of ne'er-do-wells that might slip a trojan or somesuch into the works.
Open source is all well and good -- and I'm not saying the USPS should 'take over' the internet by any stretch... but providing a safe, secure highway -- where the sender and recipient are known to the 'traffic cops' so to speak -- would be something that would interest me at a low price point.
I'm certainly not paying $0.44 for an e-mail --- but for an e-mail system completely free of spam? $1 for a 100 e-mails? Or - for a business - a secure and trusted method to send 10k e-mails, knowing that the recipients are real people (and those people also being secure in knowing that this 'GREAT DEAL'! isn't a phishing attempt?)
Right -
It's actually the rural communities that need the USPS, not me... sitting here in a large urban center -- I'm going to have package and mail needs met (and probably met at competitive rates) regardless of whether the USPS exists or not.
Cut ~80% of the country (geographically speaking) out of the mix -- or -- don't force the USPS to service those areas at the same price as the 'more profitable' urban centers, and the USPS would do just fine... but I don't think that was really ever the point of it - it was supposed to be a national mail delivery service.
I have almost all packages sent to my office anyway, so they don't just get dumped on the front porch; I never get a package on Saturday anymore. I realize lots of people don't have offices, but like zonk in #145 I'm one of the urban types who isn't going to be affected much.
I have to say that if I was still a Netflix DVD subscriber, this "no Saturday delivery" might make me drop the service. Before I quit (over the doubling of the price), I had a pattern where I would get a TV Show disc on a Saturday, watch it Saturday and Sunday, mail it Monday, get a movie on Wednesday, watch it that night, mail it on Thursday, get next TV Show on Saturday. So 2 discs per week. Without Saturday delivery, that wouldn't work.
I just mailed something Priority Mail yesterday and tracking is now free. I'm not sure what you mean, Greg, about it not being trackable online. That has always worked for me and it's a great service.
He also said the oft-quoted,"What this country needs is a really good 5-cent cigar."
And an article related to the USPS discussion: FedEx's file transfer capacity versus the Internet.
I suppose there will always be packages to deliver, but delivery of "data" -- mail, bills, communications, even media -- just doesn't have a future. Even some parcel-based items are probably on their way out in a generation - 3d printing is already a reality with simple materials (if not yet all that economically feasible).
The FCC is in the process of putting together a universal wifi proposal - much to the opposition of ISPs and telecoms.
The answer in my mind is that the USPS should be shifted into this... again - I'm not proposing the "internet" become the sole domain of a quasi-government entity like the USPS, but I think there is both room and need for a digital content network and service that IS run something like the USPS.
For the all fiscal grief they get -- if you think about it, the USPS was a magnificent thing in the days before digital communications... you could write a letter, send it anywhere in the country for a very cheap price, and it would be delivered in days. Once upon a time that was an amazing thing.
There's no reason they can't become the "one size fits all" carrier for certain segments of digital communications... Again - I'm not talking about pushing the private providers out (I mean, I still want my porn, too!)... but in certain situations, I would be fine to be using a network where the senders are all registered, where there's a nominal fee that in turn ensures some measure of reliability, etc.
In such a case - I'd probably switch over all of my e-billing traffic to such an account, maintain it for say -- things like job applications or what not, etc.
The core model of 'not-for-profit communications services networking the entire nation' is not something I think we should lightly cast aside... it just needs to become digital, not paper delivery based.
Hendricks for the chant, "Let's hear it for our man and his immortal appendix/let's whoop er up loudly for Cleveland and Hendricks." I think. I'm operating from memory. Also for winning the popular vote for VP twice, once under Tilden (not seated obviously) and once under Cleveland. Was talk in 1876 he might get hosed if the House voted in Tilden since the Republican Senate would then vote Wheeler VP for the uber-rare split executive branch.
Actually, they are not.
I just mailed something Priority Mail yesterday and tracking is now free. I'm not sure what you mean, Greg, about it not being trackable online. That has always worked for me and it's a great service.
I don't have need of it a lot, so maybe the people sending me things aren't using Priority Mail or something. It's mostly through Amazon or eBay.
This isn't to say that the Republicans can't stage a comeback, or that they couldn't even win in 2016. But that's much more likely to happen due to a 2008 sized crash or a massive failure of Obamacare to deliver the goods. It's not likely to stem from the GOP leopard changing his spots.
I agree with most of what you said Andy, but I don't see Obamacare as doing much of anything. I don't mean thatin a political sense. The way it is structured to use the existing health insurance framework and slowly push things along means it is not really a winner or loser going forward. I suspect, other than a few holdouts it will sink into semi-recognizable territory that most folks hardly ever think about - even as it is actually improving the health insurance situation in the US a fair amount.
