Open Thread

13 Comments

1. 

   Kahli on February 6, 2007 at 2:21 pm

   Thanks, Booman.

   • 

     AP on February 6, 2007 at 2:23 pm

     Seriously, thank you.

2. 

   Arminius on February 6, 2007 at 2:36 pm

   That’s good to hear. Thanks.

3. 

   Real History Lisa on February 6, 2007 at 2:44 pm

   BooMan (I’ll try to remember to capitalize that properly from now on), you did the right thing, on both counts. I think you were right to show extraordinary compassion to a woman who had been through so much. But you were also right to ultimately put the good of the community over the protection of one individual.

   I wish those who left had had more compassion to understand where MT was coming from, and more faith and patience to give you the time to do what you ultimately did – the right thing.

   I am sorry to see people go, and very happy to see so many more choose to stay.

   And mostly, I’m happy that these meta posts are moving off the recommended list so we can get back to the real business at hand – trying to save lives and make the world a better place through progressive activism and the gathering of true knowledge.

4. 

   on February 6, 2007 at 3:50 pm

   Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) spends a lot of time roaming Wisconsin on his “listening sessions” and he says there’s one common refrain that he hears from even his most conservative constituents: They want America out of Iraq.

   “This attitude about what should be done in Iraq is a consensus — everywhere but in Washington,” said Feingold. “People don’t want us just to slow walk this, they don’t want us to just worry about the escalation, they want us to get out of Iraq.”

   The Wisconsin Democrat held a lengthy conference call with leading Progressive bloggers Monday night just an hour after Senate Republicans voted down any debate whatsoever on the bipartisan Warner-Levin resolution opposing George W. Bush’s escalation of the Iraq war. [snip]

   [W]hen it comes to the other side of the aisle, Feingold says that it’s time to take off the gloves and stop trying to extend bipartisanship on an issue as important as war when the Republicans are clearly not interested in doing the right thing.

   “When the other side is in their turtle shell and in denial and doing something that nobody believes in, this escalation, the answer isn’t to try to have some kind of a half-baked, middle-of-the-road approach and get everybody on board. The answer is to firmly stand with the American people,” said Feingold. “It’s time to play hardball on this issue. And that means that we should, as the majority party in the Senate and the House, say ‘look, we are going to take the lead to try to end this war and we’re going to tie this place up as long as it takes.'”

   Feingold: “It’s Time To Play Hardball” On Iraq War

   • 

     Real History Lisa on February 6, 2007 at 4:18 pm

     God I love Feingold!!!

5. 

   BooMan on February 6, 2007 at 4:51 pm

   Comment of the day, to Joe Klein:

   Posted by Jim
   February 5, 2007

   Joe, maybe you get attacked from the left and the right not because you’re a noble proponent of a new and visionary kind of politics, but because you’re one of the great stamping, snorting horde of Beltway CW wildebeest who stampede along in whatever direction alpha bull wildebeest Tim Russert tells you to? When you take every position you hear spouted on NBC, you’re going to get called on a lot of those positions, especially when they contradict each other.

   This at once whining and self-aggrandizing post (I was sitting in John Kerry’s office and the Senator asked ME for MY approval of his speech but I told the Senator it wasn’t a bad speech but it isn’t how I would have voted…. I wonder if John Kerry remembers it that way?) isn’t really persuasive.

   Congratulations on finally acknowleding that the position you took was stupid. Too bad your arguments that it wasn’t really your position aren’t quite so convincing.

   Plus, Klein’s wrong about that one time blunder thing.

   • 

     esquimaux on February 6, 2007 at 7:09 pm

     go see what Arianna had to say to Joe, it’s a GREAT beatdown.

6. 

   Real History Lisa on February 6, 2007 at 5:44 pm

   From the AP today:

   CIA officers operating in northern Iraq bought drinking water from a bottling plant there for years prior to the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

   That changed soon afterward. A CIA officer handling logistics for the Middle East and other regions recommended that an American company provide water and other supplies, according to former government officials.

