I hate to nitpick about this, but please, please, can people begin to say "thriven" and "throve"? Why is this so hard? I know there are a lot of far more important things to be up in arms about, but it just bugs the hell out of me.

Posted at June 18, 2008 5:06 PM in response to That List Of "Democrats And Indys" Backing McCain? It's A Bit Of A Sham.

John Edwards.
I think poverty is the worst stain on our country right now. I know there are good arguments that Iraq or other things are worse, but to me, poverty in this country is the one thing we should be most ashamed of.
People--many of them children--in the richest country the world has ever seen go hungry or sleep out on the street every night. People freeze to death for lack of money to heat their homes; they die from easily treated sicknesses because they can't afford to see a doctor or buy medicine.
Edwards has made this his cause, and I would love to see him take the vice presidency and use it to do for poverty what Gore did with the environment. He could zero in on poverty and not have to get sidetracked by all the other responsibilities a president has to handle.
He has plans to cut poverty in half in 10 years (I believe that's right; I could have the number of years wrong or something), and with the bully pulpit of the vice presidency--it's admittedly, less bully than the top job, but it also has, as I said, fewer distractions--I think he could help us make amazing strides toward wiping out poverty.
Maybe he could even get Americans thinking about poverty in other countries and getting us going on doing something about that, too...

Posted at May 28, 2008 3:38 PM in response to Veepstakes Open Thread

Good God, what a scum.
As a rule, I have a hard time believeing people can be evil. Yes, people can do evil things, but that doesn't mean they themselves are evil.
But this guy sure makes me wonder if I might be utterly wrong about that.
What a scum.

Posted at April 21, 2008 3:16 PM in response to Schaffer: What Forced Abortions? I Didn't See Any Forced Abortions

What's Rendell's problem, anyway?
I grew up in Pennsylvania, and I was in college in Philadelphia while he was the mayor there; he seemed like he did a pretty good job, but then after he left, it seems like he lost control of his mouth. He shot Al Gore's legs out from under him in the 2000 recount; now this. And there have been other impolitic things he's blurted out in b etween, though I can't think of any offhand.
I'll be glad when he's out of office and--I hope--out of politics altogether.

Posted at February 12, 2008 1:35 PM in response to Top Hillary Supporter: Some Whites In Pennsylvania "Are Not Ready" To Support Black Candidate