Weekend Open Discussion Part Two!

Looking for some suggestions about what you would like to see more of in the new year. What content do you like? What do you dislike? What do you want to see more of?

Also, we’re running an experiment this weekend and trying out threaded comments (as requested by a number of users). Let me know what you think. Easier? Or more confusing?

Using threading is easy, if you are responding to another comment, simply click the “Reply” button on that comment. It will post your reply immediately under that comment, instead of at the bottom of the thread.

Threading is no fun, carry on.

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288 Responses to Weekend Open Discussion Part Two!

  1. JBJB says:

    First! Like the new look.

  2. grim says:

    Thanks, still need to fix the images and colors, though. I’d like to keep the same color scheme as before. I’ll get to it later today or tomorrow morning.

  3. sas says:

    i don’t get it? how is this suppose to be better?
    looks the same to me.

    SAS

  4. Essex says:

    I can reply to your thread sas….see? Not just endless one off posts.

  5. sas says:

    “how about that photo album invite????? me and sean would love to take you up on it”

    sure bloke. let me talk to Juanita about it beforehand.
    She is in FL for the week. Then we will work something out, either at the townhouse or somewhere else.

    SAS

  6. kettle1 says:

    great!

    just let me know what disguise to wear and what the challenge/password is!

    joking :)

  7. sas says:

    ” Not just endless one off posts”

    but, watching the one off posts is what is neat about this page, i like to see everyones posts, it sparks debates & is what makes the dislogue flow.

    right?

    so you telling me, i may not be able to see everyones posts, unless i click on that little gizzy, then it drops down comments?

    SAS

  8. Essex says:

    Well…It is not really a big deal to me…cause…I am a nihilist.

  9. sas says:

    “just let me know what disguise to wear and what the challenge/password is”

    ha good one.
    i just have to talk Juanita before strangers from the net come over and get permission.

    thats all, we will work it out.

    Right now, i got a bad hanger over.
    While most of you blokes were home sleeping with your little blankets, i was painting the town red, drinking, and even hit the dance floor.
    (although i dance like a robot that just lost its battery charge)
    ha!
    but, i still got it : P

    i just need a big breakfast.
    SAS

  10. sas says:

    “Looking for some suggestions about what you would like to see more of in the new year. What content do you like? What do you dislike? What do you want to see more of?”

    i would like to see more stats about this web page. i.e traffic numbers,

    also, i see some blogs, that has a section list off the side, and its list geographical locations (city, state) of like the most recent visitors.

    i always find stuff like that interesting.

    SAS

  11. JBJB says:

    Grim

    A few quick thoughts:

    It would be nice to have some area dedicated to discussing specific areas – say a NW Bergen forum or a NE Monmouth forum for example. A place to discuss local real estate, towns, schools, and related issues.

    I generally find the content excellent. The monthly NJ sales data posts are a must read for me. I especially like anecdotals – reports from the street, buying/selling experiences, discussions w/ realtors, etc. The threads can sometimes get lost in macroeconomics, finance, or politics (which is fine), but if you are just checking in to get some NJ real estate news, it can be burdensome to wade through all the posts.

  12. pricedOut says:

    Grim:

    New format’s neat. Is there an option to restore the comment numbering? That was helpful to me for remembering where I left off.

    ———————-

    Question to the board:

    As a somewhat inexperienced blogger, how do you all ‘bookmark’ where you left off?

  13. Clotpoll says:

    If I were you guys, I’d be worried about that “somewhere else” part.

  14. cooper says:

    been away for a bit but…did i just walk into the wrong house? why are all you people in my room? OMG it’s Grim’s place! WOW looks great! love what you did to the kitchen…

  15. cooper says:

    no more #’s? now we go by time?

  16. willwork4beer says:

    Grim,

    Hey! I like the new look…

    As always, here’s the weekly report from the hinterlands.

    Hunterdon County Comp Killers

    GSMLS recorded 7 completed sales and 44 new listings in Hunterdon County this week. One sale and six new listings made this list. However, none were sold/listed at more than 10% off previous sale price. I’ll keep waiting…

    One Hunterdon County Comp Killer:

    MLS#: 2612988

    27 LONDONDERRY DR
    Raritan Twp

    SLD: 10/21/05 $399,900
    OLP: 12/04/08 $369,900
    SLD: 01/15/09 $363,900

    DOM: 6

    09.11% off 10/05 sale price
    01.63% off 12/08 OLP

    Six Hunterdon County Future Comp Killers:

    MLS#: 2630744

    274 COUNTY RD 579
    Alexandria Twp

    SLD: 02/08/05 $689,900
    OLP: 01/16/09 $624,000

    DOM: 1

    09.56% off 02/05 sale price

    MLS#: 2628110

    15 LA COSTA DR
    Clinton Twp

    SLD: 11/14/06 $532,500
    OLP: 01/12/09 $519,900

    DOM: 5

    02.27% off 11/06 sale price

    MLS#: 2628828

    622 HEATH CT
    Lambertville City

    SLD: 06/30/05 $560,000
    OLP: 01/28/06 $599,900

    Withdrawn

    DOM: 314

    OLP: 03/27/07 $619,900

    Expired

    DOM: 183

    OLP: 09/29/07 $589,000

    Expired

    DOM: 88

    OLP: 07/10/08 549,900

    Expired

    DOM: 181

    OLP: 01/14/09 $549,900

    DOM: 4

    01.81% off 06/05 sale price
    11.30% off 03/07 OLP

    MLS#: 2627666

    75 Barley Sheaf Road
    Raritan Twp

    SLD: 06/15/05 $399,900
    OLP: 01/10/09 $369,900

    DOM: 7

    07.51% off 06/05 sale price

    MLS#: 2628230

    5 EDWARD DR
    Raritan Twp

    SLD: 09/30/04 $795,000
    OLP: 04/09/08 $874,000

    Expired

    DOM: 250

    OLP: 01/12/09 $750,000

    DOM: 5

    05.67% off 09/04 sale price
    14.19% off 04/08 OLP

    MLS#: 2630160

    2 Martin Lane
    Readington Twp

    SLD: 09/24/04 $2,030,000
    OLP: 01/15/09 $1,997,000

    DOM: 2

    01.63% off 09/04 sale price

  17. Sassy says:

    Yes! threads love it! could make following discussions so much easier, and can skip the fluff – or engage depends on the topic.

    and, always love the data! comp busters!

  18. kettle1 says:

    is juanita your significant other?

  19. bairen says:

    Threaded rules. No more being on post 385 and seeing someone referencing post #183 and wondering what they are talking about.

  20. Jersey Jim says:

    Here is an interesting article from CNN titled “Dirty Secrets That Oil U.S. Politics”.

    http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/16/secrets/index.html

    The article states that the U.S. system of government was set-up so that it wouldn’t work well. I didn’t need this article to tell me that.

  21. Jersey Jim says:

    Grim,
    I think I liked the numbered posts that you had before better.

  22. bairen says:

    Clot,

    Thanks for the comments on the previous thread. Seems like prices in Bridgewater are dropping a lot, unless there’s been a surge of listings from the crappy sections of town or newer houses in bad locations. Haven’t followed BW too closely.

    I like the listings from Bridgewater that say “easy access to NYC”. Easy if you have your own helicopter, otherwise enjoy the 4 to 5 hours a day on mass transit.

  23. lisoosh says:

    Definitely bring the green back, it was soothing and distinctive.

    I’m adjusting tot the change. Not having to bounce around to see replies is nice though and the threaded format is good – not too boxy or long.

  24. lisoosh says:

    HE tried a forum once. It died a quick death because people had to go looking for the action. The single comments thread kind of acts as a focus.

  25. Chuchundra says:

    I like the threaded commenting and the new look.

    One caveat, though. Without numbering or some kind of way to mark what’s been read it going to be more difficult to figure out where to start reading if you visit the blog several times a day.

    With flat comments it’s easy. You know you’ve read up to message x, so when you come back you start with x+1. Now you’ve got to look at each thread and see if there’s something new.

  26. jamil says:

    yeah, the old format was easier to read (all new posts were in the end).

    Also, the new threaded format is difficult to read on cellphone. (You have to move sideways to read the replies). In the old format you could just move straight down.

  27. pricedOut says:

    Old format: in newer browsers, unless there was a post released from mod, you would remain at the last post viewed and newer posts would just extend the page for more scrolling… Still digesting new format

    Feedback FYI and FWIW

  28. Happy Camper says:

    put your glasses on

  29. Sybarite says:

    Grim,

    I like the format, but it’ll take some time to get used to. This will allow more focused discussions, as someone else mentioned, but is less satisfying for njrereport junkies. Instead of people keeping the page open constantly and refreshing, you’ll probably get people checking back a couple of times a day.

  30. Raul V says:

    It amazing how many people have been scammed out of money!!! The stories just keep coming out one after the other on a daily basis!

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/us/18nadel.html?_r=1&hp

  31. Oooh! Nifty new look, I like it and the nested comment threads.

  32. jamil says:

    “It amazing how many people have been scammed out of money!!! ”

    Indeed. They are called US taxpayers.