Unless of course actual death panels show up or something, but outside of the fever swamps I don't think anyone expects anything like that.
Well, that's what Tomasky is saying in the article. Doubling down on the Tea Party zealotry will yield no electoral victories anywhere except the gerrymandered House districts they already hold. It will cause them to continue to lose seats in the Senate, and in a majority of statehouses, and it will guarantee them a loss in the Presidential election.
In other words, as an organizing principle for a national party, it's suicidal. But so far, as the article says and you agree, the party has been completely unable to deal with this truth in a productive way, and so for the time being, they will continue to weaken.
I agree with most of what you said Andy, but I don't see Obamacare as doing much of anything. I don't mean thatin a political sense. The way it is structured to use the existing health insurance framework and slowly push things along means it is not really a winner or loser going forward.
The problem is that if enough Republican governors and legislatures put enough bureaucratic roadblocks into its implementation, it's not unlikely that it's going to be run initially with less than maximum efficiency in many cases. This is one of many reasons why a single payer system would've been infinitely preferable---the ideological opponents of universal health care would have been given far fewer fiefdoms from which to sabotage it.
I suspect, other than a few holdouts it will sink into semi-recognizable territory that most folks hardly ever think about - even as it is actually improving the health insurance situation in the US a fair amount.
Hopefully that'll be recognized over the din of the inevitable GOP noise machine, but that's one case where I'm definitely not counting eggs until they become chickens.
I think that what Andy is saying is that, whatever Obamacare is supposed to be, it has to be implemented by the bureaucracy, a bureaucracy with many competing interests and agendas. I don't think anyone knows what it will end up being and if it ends up being a huge clusterfluck before the next election, it may well sink whoever the Democratic nominee is.
I know you don't think that likely - I'm not sure I do. But it certainly isn't an impossible event.
They did choose a "sane" candidate in 2012, of course he spent years twisting himself into a pretzel to appease the "base" before trying to untwist himself...
The GOP's problem is that the Bircherites/Teapers are semi-organized now whereas back before 2008 they really weren't, they have formed actual groups and hold meetings and have their own blogs-
back in the 50s through 80s one could have Bircher beliefs and keep them oneself because quite frankly you rarely ran into anyone openly admitting such beliefs.
Then came rightwing talk radio, and books and the internet, and by golly if no one at work appreciated your Bircher views, you'd find an online community that would.
Conspiracy nuts are far less isolated than they used to be, they can easily find like minded individuals whereas before they couldn't
On the one hand, those consensuses (consensi?) don't last forever. On the other, it's hard to see the Democratic base fragmenting ideologically in the 2016 primaries. Sure people could break into support for Hillary or Biden or O'Malley or Schweitzer or whatever, but I'm not sure those would be ideological.
The only issue I could imagine would be a seriously civil liberties candidate putting Hillary and Biden on the spot. Even if many Dems are vaguely civil liberties, it's hard to picture them coming out for a candidate running against the Obama Administration. I think the Democratic ideological fragmentation will hold off until 2020 or 2024.
I also, BTW, don't see a large constituency who would prefer Joe Biden over Hillary Clinton for President. It's way too early to speculate about specific '16 candidates -- I think it's entirely possible Hillary won't run due to age/health -- but if she does, it'll be interesting to see if she can close the deal on a race where she should be even more of a heavy favorite than '08.
spike, unfortunately, I don't think most people were following the issues nearly closely enough to question the details of Romney's economic claims and prescriptions. I think Romney largely lost because the masses generally thought Obama inherited a #### heap and was doing ok working out of it, plus a smidgen of not relating to Romney on a personal level (whether the objection be smarm, awkwardness, bloodless capitalism, or whatever).
@171, people may not have been but journalists certainly were. The willingness of the Romney campaign to continue with claims that had no credibility long after they had been exposed as false was a recurring theme right up until the election. Ultimately, I suspect to some extent he lost because he was held accountable for this, among other things.
Agreed. Clinton was called Slick Willie for good reason, but he never just flat-out switched his political positions 180 degrees and tried to BS his way through it Romney-style. Romney on health care was f@cking hilarious.
EDIT: Coke to spike
Burn the witch! HERETIC!
I started paying attention to that story with the first report of the double homicide in Irvine, thinking from the beginning that there was something very disturbed and disturbing behind it. One possibility was that it might have been somehow directed at an interracial couple (Asian woman, African American man). But that wasn't it at all. The Asian woman (a basketball player and basketball coach) was targeted solely because she was the daughter of a man Dorner (the suspect) had a beef with.
