WHAT?! This is crazy!

Sorry, that's regarding the first story. Ridiculous.

(I'd also be surprised if either candidate picked a vp from the opposing party, but I wouldn't use caps to express it.)

Why is Libermen being labeled a Democrat these days? Why doesn't he do us all a favor and switch parties?

Because he still votes with the Dems all of the time? Look at the voting records on Senate.gov.

this is crazy, they are getting rid of stray cats, butting down on traffic, changing the toilettes, and controlling the weather because they want to be taken more seriously as a global power after these games, why would they do something this stupid?

The Associated Press has a story that quotes a local officials and two bar owners as saying the black ban isn't true - I hope it's not.
Pelosi might want to shut up - as one of the most powerful women in the U.S., she hasn't done anything to stop the Oil Men.

cutting down

The linked story from a Chinese website thinks that a Beijing government operative went out on his own on this one.

Is anyone else not even really paying attention to the Olympics? Doesn't China get a bajillion visitors already? Why are they being so nuts about this. They remind of my mom right before people come over, she gets all snippy because she's stressed about cleaning.

Regardless if it's organized or just a rogue agent, it's still scary. It's 2008, people!

Are you looking at his voting records when he was running for VP with Gore because I think he has been pretty tight with Republicans lately. I bet he is going to be talking at Republican convention a la Zell Miller.

Also, has anyone seen the documentry called China's Lost Children? I think China really has a lot on their plate as far as taking care of their own citizens. It was really depressing and its on HBO.

Actually, I just looked at the voting records for the past two months; he voted with the Democrats every time. (Admittedly, some of the votes were something like 80-10-10, but even on the ones that were most split, he voted with the Dems.

This is not based on something I think. It's all there on Senate.gov.

Wow, I cannot have coherent thoughts today.

I meant mostly split. (And I meant to close my parentheses!)

So then why is he supporting McCain for president if tends to vote with the Dems, I am just curious.

I can't really speak as to what Lieberman does. I know he believes in McCain as a candidate and I know the two have been friends for some time now, but I haven't really researched the reasoning behind his support.

Hasn't Obama been bashing Lieberman?

I mean, shoot, I meant the other way. Hasn't Lieberman been bashing Obama?

I think maybe his motivation is just to get more press for himself.

Actually, they have both been bashing each other.

I doubt that, but you're entitled to your opinion.

Was it Obama's motivation to get more press when he pulled Lieberman in to the corner on the floor of the Senate a month ago? It's not like this is all Lieberman.

I'm not trying to bag on Lieberman. I'm just saying, a lot of people know who he is because he left the party, but his voting record has remained with the dems.

Honestly, it's a smart move.

I see what you're saying. It is a smart move, I agree. And, even though he has been voting with the Dems, to me, he has always been more moderate. Anyway, I'm trying to finish my work, so I can go home! Citizen just keeps pulling me in!

Have a good weekend all!

Amen to that Steph.

I know Pelosi's not perfect, but I just really love her.

That goes for all politicians. They have soooo much to say and like to tell us what to do or should be done, but when you look at the big picture, they are just windbags who do absolutely nothing but spend OUR money. Both teams. We all need to clean house and vote in a bunch of moderates who truly want to help this country, not just protect their pocketbooks and their future careers in politics. Ugh, can you tell I am sick of it?

AMEN, GS!

Looks like the Olympic team will suck again, if no black players are participating. That's really lame of China.

But seriously I don't understand why color is such a big deal, it must hurts the athletes who were so excited to go but will be treated like second-class citizens.

Or maybe the black athletes will have the advantage since they're banned from the bars, no chance of hangover!

I hope that isn't true. I feel queasy just reading that.

Thank you Nancy Pelosi for being smart enough to see through the President's off shore and ANWR drilling BS. They have plenty of area they can drill for oil, that they don't even take advantage of. I absolutely agree, and have been saying for years, that the reason oil prices are so high has to do with the fact that our President and Vice President profit off of the oil industry.

I think the fact that Pelosi is in trouble with her constituents is the reason she is so desparate to deflect attention away from her at any cost. She might be the most powerful woman in congress, but she is definitely showing that she isn't the person who should be weilding that power.

I agree with Pelosi for calling them out, but I don't know if her plan will work either.

If we really want to place the blame on high oil prices, let's put them where they belong. That is with the EPA. We haven't built a new refinery in how many years because of permits. We have failed to keep the the flow equal to the demand. That didn't just suddenly happen. This began almost 20 years ago. We are feeling the effects of 3 failed presidencies (in this area).

Oh, here we go. Yeah, the agencies that protect us from radiation leaks are the problems. Let's let the corporations police themselves, they'll be sure not to cut corners.

There needs to be a balance between protecting the environment and increasing our ability to meet the demand. For too long it has been impossible to build anything (Refineries, nuclear power plants, roads, fences) because it "might" interfere with a small percentage of an animal species. They've kept us from being able to do the projects we need to continue to grow our economy.

When the pendulum swings to the protecting the environment side, let me know - I haven't seen that yet in my lifetime. Safety issues are a much greater factor in not building more nuclear power plants. And in the past 7+ years, the Bush Administration has done all it can to keep the EPA underfunded and useless.

I've seen way too much of it here. There are 3 major trucking terminals in Tomah. One (CFX, I think) wanted to expand their operations, and expand their Tomah facility by 200 feet, to allow for more trucks. The EPA denied their request, because the last 10 feet would infringe on a 20' swamp, which might have been the "only habitat for a turtle". CFX responded by moving their operation (and the jobs) to another town, costing many residents their livelihood. Trane in La Crosse has moved one of the largest facilities out of La Crosse (costing 1,000 jobs) because a N-S corridor could not be constructed because of the three acres of swamp land might be a "vital habitat for some creature". Neither had any proof that these reasons were valid, but that didn't concern the EPA.

That's two cases and there had to be some reason to believe the decision was valid or the companies wouldn't have changed their plans. The EPA doesn't just come in and say 'well, there might be a turtle living here' and the company moves - there's too much money at stake. The story is missing key details.
That said, about half the world's turtle species are in big trouble.

The companies changed their plan because the money involved in challenging the EPA's claims would have trippled the cost of construction.
The turtle population might be in trouble worldwide, but they are thriving in WI (ok in places in WI), but people are now hurting because their jobs were taken away, in the name of 10 acres of land that wasn't being used by anything but mosquitoes, and mosquitoes aren't endangered here.

Well, you have no way of knowing if land is being used by wildlife unless you are involved in indepth research on the area. The EPA has been made a laughing stock by Bush and his administration. I don't agree with the thought that, well we're humans, therefore we can destroy this land if we want, who cares if it is habitat to endagered wildlife. Humans have destroyed quite enough wildlife habitat for our own use.

Dave I tried looking up the case using the words from your post, but it wasn't enough I guess to pull up that situation. I'd love to know more.

I will look for more information for you stephley. No promises though.

Brandy - I can't speak for the land that was going to be used for the construction of the thoroughfare, but the "wetlands" to be used by the trucking company was less than 30x30 feet. It was near another trucking hub, and the only things growing in it were/are weeds, cattails, and mosquitoes. I've seen it.

The EPA has gotten smacked around so much by this administration, and I wonder if the net effect has been for them to try to crack down where they can or ease up to avoid further harassment.