  33. sas – You can always watch the “recent comments” section on your left. Also, if you click the “Comment feed for this article” at the lower right of the body of the main article it should offer you a list of the 10 (or so) most recent posts. It also allows you to subscribe to the thread as a feed, but may not want that.

  34. Seneca says:

    While I see the benefits of the nested comment thread, it will make it difficult to track throughout the day unless there is an “unread comments” feature that can be associated with a login. I use two different PCs plus a blackberry to keep up with the blog when I can. I think this nesting will make it difficult to follow via bberry. I have never really minded having to refer back to older posts as most of the readers here are good about using the old “grim @ 127” type of lead to their replies.

  35. Clotpoll says:

    What a bowser that Martin Ln in Readington is. Has been on the market for 3-4 years. Go back thru the withdrawn/expireds on this thing; it’s hilarious.

  36. Clotpoll says:

    Too bad there’s no recovering from the brain injury you undoubtedly have recieved.

  37. Clotpoll says:

    Overrated schools, hellacious traffic, high taxes and the commercial base fleeing. Bridgewater is a cesspool for wannabes and bagholders.

  38. Clotpoll says:

    This is cool, but I like the old format.

    However, please do not rely on my comments or opinion. I’m pretty much a Luddite.

  39. Victorian says:

    Grim –

    The main issue with threaded comments is that we would need to scroll through the entire page to see new additions to a thread. This would be a little problematic if there are like, 500 comments.

    Also, would it be possible to get rid of the links on the left side once you are inside a post? IMO, it consumes valuable real estate and they are not building any more browser space you know :).

    Finally, definitely go back to the previous color scheme. I guess it just feels more comfortable to us, NJRE junkies.

  40. Victorian says:

    I second Clot. I like the old format as well, but if this helps you conserve more server resources, go for it.

  41. chicagofinance says:

    essex want a milkbone?

  42. chicagofinance says:

    make a comment before you leave the board, then go look for it later

  43. chicagofinance says:

    Anyone who buys the NY Times has been scammed out of money.

  44. Steve says:

    My personal opinion: I really am accustomed (and like) the old format…. just makes it so easy to scan through, and as mentioned earlier, there’s a “flow” which happens in the conversation which just adds something.

    Threads seem a bit disjointed, stop/starts, and I think similar to last time we’d see the total conversation levels drop off dramatically given this….

    Agree also re: liking original color scheme….

    Thanks,
    Steve

  45. sas says:

    i’m not digging the new format.
    Its boring.

    how does this help conserve?

    SAS

  46. sas says:

    i liked the day when it was called NJ Bubble Blog.
    can we saw treehouses going for 200k.

    lol :P

    la…la…la..Those were da days…la la la….

    SAS (singing)

  47. chicagofinance says:

    I hate to be closed minded, but the old stream of consciousness format is unfortunately likely the best approach. I enjoyed the experiment from 3 years ago, but that one died a quick death, as will this one.

  48. grim says:

    Threadng seems difficult to navigate on a mobile device. Dislike needing to ‘find the action’ too.

    Comment numbering doesn’t work well with threading since comment 300 could be a reply to comment 1.

  49. reinvestor101(the real one) says:

    Again, this is negative and doesn’t need to be talked about. This is not a another Madoff or some participant in sas’s imaginary black economy.

  50. Sybarite says:

    Meh, I don’t think it’s that bad. The “recent comments” section below helps to locate some action. Change can be scary, I know.

  51. reinvestor101(the real one) says:

    I don’t like the threading because it causes too much work for me to go after the terrorists. unless there’s a clear reference to recent comments or updated discussion strings. I see the recent comment area, but that’s not good enough. I normally come in and scan the posts. If you could have a situation where one could see the most popular discussion strings, that would work, but you’d almost have to do a “sub-discussion” string within the main string, which doesn’t make sense. I’d say just try it the way it is and if someone (except me) doesn’t like it, screw them. If I say I don’t like it, than change it.

    I’ve been having a problem with a joker using my damn screen name and attributing comments to me. I notice people like Clotpoll are able to have their screen names hard coded. How did they do that?

    Also, I’d appreciate the real name of the jokester so I can have a discussion with him.

  52. BC Bob says:

    JB,

    If it saves you $, go for it. If not, while I’m digging, I’ll try to dig up the old format.

  53. reinvestor101(the real one) says:

    Also, it would be nice to be able to edit the posts. I rarely want to take back what I said to some terrorist, but I often would like to add to it.

  54. BC Bob says:

    Everything that dies, someday comes back.

