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1. #101
   On August 16th, 2009 at 3:38 pm, jsmiddleton4 said:

   “kittens”

   Do you mean kitten recipes? That might be a bit much.

2. #102
   On August 16th, 2009 at 3:44 pm, Flyoverman said:

   Taking the public option out of the health care bill does not mean the battle is over. Funny how media is presenting it as IF its a good bill now.

   Yep, new blanket; same broken down 1.6 trillion dollar economy destroying horse.

3. #103
   On August 16th, 2009 at 3:50 pm, chapoutier said:

   I prefer to conduct myself in a way that keeps the most “open” in open. Euphoric talk is not a light matter to folks in recovery.

   “Euphoric” is a bit of an overstatement, hmmm?

   Most adults can handle adult conversation about their favorite adult beverage. And I would hope that most folks in recovery would see that, if they have an issue with such conversation, the problem lies with them and not others.

   In other words, don’t blame us because you fall off the wagon.

4. #104
   On August 16th, 2009 at 4:10 pm, CW4_KGP said:

   This REALLY causes me great distress. I can’t believe the Army would lie!!!

   From Military Corruption.com:

   PENTAGON COVER-UP CONTINUES IN RAPE MURDER OF FEMALE SOLDIER IN IRAQ – PFC LAVENA JOHNSON BEATEN UP, BITTEN, SHOT, LYE POURED INTO GENITALS, SET AFIRE – YET ARMY STICKS TO “OFFICIAL STORY” WOMAN WAS “DEPRESSED” COMMITTED “SUICIDE” – OBAMA COULD ORDER
   GATES TO DO REAL INVESTIGATION – WHY WON’T HE? – ASK HUSSEIN’S “GAY” SUPPORTERS WHO ARE STILL WAITING FOR HIM TO KEEP CAMPAIGN PROMISE ON “DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL”

   The silence has been deafening. No action has taken place, save the erection of a large “stone-wall” around the truth, since PFC Lavena Johnson, an African-American soldier from Missouri, was raped and killed in Iraq.

   Her horrible death – the autopsy photos would make the most hardened warrior weep – proves it was a despicable lie put out by the Army, that this cheerful, upbeat, beloved daughter from a close-knit religious family in America’s mid-west somehow inflicted these terrible injuries on herself.

   They would have you believe that this petite female, standing five feet high and weighing less than 100 pounds, could raise an M-16 to her head – the weapon is long enough to reach her shoulder – and, using her left hand (she is right-handed) pull the trigger.

   GRIEVOUS INJURIES NO ONE PERSON COULD INFLICT ON THEMSELVES

   But did that come “before” she poured caustic lye into her genitals (perhaps to hide traces of DNA?), or was it “after” she bit her body in places her mouth could not reach and then set herself on fire? Oh yes, we must remember, if we are to believe the Army’s “official story,” Lavena also broke both eye sockets, flattened her nose, busted her teeth backward into her mouth, and left her lips mangled and swollen.

   About as “typical” a female “suicide” as The D.C. Madam and her chief whore Brandy Britton, both found dead, swinging at the end of a rope. So far, part-time prostitute, retired Navy Lt. Cdr. Rebecca Dickinson, a onetime “ethics instructor” at the U.S. Naval Academy, is still alive. Of course, she knows how to keep her mouth shut about some of her big shot and high-ranking “customers.” That’s why she hasn’t been “suicided” yet.

   Johnson’s parents are not going away, but the “mainstream media,” who would ordinarily jump on such a “politically-correct” story as this – minority female raped and killed while Pentagon conducts cover-up while lying to family members, are largely AWOL. Why, you’d think this would be “headline” stuff. But the Pentagon press corps know better than to bite the hand that feeds them all those easy to re-write press releases. Mustn’t “rock the boat” too hard, or a phone call will be made to media bosses and careers could come to a screeching halt.

   THE FIRST COUPLE IN THE WHITE HOUSE HAVE “OTHER” PRIORITIES

   “First Lady” Michelle has already shown how quick she can be on the trigger. Thanks to her, a colonel at Pope AFB North Carolina; a member of the President’s Secret Service detail; two inspector generals; and Mrs. Obama’s own chief-of-staff have all been fired. They are the first, but they won’t be the last.