I would think at this point that the wisest course of action for anyone who owns a blue or gray pickup truck in the LA area would to park the truck and take a cab or rent another car until this ends.
No one at all is going to come out of this looking good. Not Dorner, who is a cold-blooded murderer. Not the LAPD, whose training practices and self-protection instincts are going to come under even greater scrutiny. Not all the trigger-happy cops who opened up on innocent bystanders. This is all going to be ugly.
Far from it.
They did choose a "sane" candidate in 2012, of course he spent years twisting himself into a pretzel to appease the "base" before trying to untwist himself...
But only by twisting himself into a pretzel to appease the loonies was he rewarded with the nomination. That's what I'm talking about. The man formerly known as Massachusetts Mitt might as well never have existed, despite rumors to the contrary.
The problem isn't the candidates as they really might be if you gave them truth serum and asked them what they really thought---under those conditions, I'm sure a few of them would come out sounding like Bush the Elder or the McCain of 2000, conservative but in touch with reality. But not when that collection of religious nuts and Ayn Rand fans known as the GOP base gets through with them in the primaries. To put it in BTF terms, that base today consists of little more than a loose coalition of Rays, Nieporents, snappers and Kehoskies writ large: Fun to observe in small groups, and not without knowledge in a few highly specialized areas, but not exactly ready for prime time general election presidential campaigns with any real expectation of winning. Until the GOP can marginalize that group within the party without losing their votes in general elections, they'd better keep praying for economic collapses, because it's just about all they've got.
latest is that they think he went the other way. they think they've found his truck in big bear. for you non-L.A. types, that's in the mountains to the east. not far from places like riverside and palm springs.
there's nothing more dangerous in america than a man with a gun and a grudge.
3 of those guys are far more intelligent and rational than the average teaper/base member
at least 2 of them have positions on social issues that would make the average evangelical teaper vomit
of that group only Kehoskie comes close to being a typical GOP base member, and that make just be a false impression created by his apparent partisan need to defend the GOP and attack the Dems on every single issue
3 of those guys are far more intelligent and rational than the average teaper/base member
Granted.
at least 2 of them have positions on social issues that would make the average evangelical teaper vomit
But that's why I called it a loose coalition, not a unified cult. I'm sure that the average existing Ayn Rand spouting teaper would make the average evangelical teaper vomit just as well, and vice versa.
of that group only Kehoskie comes close to being a typical GOP base member, and that make just be a false impression created by his apparent partisan need to defend the GOP and attack the Dems on every single issue.
Again, what's the difference, other than a lack of politically necessary rhetorical restraint, between Ray/Nieporent and Paul Ryan when it comes to economics? What's the difference between snapper and Ryan when it comes to social issues? I'm sure there's some disagreement about details, but the underlying renunciation of a societal-level social contract from Ray/David, and the religious-driven views on RTL from snapper, hit all the same notes as the dominant voices within the GOP base, Ryan's occasional protestations to the contrary.
I agree that Kehoskie's kind of in a class by himself, more like a trained seal programmed by Karl Rove to bark at the right moments than someone who seems to have any core beliefs. I just hope he doesn't wind up in a ditch somewhere.
And to absolutely no one else. Whether they comprehend their status as tools is a good question.
I work in Irvine. It's an odd place, a company town where their business is bringing in other people's businesses.
LE is doing door-to-door searches up in Big Bear, but who knows if he's still in the area. I think they first discovered the burning truck on an access road around 9am, but didn't actually get confirmation it was *his* truck until mid-afternoon. Plenty of time for him to get out of the mountains, if indeed he'd planned for Big Bear.
If not, well, it's no East Coast blizzard, but there's a winter storm coming in tonight through Saturday ...
That appears to be an abridged version. This is the complete version. I suppose there is a case for deleting the names of the police personnel and others threatened, but I don't see any journalistic reason to omit Dorner's support for gun control, praise of Obama, Biden, Bill & Hillary Clinton, among others, as well as his encouragement to Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, Pat Harvey, Brian Williams, Soledad Obrien, Wolf Blitzer, Meredith Viera, Tavis Smiley, and Anderson Cooper. He's also a fan of Piers Morgan.
Fareed Zakaria, however-- not a fan:
The mini-letters to famous people at the end was probably the weirdest part, especially the aside to Michelle Obama complementing her on her new bangs.
And sadly/ironically, this whole incident will probably have a lot of LAPD officers high-fiving each other over all the overtime pay they'll be racking up while hunting Dorner down.
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