  55. BC Bob says:

    It would also be nice if JB could stand on his head and spit out gold coins.

  56. Sybarite says:

    STFU

  57. still_looking says:

    ….call me a purist.

    I liked the old format…and didn’t mind “backtracking” to numbered comments…

    I guess I’m just old.

    sl

  58. still_looking says:

    i’m more linear than branched.

    sl

  59. chicagofinance says:

    Bost: did you see the Springsteen thing in the WSJ?

  60. still_looking says:

    …good grief.. I’m lost in the threads already…

    anyone got a map? or a gps?

    …sigh.

    sl

  61. still_looking says:

    ????

    sl

  62. reinvestor101(the original) says:

    Punk, I’m going to find out who you are and when I do, there’s going to be hell to pay.

  63. Sybarite says:

    I say try it for a week, then ask whether it works or not. Or you can look at your site stats to make the decision too.

  64. reinvestor101(the original) says:

    Grim,

    You gotta shut this joker down. No one should have to endure this crap.

  65. grim says:

    I’ll turn off threading later in the day if you all still hate it.

  66. reinvestor101(the original) says:

    13. Chicagofinance

  67. grim says:

    Nevermind later in the day, can’t stand the threading.

  68. pricedOut says:

    As a fellow techie, you know that change is difficult for users ;-)

    There are definitely advantages to being able to address posts directly – easier to make sense of things and stay on sub-topic.

  69. Steve says:

    THANK GOD!!!!

    :)

  70. Frank says:

    Hot Spring selling season coming up. Buy now.

    “Spurred by falling real estate prices and low mortgage rates, first-time buyers are cracking open the piggy bank earlier than planned. Traffic at open houses has stepped up.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/realestate/18cov.html?ref=realestate

  71. Frank says:

    Bidding wars still go on, RE market is still hot in NJ.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/realestate/18njzo.html?ref=realestate

  72. Frank says:

    If you can’t find a job in this country the Mexican government is here to help.

    “The Mexican government is launching a loan program to help its returning citizens whose American dreams have been dashed by the faltering U.S. economy.”

    http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/nation/01/17/0117mexworkers.html

  73. Essex says:

    Good article Frank…but I am not sure I would call that ‘hot’….7 sold in Dec vs. 25 last year….not ‘hot’….home priced well that sell….OK. Glad the taxes are not scaring the Essex Co. people away….yet.

  74. RentL0rd says:

    my 2c on the new look:

    I have to agree with sl. I prefer the old look, feel and touch.

    The links on the left / indentation (towards the bottom when there are many posts) is also not appealing.

    I also prefer every comment to be ‘boxed’ and I do like numbering.

  75. Barbara says:

    I like the old format and agree with others, it frames the general mood out there and the conversations flow. Yeah it gets kind of crazy but I never feel like I miss anything. I do like the new colors, however.

  76. Clotpoll says:

    Frank (1:03)-

    After this, I’ll go back to not responding to your Piltdown-like drivel. However, if you actually had the ability to read, you would’ve come across this in the article you meant to use as a shill for your imbecilic point of view:

    “In the current climate, multiple bids are being generated only at entry-level homes, or higher-priced ones after a major price cut.

    Ken Baris, a broker at Jordan Baris Realtors in West Orange, said that bidding wars can happen with the right pricing. “The opportunity is there for sellers to sell, if you have the guts to underprice,” he said. “If you set the price 3 percent below the approximated market value, that won’t necessarily start a bidding war. But if you underprice by 10 percent, you are going to get a bidding war, even today.”

  77. Clotpoll says:

    I generated a bidding war last week, too. I put a Colonial near me on the market at 389.9K. Got three offers, and one of them bit at full price.

    The catch? The same model house, 200 ft away, just sold @ 425K, after months on the market.

  78. BC Bob says:

    “In the current climate, multiple bids are being generated only at entry-level homes, or higher-priced ones after a major price cut.”

    Frank,

    Great find.

  79. BC Bob says:

    Doing a ton of research this week. Is it possible that the only solvent bank, in the world today, is paypal?

  80. still_looking says:

    thank god!!

    Did I mention, I love you! I can finally make sense of what I’m reading…

    After finally being infected by the “terminal cough illness” and suffering with it the last few days, my head was spinning trying to make sense of the discombobulation.

    sorry… have to go hack and cough up yet another lung puppy!

    ugh.

    sl

  81. Victorian says:

    “Doing a ton of research this week. Is it possible that the only solvent bank, in the world today, is paypal?”

    BC – Did you read the stories about the UK creating a bad bank to hold toxic assets the size of more than 2/3 of their GDP. And, it looks like we will soon be following suit. What do you think are the merits of this solution?