   One would wonder why Michelle would not feel “solidarity” with a “female of color” like Lavena. But, then again, the private’s parents are not big bucks contributors to the Democratic National Committee. PFC Johnson was a low-ranking enlisted person. They’re a dime-a -dozen. If she’d been a lieutenant colonel or colonel, now THAT would have been different. Especially for the media.

   They love to focus in on cases involving powerful people, or blonde, blue-eyed, wealthy white women whose mysterious deaths pump up the ratings at “sweeps time” and provide salacious headlines for the newspapers and magazines.

   Sadly, for Dr. John Johnson and his wife, their daughter’s death and the cover-up of her murder, don’t rate notice from the White House. It’s called “political capital.” Can’t be expending it on situations where the pay-back is not worth the effort. Ask the “gays,” who poured large contributions into Obama’s coffers. What do they have to show for their misguided support? Gates is an obedient water-boy, but this secretary of defense has a CIA background, and Obama knows what and where his priorities are. They don’t include Lavena Johnson.

   [EDITOR'S NOTE: For those of you who can't bring yourselves to believe our government and the pencil-pushers in the Pentagon would ever deign to deceive us, take a lesson from Dr. Johnson's ordeal with the powers-that-be. The Army, at first, refused to release his daughter's autopsy photos. Johnson, having some professional expertise in what wounds a suicide can actually inflict upon themselves, filed a FOIA and complained through his congressman.

   Still, the cover-up continues. The latest obscenity was six Army medical officers sent to convince Dr. and Mrs. Johnson that their beloved daughter "killed" herself. Let the Pentagon send a battalion of liars if they want, it doesn't change the fact that PFC Lavena Johnson was murdered, and her killer is still loose.]

5. #105
   On August 16th, 2009 at 5:17 pm, Pasadena Phil said:

   Why we should all be more leery of Republicans than Democrats.

   Have we forgotten that the GOP leadership that served as the architects of the last two catastrophes is still in control and working WITH the Dems against us?

6. #106
   On August 16th, 2009 at 5:36 pm, graysonret said:

   Three sourpuss Parks Department agents put the squeeze on a 10-year-old girl in Riverside Park yesterday, slapping the tyke with a $50 ticket for hawking lemonade without a permit.

   Clementine Lee, who lives just blocks from the Upper West Side park, had dreamed of opening a lemonade stand since last year and took advantage of yesterday’s beautiful weather to set up shop.

   “It was such a hot day I figured people would want a cold drink,” the aspiring juvenile juice mogul told The Post.

   Business was booming for Clementine and her photographer dad, Richard, 49, for the first 20 minutes at the stand on West 73rd Street and Riverside Drive.

   The father-daughter team was able to sell 10 glasses of the ice-cold drink for 50 cents each and the dozen chocolate chip cookies they baked.

   Not to change the subject, but stories like this, really irk me. I remember growing up where lemonade stands, run by kids, was quite common. Kids really enjoyed it, and made a couple of bucks. Those were the days when kids could have a paper route too, as well as little jobs in restaurants and such. A kid learned how to run a business, like a paper route, and budget their money. Today, kids can’t learn that. We have to “protect” them. It’s a darn shame that our society is this way. Anything to dumb-down them for adult life.

7. #107
   On August 16th, 2009 at 5:48 pm, jsmiddleton4 said:

   ““Euphoric” is a bit of an overstatement, hmmm?”

   Euphoric talk is not a statement about anything. It is the descriptor phrase associated with the kind of chatter you folks were participating in.

   “In other words, don’t blame us because you fall off the wagon.”

   Who is falling off the wagon and who blamed anyone for doing so?

   If you want to conduct yourself in a way that the substance of your discussion cuts people off, that’s your choice.

   Me, I’d rather carry on a dialog so that say someone like Glen Beck would like to chime in, he would feel safe in reading this thread and posting a comment.

   Seems like that openess and courtesy is less important to you chap than doing whatever and saying whatever you damn well please.

   So please dominate an open thread with endless posts about alcohol if you want. Doing so just limits the “open” in open.

8. #108
   On August 16th, 2009 at 5:55 pm, chapoutier said:

   If you want to conduct yourself in a way that the substance of your discussion cuts people off, that’s your choice.

   I am not cutting anyone off from anything. Believe it or not, there are actually multiple discussions going on AT THE VERY SAME TIME!!! Shocking, I know. But try to haul yourself off your pedestal and wrap your little mind around that concept.

