In Mike's defense, my Argentine sister-in-law is very quick to point out that she doesn't speak Spanish, she speaks Castellano and that while they are mutually intelligible, they are not the same.

They didn't impeach him over a blow job, they said they were impeaching him because he committed perjury in lying about said blow job under oath, but the actual reason that they impeached him was because they thought they could.

Two years ago, when the Dems first regained Congress, I wanted to give bipartisanship a try. How'd that work out for me? Not so well.

I agree, it's time to govern, no matter how badly the Republicans would prefer inaction.

I'm going to buy some stock in ALCOA because tin-foil chapeaux seem to be all the rage in Republican circles this season.

Well, that little rant certainly convinced me of the error of my ways.

As Nathan so breathlessly asks in the title of his post:

"But WHY won't Hawaii release the long-form birth certificate?"

There can only be one answer: Because they don't have to.

Now perhaps you can explain to us the relevance of Obama's middle name? His father's name is already on the form that the state provided and I doubt that any state records religion on a birth certificate, it's not exactly a constant.

For the record, I am with Nathan Coker. I believe Obama was born in Hawaii but I find it very suspicious that the vault BC has not been released, along with college transcripts, etc. You may choose to take the president's word at face value, but for me, it makes me wonder.

Find it as suspicious as you like. If you have a thesis that contradicts their story, it's up to you to prove your case, not them to indulge your idle curiosity.

Are those the ones in Pampers or the ones in Huggies? I hate to admit it, but I can't tell.

Laffer said:

If you like the Post Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles and you think they're run well, just wait till you see Medicare, Medicaid and health care done by the government.

I think he knew just what he was doing. The quote was intended to give the rubes the impression that the government was going to take over Medicare and Medicaid, thereby increasing their bureaucratic nature. But when pushed on it, he'll be able to say that he knows that those programs are government programs, he was just saying that when the masses of people get acquainted with them they'll be shocked at the hoops that "government bureaucrats" make them jump through to get care.

My understanding is that Mitch McConnell got the NRA to oppose her as a favor. Click my handle for a link.

As you write:

The birthers also place an extraordinary focus on the slightest details in the legitimate documents that deviate microscopically from their expectation of perfection, seeing in those deviations what they call clear evidence of intentional conspiracy and cover-up.

The fun part is that if the BC was absolutely perfect down to the most minute detail, they would have claimed that it was too good, so therefore could not possibly be genuine.

The fun thing about conspiracy theories is that any evidence that would tend to discredit the theory is just evidence of how widespread the conspiracy is. They just can't lose.

" ... If more of our fellow Americans had joined us we could have prevailed."

And if my uncle had wheels, he'd be a fire truck.

I have lost all hope for America. I am getting out.

Wot - you still here?

From Palin's "Farewell Address":

"You represent what could and should be a respected and honest profession, that could and should be a cornerstone of our democracy," she said. "Democracy depends on you, and that is why our troops are willing to die for you. So how about in honor of the American soldier you quit making things up?"

Sarah, sweetie, you need to stand in front of the mirror and repeat this a few times.

It's amusing to see a Republican complaining that Glenn Beck is "trading on fear". Wasn't "Be Afraid" the Republican mantra during the Bush years?

Be afraid of the Terrorists

Be afraid of Islam

Be afraid of Gay people

Be afraid of dark people

Be afraid of the Mexicans who want to take your jobs

Be afraid of Democrats - as they'll expose you to all of the above

Well, fear sells with the rubes and now it's come back to bite them in the ass. Couldn't happen to a nicer group of people.

I will have to say, you're an absolutely fascinating melange of skepticism and credulity.

You're unwilling to believe the state of Hawaii on where Obama was born, the collapse of the World Trade Towers was engineered by some deep dark cabal, but let someone whom you are sympathetic with cry "Whiplash" and you're gulled.

I'll take your first post at face value.

In the unlikely event that the public option costs more than private insurance, I suspect that people who can't get private insurance at all might still be willing to look at the public.

Like NP NP has already mentioned, I have to buy my own insurance, so I know just what I get and just what it costs. If a public option offers better value, I'll definitely consider switching.

The converse situation has been addressed.

IOKIYAR

... Cheney "felt Bush was moving away from him ... [that] Bush was shackled by the public reaction and the criticism he took."

I don't think that Dick ever really twigged to the fact that there's a difference between governing and ruling and that in a democracy one governs.