    Why not just nationalize these banks outright, fire management, equity to zero, bondholders to zero and start afresh.

  82. jamil says:

    from prev thread: “Zimbabwe unveils $100 trillion banknote”

    Why don’t we just print two $100 trillion banknotes, send one to China and the other to Saudi-Arabia to settle our debt. Naturally, from that day we would not accept $100T notes. Our debt would be wiped out instantly.

  83. reinvestor101(the original) says:

    Good. Back to normal without threads.

  84. zieba says:

    My two cents:

    And I may have missed the debate and/or grims response to it earlier…

    We need numbers. The only way a non threaded blog can work, and I hate the threads, is if there are number for easy reference.

    RE: 287
    Sas,
    …… is direct and allows for mutiple non-threaded conversations to take place.

    RE: SAS
    ….can mean any one of the 200 or so above posts.

    Also, it helps (as someone suggested) to quickly check the state of comments from the main page. If I leave for lunch and we’re at 305 and I come back and it’s at 379 posts… I know I need to set aside some additional time to scroll through it.

    BRING BACK THE POST NUMBERS!

    Still Looking…. I just got over that a few days ago, got a regimen of Factive and Tussinex…or something like that

  85. scribe says:

    So, can I be No. 14 on the list?

    Am I not a terrorist, too?

  86. pricedOut says:

    I want to be #16. It is my favorite number.

    We’re getting close, I better play catch-up.

    Reinvestor101 = seller = bag holder

  87. pricedOut says:

    That was lame – I have to work on this…

  88. scribe says:

    BC,

    Do you think the government is encouraging the banks to overstate their losses in order to qualify for more and more capital injections & guarantees?

    Next question: If BAC’s stock is down to the $8 level and with C at $3 …do you think we’re heading towards another Big Weekend?

    With BAC’s dividend cut to a penny, what about a shareholder revolt?

    By the way, years ago, my father bought $1,000 of stock in a local bank, which was taken over by Fleet, which was taken over by BAC. As of ’05, the stock was worth about $12,500, but she really loved the dividends – about $134 a quarter. They felt they’d gotten back their original investment many times over.

    There must be an awful lot of PO’d shareholders out there.

    Another question I have – during the worst of it in October, there was a huge surge of deposits being transferred to the big 3 banks.

    If that perception of safety isn’t there anymore, I wonder about the possibility of a “run” on BAC. Not so much Citi because Citi has been working on its problems for a while.

    But BAC’s problems are of its own making – the two acquisitions. Merrill aside, I’m wondering about the toxic sludge they got with Countrywide.

    There seems to be a certain kind of numbness at this point.

    But the taxpayers picking up their losses so they could go forward and buy Merrill?

    If I had a BAC account, I’d close it.

  89. alia says:

    (356, last thread)
    i am so proud. i finally made re’s list.
    *sniffle*
    i’d like to thank everyone who made this moment possible…

  90. Jersey Jim says:

    alia,
    difficult to say if you made reinvestor101’s list or not since there appears to be an imposter. or it could be a clever trick of him/her.

  91. alia says:

    Jersey: please don’t ruin my moment. :P

  92. cobbler says:

    In the hindsight, introduction of threading killed the golden goose that historically was Yahoo! Finance message boards. For most users, it’s a pretty rotten idea and is only good for bandwidth use reduction – but costwise the blog owner could compromise by setting a display of only 20-50 messages at a time. Then, the required bandwidth gets much smaller (and it’s not a big deal to click “next 50”; if you have the blog on the whole day, just refreshing the “last 50” once in a while will make it just fine)

  93. pinky says:

    Grim – I’d like to see more sales data, anecdotes, etc.

    And since I mentioned anecdotes, I’ll post one I’ve been meaning to mention to JB for a long time.

    Over the summer I struck up a conversation with someone about my struggles to find a house and how I never met anyone else with a family who rented. This person said I was smarter than I realized and launched into a story about how this person lost their Montclair house. I wish I had asked for more details, because it was only later when I snooped around property records that I realized I had met the owner of the infamous “shower in a closet” house that Grim used to mention from time to time.

    It seems this person walked away more due to ridiculous taxes than anything else. This person thought they could get the assessment changed for some reason. They also said that losing the house didn’t change the family’s lifestyle that much. The blessing of non-recourse lending, I guess.

  94. chicagofinance says:

    reinvestor101(the original) on January 17, 2009 at 12:00 pm
    13. Chicagofinance

    RE: What did I do? Rag on the NYT? I want off the bus…

  95. Ben says:

    “Why don’t we just print two $100 trillion banknotes, send one to China and the other to Saudi-Arabia to settle our debt. Naturally, from that day we would not accept $100T notes. Our debt would be wiped out instantly.”

