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New Year's Eve Open Thread

Happy New Year to all.

How are you celebrating the new year? Predictions? Personal resolutions? Hopes? How about a good riddance list?

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    Unemployment (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by roy on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 05:31:23 PM EST
    But in a good way.  I quit to decompress and "focus" on looking for work up in Oregon, home to many of the few remaining gas jockeys in the US.  

    I'm almost halfway finished writing my resumé, so at this rate I may be up there before Texas heats up for the summer.

    Good luck and happy new year! (none / 0) (#21)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 09:45:30 AM EST
    It's my wedding anniversary (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Dadler on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 05:50:30 PM EST
    Ten years and she hasn't gotten sick of my act yet!

    Peace to all this new one, folks.

    Happy Happy! (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by Sailor on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 08:32:38 PM EST
    Happy New Year to TL & Co.
    Happy Anniversary to you & Mrs Dadler!

    Parent
    Happy new year! (none / 0) (#22)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 09:46:23 AM EST
    Happy New Year (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Kewalo on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 07:50:06 PM EST
    I'll watch the ball fall in NYC thanks to webcam and have a quiet evening. I wish the best to everyone here at TL.

    Our most expendable commodity (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Aaron on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 07:50:44 PM EST
    Gruesome Act: Skeletons of 17 children found

    Police outside New Delhi ignored reports of missing children ages 3-11, as a wealthy businessman and his servant preyed upon them, sexually abusing, raping and then murdering these kids.

    38 children missing.  Possible connection to the underground market for kidneys.

    Yet another example of how the wealthy and powerful can prey upon children while authorities ignore or are paid off to look the other way, because these are the children of poor migrant workers, the children of the powerless.  This happens all around the world every day, and when these acts are finally uncovered, local officials refer to them as "unfortunate."

    Yet another example of how the most vulnerable human beings, our babies, are treated as nothing more than an expendable commodity.  

    Here's hoping for peace (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by Al on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 08:28:50 PM EST
    Always. Have a rocking 2007, y'all.

    A few things that... (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by Edger on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 01:45:38 AM EST
    ...could make for a Happy New Year:

    Progressive women outnumber 'blue dog' Dems

    Denise Baer, president of Strategic Research Concepts, a political consulting firm in Bethesda, Md., said that the Blue Dog Coalition's numbers don't compare to the strength of the progressive or women's caucuses.

    "We heard a lot about the Blue Dog Democrats being the largest caucus in the House of Representatives," Baer said at a post-election news conference. "The Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues is really going to be the largest caucus . . . So women are going to be leaders."
    ...
    Two women-California Democrats Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey-currently chair the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and both are seeking re-election to lead the caucus in the 110th Congress. If they win, they will hold sway over the largest ideological voting blocs in the House of Representatives.


    Most Valuable Progressives of 2006
    Barbara Lee and her co-chair and fellow California Democrat, Lynn Woolsey, renewed the Congressional Progressive Caucus by hiring an able full-time staffer, staking out a clear set of stances that defined the left wing of the possible, holding forums and hearings on the Iraq War and developing strategies for aiding progressive contenders in House races around the country. The approach paid off. The Progressive Caucus will be the largest ideological grouping in the new Democratic House, and it has the ear - if not always the full agreement - of incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Progressive Caucus members - such as John Conyers, Charlie Rangel, George Miller and Henry Waxman -- and their allies are moving into key committee chairmanships. (Bet on Waxman, who will guide the House Government Reform Committee's investigations of Bush to be a contender for MVP next year.)
    Rep. Waxman: 'The Scariest Guy in Town'
    Waxman, dubbed "the Eliot Ness of the Democrats" by Nation magazine, aims to go after the Republican administration with zeal over the coming two years.

    "The most difficult thing will be to pick and choose" what to investigate, Waxman told reporters after the November elections.

    "He's got a very long list," said Norman Ornstein, a congressional analyst with the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank. "I'm sure he's going back to the contracting mess (in Iran and Afghanistan and post-Katrina), Halliburton and others. And not just contractors."

    Waxman will also be examining the role of the federal government, from the Defense Department to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and grilling the officials who greased the deals with contractors, Ornstein predicted.

    "Henry is not afraid to go after anyone," said Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., his predecessor as chairman of the committee with the widest investigative mandate in the House. "He's going to be very aggressive."
    ...
    "Does Henry have strong liberal views? Yes. Can he be a tough-as-nails partisan? Absolutely," said Ornstein.