   Me, I’d rather carry on a dialog so that say someone like Glen Beck would like to chime in, he would feel safe in reading this thread and posting a comment.

   I suppose you picture him as someone who, at the mention of beer, wraps himself in a blankey and cries himself to sleep? High opinion you have of him.

   Seems like that openess and courtesy is less important to you chap than doing whatever and saying whatever you damn well please.

   So you define “openness” as precluding topics of discussion and “courtesy” as telling people that certain topics of discussion, on a forum that you have as much right to dictate the terms of as a cockroach, are inappropriate.

   Gotcha.

   So please dominate an open thread with endless posts about alcohol if you want. Doing so just limits the “open” in open.

   Actually, what is dominating this thread at this point is everyone else telling you what a self-righteous jerk you are being. So maybe we would best to just be rid of you.

9. #109
   On August 16th, 2009 at 6:05 pm, MarcoPolo said:

   Michelle Malkin is on CSPAN2 right now.

10. #110
    On August 16th, 2009 at 6:21 pm, reshas1 said:

    No Bama rally in Grand Junction Colo..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ranWacynFPc

11. #111
    On August 16th, 2009 at 6:43 pm, Ignatius Reilly said:

    I enjoy alcohol…in various forms. I’ve chipped in the slight remark on the topic on this forum, on occasion. But I frankly find the dwelling on it, well, less than elevating.

    It reminds me of how I felt about Playboy Magazine forty years ago when I was a pup. Sure, I liked looking at the naked ladies. But what I ~really~ liked was the “playboy pads” and all the stereo gear and the whole vulgar, showy, consumerist lifestyle. Many late adolescent through college age readers reacted the same, I believe.

    This conversation reminds me of all of that. I wonder if everyone here understands that when James Bond insisted that his Martini be “shaken…not stirred” there was an element of mockery there of the very lifestyle of which he was such an exemplar.

    Long, long ago, I left behind what I think of as the sophomoric tendency to focus on these image things. A good drink can be good, but a lot of showy discussion on the topic does not, IMO, adorn anyone’s image. I realize that many people, far beyond the adolescent stage of life, continue to give more emphasize to these sorts of matters than seems sensible to me. And they may indeed have had the financial and career success that this sort of chatter implies. Okay…it’s not the worst thing in the world. But it grates on me just a bit — seems out of place in a forum like this as a continuing conversation — and, since the question of its appropriateness has come up, I just thought I’d say how I feel about. No offense, fellows.

12. #112
    On August 16th, 2009 at 6:54 pm, chapoutier said:

    But I frankly find the dwelling on it, well, less than elevating.

    By “dwelling on it”, you mean what? 10 or so posts between 4 or so people over the course of 70 or so total posts? Or at least that was what it was until jsmiddleton chimed in.

    This conversation reminds me of all of that. I wonder if everyone here understands that when James Bond insisted that his Martini be “shaken…not stirred” there was an element of mockery there of the very lifestyle of which he was such an exemplar.

    Do you think I, or anyone here is so clueless so as to think that the discussion between the virtues of a NZ vs. Chilean sauv blanc is really a matter of great importance to the state? Perhaps this is why we are poting it on an OPEN forum as opposed to the thread about the soldier who committed suicide.

    seems out of place in a forum like this as a continuing conversation

    You mean continuing OPEN conversation, right?

13. #113
    On August 16th, 2009 at 7:19 pm, Ignatius Reilly said:

    I hear you, chap, and acknowledge your post. Viewpoints can differ a bit. It is an open forum and everybody is entitled to chip in from whatever direction. It’s not going to ruin my day if someone feels the need to make another remark or two on mixology. I probably won’t feel the need to be further critical of it. Cheers.

14. #114
    On August 16th, 2009 at 7:25 pm, Ignatius Reilly said:

    btw, Sancerre is my favorite wine although, by volume, Trader Joe’s three buck chuck ($3 in the East) would seem to be my favorite.

15. #115
    On August 16th, 2009 at 7:48 pm, Pasadena Phil said:

    On August 16th, 2009 at 5:36 pm, graysonret said:

    Out here in LA, because of the armies of illegals out here, that is now called “Mexican work”. That is the price of surrendering to the siren’s song of “illegally cheap labor”. It is now considered “declasse” to be seen mowing your own yard work. It lowers neighborhood property values.