    No, we can accept them back. We’ll just tell them we can’t make change.

  96. NJCoast says:

    BC Bob

    Computer crashed-lost your email address. Shoot me an email. We’re starting to gear up.

  97. Chuchundra says:

    If you’re taking the threading off, we’ll need the numbers back.

  98. still_looking says:

    zieba, (above :) ]

    thanks! I am just whining cuz I gotta work tonight…

    sl

  99. Yikes says:

    dumb question No. 1:

    if i understand it correctly … you’re damned if you do with inflation, and you’re damned if you don’t.

    saving cash, buying real estate, purchasing physical gold.

    i still haven’t been able to find a concrete answer as to how to prepare yourself (outside of the obvious: guns, gold, and getting food reserves ready).

    anything else?

  100. sas says:

    anecdotal evidence:

    walking around the uws in manhattan around brunch time, i noticed many places offering free drinks with brunch. didn’t see this in years pat.

    even saw a place advertize, “free, unlimited Mimosa w/ brunch”

    interesting.
    SAS

  101. lostinny says:

    sas
    I’m going to start following you around. I want to see what you see. I’ll make sure not to even try to be inconspicuous. This way I don’t get shot. :)

  102. sas says:

    lostinny,

    becareful what you wish for
    :P
    SAS

  103. sas says:

    this blog is sure slow today…

    at the moment, i don’t know what is worse:
    that movie Fried Green Tomaters
    or
    the blog
    (but at least no more of that awful thread gizzy)

    SAS

  104. lostinny says:

    Oh sas I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t afraid in the first place.
    I’m really curious about that photo album too.

  105. jamil says:

    Hmm. Last time the Germans got really pissed off, things got a bit out of hand.

    “Monetary union has left half of Europe trapped in depression”

    “Events are moving fast in Europe. The worst riots since the fall of C0mmunism have swept the Baltics and the south Balkans. An incipient crisis is taking shape in the Club Med bond markets. S&P has cut Greek debt to near junk. Spanish, Portuguese, and Irish bonds are on negative watch.

    This week, Riga’s cobbled streets became a war zone..
    In Lithuania, riot police fired rubber-bullets on a trade union march. Dogs chased stragglers into the Vilnia river. A demonstration outside Bulgaria’s parliament in Sofia turned violent on Wednesday…
    Spain lost a million jobs in 2008. Madrid is bracing for 16pc unemployment by year’s end. Private economists fear 25pc before it is over. Spain’s wage inflation has priced the workforce out of Europe’s markets..

    An EU debt union is being created, in breach of EU law. Liabilities are being shifted quietly on to German taxpayers. What happens when Germany’s hard-working citizens find out?”

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/4278642/Monetary-union-has-left-half-of-Europe-trapped-in-depression.html

  106. sas says:

    whoa.
    what just happened?

    SAS

  107. still_looking says:

    home, at last. :)

    sl

  108. Wag says:

    Feels like home.

  109. yikes says:

    grim says:
    January 16, 2009 at 9:14 am
    Since the Federal Reserve can create all the money it wants. It should just buy up all the governments existing debt and then write-off the debt. Clean start.

    Are you proposing, dare I say it, a “do-over”?

    is there any way to even begin to imagine what the impacts of this move would be?

  110. lisoosh says:

    Clotpoll says:

    “Piltdown-like drivel. ”

    Nice turn of phrase.

  111. lisoosh says:

    Something happened to my post.

  112. Shore Guy says:

    Ahhhh. Numbers. Cool.

  113. Shore Guy says:

    “is there any way to even begin to imagine what the impacts of this move would be?”

    About the same as creating al this cash to pave roads?

  114. Shore Guy says:

    all, that is

  115. Shore Guy says:

    In the spirit of MLK, on Tuesday at noon, join me in saying the folowing: “Bush free, at last. Bush free, at last. Thank God above, we are Bush free — at last.”

  116. Shore Guy says:

    SAS,

    Free drinks in the 80s?

  117. Pat says:

    Geez…I spend the afternoon cooking up a pot of chicken soup. I log in, get the new express look and feel rad psychodelic. However, I’m too late for the threading but read all about it, hit F5, and I’m back on the Trenton local.

    I’m thinking about selling my Number 1 spot on the NJ RE Terrorist T-shirt list.

    Person who donates 50 bucks to JB today gets to boot me out of first place.

    Original REcipe, you up for it?