    Lugar: If Bush Doesn't Consult Congress On Iraq It Could "Get Ugly"...
    In the past the administration has been inclined, not to disregard Congress, but not to take Congress very seriously. I think this time Congress has to be taken seriously, there's been an election, Republicans lost the election. There's going to be a change in leadership on my committee, and likewise on the House side. What I would advise, would be maybe a retreat, it could be right here in Washington, but for several hours, in which the Foreign Relations Committee, just to take our group, really studies, what is the President's plan?
    ...
    WALLACE: You're saying this could get ugly.

    LUGAR: Yes, it could. And it need not.





    Liberals (none / 0) (#15)
    by Edger on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 01:47:51 AM EST
    (Liberal Democrats/Seculars/60's Democrats):
    This group has nearly doubled in proportion since 1999. Liberal Democrats now comprise the largest share of Democrats. They are the most opposed to an assertive foreign policy, the most secular, and take the most liberal views on social issues such as homosexuality, abortion, and censorship. They differ from other Democratic groups in that they are strongly pro-environment and pro-immigration.


    Parent
    Yes!!! (none / 0) (#36)
    by aw on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 10:40:01 PM EST
    women are going to be leaders


    Parent
    And we'll probably all be much better off... (none / 0) (#40)
    by Edger on Tue Jan 02, 2007 at 03:38:44 PM EST
    "...if there is a God, it has to be a man. No woman could or would ever fu*k things up like this."
    --George Carlin

    Parent
    Happy New Year... (5.00 / 2) (#26)
    by Bill Arnett on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 01:02:27 PM EST
    ...to all our troops and their precious families, both and all victims of this illegal war. The true hearts of this country bleed with you and the wounds are deep, as we all pray to the Lord that your souls He keep.

    Many, many of us are with you night and day and some of us don't eat, play, or sleep the same knowing you're out in harm's way, praying that it will soon be over and there will be a return to peace and America can once again play.

    And I even wish a Happy New Year to the Washington men of empty suits and even emptier souls and pray they grow enough to restore some semblance of men that are whole, that they recognize this turning point in history and come to understand their role.

    And that is to abandon the concept of eternal and preemptive war and the insanity they are inflicting with their phony war on terror. And if they fail at this most important task I'll pray that we boot them out of office and if it is, "why?" that they ask,

    We'll tell them it is plain that the American citizenry themselves wish to be free to pursue a life of freedom, not by decree of would-be royalty, but because it was the foundational principle
    of this land of the brave and the home of the free.

    And meantime for many of us as our hearts still bleed, knowing that evil men sent you to perform evil deeds and that they care not how many of you die and they will ignore your families pleas to end this all before it becomes a permanent disease.

    Spreading neocon evil throughout society and metastasizing as a cancer on our democracy, weakening our will and the moral authority that once was associated with an America that is now being brought to its knees.

    God bless you all. And let's pray that better heads come to prevail so we can bring you home with cheers and hail your bravery, devotion to family, duty, and country you exemplify so well.

    Happy New Year to all our soldier, sailors, airmen, and marines and the families I know that miss you all.

    Well said, Bill.... (none / 0) (#27)
    by Edger on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 01:32:20 PM EST
    Happy New Year to you and yours.

    Let's hope that the world will shrug these "empty suits" off this year... or as fast as possible before the harm they do reaches an irreparable level.

    If it hasn't already.....

    Parent

    Happy New Year to you & family, Edger... (none / 0) (#29)
    by Bill Arnett on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 02:26:04 PM EST
    let's pray for all our sakes that this will year will ultimately turn into a year of peace...

    Parent
    I'll (none / 0) (#1)
    by aw on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 05:20:19 PM EST
    be going to a party of old friends and family.  I'm bringing a rice krispies tree I made.

    I have to get away from the computer and get more exercise in 2007.  I walked all over the city yesterday and felt like I was broken when I got home.

    Oh, (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by aw on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 05:25:10 PM EST
    and Happy New Year everyone.  And Peace, if it's not too much to hope for.

    Parent
    exercise (none / 0) (#17)
    by chris in sacto on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 04:22:09 AM EST
    Go to IKEA & get an electric desk. Stand, don't sit.  The next time you need to walk for hours you'll be none worse for the wear.  

    Parent
    Happy New Year! (none / 0) (#4)
    by Molly Bloom on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 05:38:39 PM EST
    Happy New Year and for those who are interested you can [www.dead.net/cpstream stream] the entire performance of the Grateful Dead's LIVE AT THE COW PALACE, NEW YEAR'S EVE, 1976 for free courtesy of the  [Grateful Dead www.dead.net] from 12:01 AM PST on December 31 to 11:59 PM PST on January 1, 2007. Enjoy. I know  I am.



    Happy New Year! (none / 0) (#5)
    by Molly Bloom on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 05:44:53 PM EST
    Happy New Year and for those who are interested you can stream the entire performance of the Grateful Dead's LIVE AT THE COW PALACE, NEW YEAR'S EVE, 1976 for free courtesy of the Grateful Dead from 12:01 AM PST on December 31 to 11:59 PM PST on January 1, 2007. Enjoy. I know  I am.