16. #116
    On August 16th, 2009 at 7:49 pm, Pasadena Phil said:

    Correction: It is now considered “declasse” to be seen mowing doing your own yard work. (sheesh)

17. #117
    On August 16th, 2009 at 8:25 pm, floridaobserver said:

    It’s good for our mental health that we can segue from deadly serious topics to lighthearted fare. For instance, my son returned from Iraq recently and now my youngest daughter is there. I read the post about the murder. In no way is the seriousness of the topic diminished by some banter. Believe me, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t have some comic relief now and then. What distinguishes “us” from “them” is our ability to laugh at ourselves and know what IS truly important in the scheme of things. My heart goes out to the family of that young woman.
    I worry about the actions of you-know-who causing more problems for our troops. What has HE done for the families of those who have perished since he became President? Has HE written personally to those families? The articles reporting those fallen heroes are published in the innards of the newspaper here where you can’t find it. Very upsetting.

    ….segue to…:
    In the Buzzworthy column…”Milk Carton Politicians” — PRICELESS!

18. #118
    On August 16th, 2009 at 8:39 pm, Pasadena Phil said:

    What!!!!!

    We have turned over border enforcement to the Mexican Army????

19. #119
    On August 16th, 2009 at 8:53 pm, CW4_KGP said:

    On THEIR side Phil.

    So you have to bribe someone new…..

20. #120
    On August 16th, 2009 at 8:59 pm, DougT said:

    Geez, I hate to bring it up at this point, but I did just return from Whole Foods. The entire purpose of the trip was to check out a store that I wouldn’t usually even bother with, except for the excellent op-ed by their CEO that I mentioned way back in comment #8 or so. I’m not a foodie nor an advocate of organic. In fact, I’m not the high-falutin’ type at all, but I will not purposely pour terrible tasting alcohol down my gullet (yeah, that means Corona). It isn’t worth the time or money. I hardly find that notion showy.

    Oddly enough in my search for a NZ sauvignon blanc, I also picked up a bottle of Sancerre. What are the odds, Ignatius? I did it out of curiosity, to compare and contrast. Not to get blitzed, nor to show off my knowledge of wine.

    Good lord, this has been nothing more than some open thread chatter on various spirits, like discussing music, movies, or travel. I took a few shots at chap and others about vodka, more in a sense of fraternal ribbing than any question of individual taste. I’m sure they took it that way.

    I agree floridaobserver. We can care and laugh. I’d like to say thank you to your children for their service.

    Open threads are a chance to relax and chat. Break some news, have a personal discussion, etc.

    Normally, they can be my favorite threads to read. Didn’t realize we’d be judging the content. I’ll keep my eye out for future violations. (I kid, I’m actually too nice to be a jerk…or so I believe.)

21. #121
    On August 16th, 2009 at 9:14 pm, rightisright said:

    On August 16th, 2009 at 6:21 pm, reshas1 said:

    thanks for the post, we can not quit now and never stop watching and being involved again. It is our country not the politicians…no matter what side of the aisle their on.

22. #122
    On August 16th, 2009 at 9:17 pm, Jeff2161 said:

    It has always been OUR country. Smoke and mirrors and circuses have blinded some.

23. #123
    On August 16th, 2009 at 9:18 pm, Jeff2161 said:

    Anyone want to engage in an Hegelian dialectic ?
    I always wanted to say that…LOL

24. #124
    On August 16th, 2009 at 9:20 pm, DougT said:

    Obama referred to the public option as one “sliver” of the Obamacare plans. That’s like saying that Social Security is just a teeny tiny part of government entitlement programs.

25. #125
    On August 16th, 2009 at 9:22 pm, DougT said:

    Man, I haven’t read Hegel since my days at Buchanan High back in Brooklyn. That comment brought back some memories, I think.

26. #126
    On August 16th, 2009 at 10:01 pm, Papa Louie said:

    Remember when Obama made the following campaign promise?

    “We need earmark reform, and when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure we are not spending money unwisely.”
    – Barack Obama, Sept. 2008

    Well, add this to the list of broken promises from Obama:

    According to an analysis by the Taxpayers for Common Sense and Center for Responsive Politics earmarks in 2009 spending bills total $19.9 billion. Earmarks in 2008 spending bills were worth $18.3 billion.

    The fact that earmarks in a non-election year have exceeded those made last year (an election year) does not bode well for the prospects of earmark reform.