  118. Shore Guy says:

    What Springsteen thing in the WSJ?

  119. NJGator says:

    Happy Birthday to me….Montclair Comp Killer:

    215 Walnut (MLS 2630643)

    7/6/05 SP 500500
    2/17/06 SP 650000

    Tax Assessed: 606400

    Current LP 469,000 Subject to Third Party Approval

  120. Shore Guy says:

    The “top ten list” now has fourteen members?

  121. james says:

    #105, interesting read.
    #115, Your Messiah will lead to your death if the chosen one has success on health care reform. How does the old saying go, “be careful what you wish for………”

  122. Shore Guy says:

    Gator,

    Welcome back. I was beginning to wonder if you were tied to a chair in the basement.

  123. Shore Guy says:

    Happy? 35th?

  124. NJGator says:

    No Shore I am trapped in Vermont with terrible WiFi. Stu and Lil Gator will be skiing. I am getting massages and taking classes at the NE Culinary Institute.

  125. NJGator says:

    36….I think it makes me one of the elders on the site.

  126. lostinny says:

    Happy Bday Gator!

  127. Shore Guy says:

    Reminds me of the wage and price controls of the ’70s.

  128. Shore Guy says:

    Reminds me of the wage and price controls of the ’70s.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/4241720/Ireland-plans-drastic-cuts-to-prevent-debt-crisis.html

    the missing link.

  129. Shore Guy says:

    Gator,

    Oh, I have you beaten by a few presidential elections.

  130. NJGator says:

    Thanks, Lost!

  131. Shore Guy says:

    “getting massages and taking classes at the NE Culinary Institute.”

    Please, try to buck-up under the strain. In these trying economic times it is important to accept one’s lot and make the best of it. Hot stones?

  132. PGC says:

    #121 James

    Are you new here? Shore Guy is one of this sites top Repubs. I suspect he is a card carrying member of the RNC. He may not be an O supporter, but wants GWB gone as much as the the D’s here do.

  133. NJGator says:

    Shore 131 – Sigh no…..In room swedish only. Their full service spa does not open until the spring.

    The times, they are a bad up here. We got a package that included 2 massages in addition to a great rate during a holiday weekend in peak ski season. And the cooking classes are 20% off for hotel guests.

  134. PGC says:

    #124 Gator

    Do they have any classes on Depression era cooking?

    “101 uses for powdered egg”

  135. Shore Guy says:

    Tough times for some proivide opportunities for others.

    Well, enjoy your quality time with Svenn or Britt, depending on your preferences.

  136. Shore Guy says:

    Are you near Killington? Tell me a bit about the cooking school, could be a fun thing to do. Especially if combined with hot stones. If anyone here has NOT had a hot-stone massage, you owe it to yourself to try one sometime. Since my first one, I don’t think I go three months without one. Fantastic.

  137. james says:

    #132 I actuallly agree with most of his posts, however, this media frenzy over the Messiah has got to go. Obama never won real NJ. In fact he lost Monmouth and Ocean counties by a substanial margin. My back hurts from carrying our societies losers so excuse me for be annoyed by the media.

  138. Shore Guy says:

    “I suspect he is a card carrying member of the RNC. ”

    I am a life-long Republican, former Reagan appointee, contributer to Mc-Ca-in, and Mc-Ca-in voter. I do NOT want O to be president but george herbert hoover bush has been such a threat to the Constitution, such a por performer, and cluless dud of a president that I am cracking open some bubbly at noon on Tuesday.

  139. Shore Guy says:

    please excuse the missing letters.

  140. alia says:

    happy birthday gator!

    excused, shore.

    ;>

  141. PGC says:

    #138 SG
    #132 James

    My point to James is that, just because someone wants GWB gone, does not automatically make them an O supporter.

  142. Shore Guy says:

    140ish in mod, and not sure why.

  143. Shore Guy says:

    “My point to James is that, just because someone wants GWB gone, does not automatically make them an O supporter.”

    I can’t agree with you more than I do. There is a strange gaggle of bedfellows who are going to cheer at noon on Tuesday.

  144. sas says:

    “Free drinks in the 80s?”

    in the 90s.

    the 80s takes away alot of buisness from the 90s+

    SAS

  145. Shore Guy says:

    “media frenzy over the Messiah has got to go.”

    Lets see if this varation does not offend the censors:

    As soon as B.O has to start making decisions one group of supporters or another will find their ox gor–ed. he media and so many of his supporters have built a near cu-lt of personality around him — witness all the B.O posters with Sov–iet-style artwork that one sees all around. The people who will be most disapointed in him, I suspect, will be the newbies drawn into the vortex of his grand themes who never analyzed HOW he could get congress to enact laws to pay for and enact his laundry list of proposals and feel-good fog of obfuscation.