    (my apologies for the html foulup before).



    Happy New Year to all (none / 0) (#11)
    by Che's Lounge on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 08:56:13 PM EST


    Happy new year (none / 0) (#23)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 09:47:17 AM EST
    Happy New Year (none / 0) (#12)
    by glanton on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 10:29:58 PM EST
    To everyone, I am grateful for this community of voices.  

    For those who are going out tonight, please drive carefully.  And, remember the virtues of getting a taxi if you're imbibing.

    Happy new year (none / 0) (#24)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 09:47:34 AM EST
    Happy New Year (none / 0) (#13)
    by pax on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 11:05:19 PM EST
    I'm thankful for all the progressive blogs that have made such a difference in 2006.

    May we see our troops come home in 2007.  We will have to be relentless in exerting pressure to bring that fruition.  But is my hope that we all celebrating their return next year at this time.

    Happy New Year (none / 0) (#16)
    by BigTex on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 04:11:52 AM EST
    Wishing you all the best for 2007.

    2007... (none / 0) (#18)
    by kdog on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 08:16:56 AM EST
    is off to a great start, the Jets are in the playoffs. Rang in the new year at the game and then hurried home before the police and troopers got too heavy on the roads.  I'd like to thank New Jersey for allowing sports fans to tailgate and have a good time, New York does not extend the same freedom.  

    Happy New Year everybody!

    New Years Resolution?  Nah, just make it through the year happy, healthy, and free.  I wish the same for all of you.

    Happy New Year (none / 0) (#19)
    by john horse on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 08:56:33 AM EST
    Happy New Year.

    Can't say it better than Ray Davies (the Kinks).

    "Here's wishing you the bluest sky,
    And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
    Hoping all the verses rhyme,
    And the very best of choruses to
    Follow all the doubt and sadness.
    I know that better things are on the way.

    Here's hoping all the days ahead
    Won't be as bitter as the ones behind you.
    Be an optimist instead,
    And somehow happiness will find you.
    Forget what happened yesterday,
    I know that better things are on the way.

    It's really good to see you rocking out
    And having fun,
    Living like you just begun.
    Accept your life and what it brings.
    I hope tomorrow you'll find better things.
    I know tomorrow you'll find better things.

    Here's wishing you the bluest sky,
    And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
    Hoping all the verses rhyme,
    And the very best of choruses to
    Follow all the drudge and sadness.
    I know that better things are on the way.

    I know you've got a lot of good things happening up ahead.
    The past is gone it's all been said.
    So here's to what the future brings,
    I know tomorrow you'll find better things.
    I know tomorrow you'll find better things."

    Here's one for George Boosh... ;>) (none / 0) (#20)
    by Edger on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 09:27:56 AM EST
    Happy New year! (none / 0) (#25)
    by plumberboy on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 10:00:26 AM EST
    I would just like happy new year to everbody!

    A peaceful... (none / 0) (#28)
    by desertswine on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 01:41:04 PM EST
    and introspective New Year to all.

    US Deaths Surpass 3,000.

    Here is a (none / 0) (#30)
    by Che's Lounge on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 04:35:54 PM EST
    great article by John Burns and Marc Santora in the NYT via C&L.

    The NYT article is a (none / 0) (#31)
    by Edger on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 05:46:39 PM EST
    C.Y.A. job for Bush:
    You must admit this is rich: Bush officials - creators of the special "military tribunals" for their special, made-up category of "enemy combatants" who can be jailed indefinitely without trial or charges or even killed, all at the arbitrary order of the omnipotent president - fretting over "due process" for Saddam Hussein. American citizens are no longer guaranteed due process - which is now solely in the Decider's gift - but we are to believe that Saddam's rights were uppermost in occupier's mind before his execution.

    Well, who knows? Maybe this is one of the true bits of the story. It may well be that Bush was more concerned with Saddam's legal niceties than those of his own citizens; after all, he and Saddam have much more in common than Bush does with the overwhelming majority of Americans. They love power, love torture, love blood to be spilled at their command, see themselves as world-historical figures, great warriors inspired by God, etc.



    Parent
    Edger (none / 0) (#33)
    by Che's Lounge on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 09:21:37 PM EST
    That's how I saw it also. He wasn't even tried in an Iraqi court. It was a tribunal. We basically said "Here take him", and then disposed of the body for them when they were done.

    They (bushco)... (none / 0) (#34)
    by Edger on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 09:28:38 PM EST
    ...buried the evidence, that's all. At least we know where the body is buried, but 'dead men tell no tales?"