   The U.S. contractor that benefited from the multimillion-dollar deal wasn’t just anyone. The company had personal ties to the officer, Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, who would soon leave his logistics post in Frankfurt, Germany, and move to Washington to become the CIA’s third-ranking official.

   In at least one written communication, a Baghdad CIA officer complained about the no-bid contract. According to one official, the officer believed the deal was simply unnecessary because safe water was available commercially but he was ignored.

   The water contract, while small on the scale of the billions that flowed into Iraq, raises questions about why U.S. taxpayer dollars went to well-connected businessmen rather than Iraqis who could have benefited from a share of postwar reconstruction business.

   More at the link above.

7. 

   Man Eegee on February 6, 2007 at 6:39 pm

   I wrote something similar to this to you in an email, but will reiterate it here since it seems appropriate.

   I’ve been a member of your site since day one, but if I started crossing the lines of decency, I fully expect you to call me on it and give me a time out or banned, if necessary.  The rules should apply to everyone regardless of friendships or alliances.  

   What has caused the biggest irritation lately, now that I’ve gone back and read the entire trainwreck, is that the rules were not applied equally, imo.  I say rules because the “Don’t be a prick” thing is actually a small part of a longer litany, which can be found below:

   Post Script: Today I have had to try to arbitrate my first dispute here at BooTrib and it wasn’t a process I particularly enjoyed. But it comes with the job.

   And I just want to disseminate a new rule based on my semi-collected thoughts:

   Not everyone is as smart as you. Not everyone one is as well informed as you. Not everyone writes as well as you.

   And I don’t care how dumb, ignorant, and illiterate you are, there is someone, somewhere who is more so.

   So, when it comes to having disagreements and debates and discussions…this is the rule:

   Don’t be a prick.

   Don’t act in a way that would get you punched in the face or thrown out of a dinner party. Don’t treat other people with disrespect even if you think they are stupid and ill-informed.

   Don’t mock someone because they have trouble expressing themselves.

   Don’t be a prick.

   That’s the rule.

   As someone who has met a decent amount of folks from this site in real life, and consider many of them kindred spirits, I know how hard it can be to publicly put that bond on the line by calling out the obvious.  But it must be done if the situation warrants it.  And it has.

   On the meta side, I have no interest in being a part of a council nor the creation of one, but do think there needs to be an in-between timeout option to cut off comments in case a bar fight does erupt.  24/48 hours perhaps?  

   Anywho, what a mess.  It appears that we are all going to have to take a deep breath and decide what part we’ll play in moving forward.  I wish you well on your deliberations from the committee suggestions over the weekend.  They came from people who obviously care about this place.  I do too, the FSM save me.

8. 

   sbj on February 6, 2007 at 8:13 pm

   I’ve never been one who embraced a rigid adherence to “rules”, and this is especially true when where transgression of said rules is determined primarily by the opinion of those claiming to be aggrieved.

   Similarly, presuming we are all adults here with at least a meaningful level of emotional fortitude, the argument that, for the good of our “community”, need protection from the words of a solitary individual strikes me as quite pathetic.

   In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve never met MT, I’ve never had a private conversation with her, but at a timewhen I thought I was very near death, (and it turned out I actually was near death again), I read her moving story of the titanium rib and was so inspired that I credit her with being of significant help in strengthening my psyche in a way that helped me survive.

   So I will always be biased towards embracing her, whether she rants and is mean to me or not.

   • 

     Second Nature on February 6, 2007 at 8:24 pm

     And she wanted me to tell you thanks and she’s okay.

     • 

       sbj on February 6, 2007 at 8:35 pm

       Thank you very much for telling me this SN. It means a great deal to me, and I’m really happy to learn she’s doing OK.

       I’m going to put up an email address for myself on my member page here for a couple of days. If MT (or you) have the urge to communicate directly please don’t hesitate to do so.

       Stephen