    Parent
    Mob family with global reach (none / 0) (#35)
    by Edger on Mon Jan 01, 2007 at 09:40:28 PM EST
    Bush Silences a Dangerous Witness
    Hussein now won't be around to give troublesome testimony about how he obtained the chemical and biological agents that his scientists used to produce the unconventional weapons that were deployed against Iranian forces and Iraqi civilians. He can't give his perspective on who got the money and who facilitated the deals.

    Nor will Hussein be available to give his account of the mixed messages delivered by George H.W. Bush's ambassador April Glaspie before Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Was there another American "green light" or did Hussein just hear what he wanted to hear?

    Like the climactic scene from the Mafia movie "Casino" in which nervous Mob bosses eliminate everyone who knows too much, George W. Bush has now guaranteed that there will be no public tribunal where Hussein gives testimony on these potentially devastating historical scandals, which could threaten the Bush Family legacy.



    Parent
    Actually Edger (1.00 / 2) (#38)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jan 02, 2007 at 07:04:50 AM EST
    we have a bit of iformation about Iraq and CW's during the war. From  the National Security Archive.

    The current Bush administration discusses Iraq in starkly moralistic terms to further its goal of persuading a skeptical world that a preemptive and premeditated attack on Iraq could and should be supported as a "just war." The documents included in this briefing book reflect the realpolitik that determined this country's policies during the years when Iraq was actually employing chemical weapons. Actual rather than rhetorical opposition to such use was evidently not perceived to serve U.S. interests; instead, the Reagan administration did not deviate from its determination that Iraq was to serve as the instrument to prevent an Iranian victory.

    There is no proof in the report that the US provided CW weapons to Iraq. There is no doubt the US thought that having Iraq act as an instrument to blunt Iran's plan to achieve control of ME was the right strategt.

    One of the more interesting points in the conclusion is:

    the current Bush administration discusses Iraq in starkly moralistic terms

    So the Left condemns the US for using "real poltik" then and "moralistic" behavior now.

    It appears that the Left is uninterestd in doing anything but criticizing the US, no matter what.

    Parent

    Semantics and (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by Edger on Tue Jan 02, 2007 at 07:39:06 AM EST
    The Ties That Blind

    Oh, and you might read the Archive article you selectively quoted from a little more thoroughly, Jim.

    It will help you to see a little more clearly.

    Parent

    taunts evoke ugly past (none / 0) (#37)
    by Edger on Tue Jan 02, 2007 at 04:48:29 AM EST
    Under Saddam Hussein, prisoners were regularly taunted and mistreated in their last hours. For many of them, death must have come as a relief.

    But the most disturbing thing about the new video of Saddam's execution for crimes precisely like this, is that it is all much too reminiscent of what used to happen here.

    It is going to be increasingly difficult for the government of Nouri Maliki to convince Sunni Arabs here that Saddam's execution was not merely an act of retaliation.



    Huh? (1.00 / 2) (#42)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jan 02, 2007 at 06:52:51 PM EST
    Under Saddam Hussein, prisoners were regularly taunted and mistreated in their last hours. For many of them, death must have come as a relief.

    Kill me but don't taunt me?

    Huh???

    Parent

    Radical Leftist journalist contradicts Jim (none / 0) (#41)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 02, 2007 at 04:29:23 PM EST
    William Safire: "Iraqgate is uniquely horrendous: a scandal about the systematic abuse of power by misguided leaders of three democratic nations (the U.S, Britain and Italy), to secretly finance the arms buildup of a dictator."

    jondee (1.00 / 2) (#43)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jan 02, 2007 at 06:54:48 PM EST
    I would tell William S that opinions are like noses.

    Everyone has one.

    And based on what I have read from him, his not especially erudite.

    Parent

    Not especially (none / 0) (#44)
    by jondee on Wed Jan 03, 2007 at 12:48:44 PM EST
    If he's not especially erudite, that's probobly why your favorite (non-erudite) Prez just awarded him the Medal of Freedom.

    bush has so denigrated the value, meaning,... (none / 0) (#45)
    by Bill Arnett on Wed Jan 03, 2007 at 03:51:44 PM EST
    ...and solemnity of the Medal of Freedom that I have asked Barbara Boxer (My Senator, thank goodness) to consider introducing a new award to replace this one, which no longer goes to the best or most deserving, but to political cronies and as a reward for supporting the illegalities of the bush maladministration.

    All past recipients EXCEPT for those of bush should be given this new award, posthumously if need be, so that truly meritorious persons would again be able to take pride in their country's recognition.

    Under bush watch, the Medal of Freedom may as well be retitled the "Medal for Keeping Your Mouth Shut Regarding What I've Done That I Don't Want Anyone to Find Out About" or maybe just "Omerta".