  146. Shore Guy says:

    Grim,

    I can’t figure out what is getting my 140ish post hung-up in moderation. No bad words in it.

  147. Shore Guy says:

    “media frenzy over the Messiah has got to go.”

    Part 1:

    As soon as B.O has to start making decisions one group of supporters or another will find their ox gor–ed. the media and so many of his supporters have built a near cu- lt of personality around him — witness all the B.O posters with Sov–iet-style artwork that one sees all around.

  148. Shore Guy says:

    Must be something in the second part.

  149. Shore Guy says:

    Vortex, perhaps?

  150. Shore Guy says:

    Part 2 redux:

    The people who will be most disapointed in him, I suspect, will be the newly-politicaly-involved folks drawn into the vortex of his grand themes who never carefully considered HOW he could get congress to enact laws to pay for and put into effect his laundry list of proposals and feel-good-fog of obfuscation.

  151. sas says:

    “omama”

    the only change your gonna get is the paint job.

    and you how he is going to stimulate jobs?

    easy, he will build superhighways with your tax dollars, each state will sell to private interests, and then a huge toll will apply to them.

    lol, you are going to be taxed to build it, and then, you will be taxed to drive on it, how long will you be a sucker!

    and, the mexican drug drivers will be able to drive these roads as you won’t need a US state license to drive on it, just a Superhighway ID.

    but we love you omama..
    (sheep blindly say:)
    Ommaaaa maaa…. Ommaaamaaaa… baahhhh

    SAS

  152. Shore Guy says:

    Pithy and insightful as it might have been, or not, it looks like it is relegated to the vortex of moderation. I hear some wine and dinner calling my name.

    Gator, enjoy Svenn and Britt (Stu too). Everyone else, stay warm.

  153. Shore Guy says:

    One last try:

    The people who will be most disapointed in him, I suspect, will be the newly-politicaly-involved folks drawn into the vortex of his grand themes who never carefully considered HOW he could get con-gres-s to enact laws to pay for and put into effect his laundry list of proposals and feel-good-fog of obfuscation.

  154. Shore Guy says:

    Is congress the offending word?

  155. sas says:

    oh yeah, more Omama jobs:

    domestic Federal police force
    and you think Grim’s EasT Germany moderation button is annoying. Baby! you haven’t seen nothing yet.

    Federal Enviromental police to come, you don’t throw the estrogen mimic hormone laced plastic Pepsi soda bottle in the recycle bin… BAM!! Your getting a huge tkt.

    but we love you omama, you have just overcomed so much.
    (sheep blindly say:)
    Ommaammma…Ommaamaaa… bahhh

    just you watch

    :P
    SAS

  156. sas says:

    i just love you omaa maaa…
    because of you, i can rise to do anything.

    i can too can hire chicago hit teams, and funny illegal money to offshore tax havens
    (actually, don’t need to be any color to do that)

    and you won’t hear that on the controld news.

    SAS

    SAS

  157. lostinny says:

    I can’t wait for my wine to kick in so I can join in the party.

  158. Chuchundra says:

    I have to say that the “you guys think O is the messiah” bit from the right side of the aisle is getting pretty old. It sounds a lot like sore loser talk to me.

    I don’t know anyone on my side that thinks O is the chosen one. For those of you with short memories, that was actually a McSame ad.

    Yes, maybe we’re a little more happy and optimistic than is strictly warranted. Cut us some slack here. Our guy won and the B the stupid is on his way out. I think we have the right to party a little.

  159. jamil says:

    sas: “and you how he is going to stimulate jobs?”

    That’s easy. He already publicly promised 600,000 new government jobs.

  160. sas says:

    “jamil”

    just don’t drop apple core on the ground, or an omamma Federal Env police will come and give you a $500 tkt.

    but we need to simulate the economy…
    i love you omama, your the first blk pres, so that means you can do no wrong.
    and of anyone says other, your a god damn racist, that should goto Gitmo.
    (and you wonder why he is putting off closing that thing)

    SAS

  161. sas says:

    but just take your Merck HPV vaccination for guys and women, goto WalMart and buy a new sweater made from a chained up 8 yr old in China, and eat your pesticide infested crap burger from McDonalds while you watch the foosball.

    and remember, when in doubt real estate always goes up!

    SAS

  162. Chuchundra says:

    It would be nice if more of the people who voted for and supported one of the worst Presidents is US history had the common decency to be embarrassed for doing so. It is a dream I have.

  163. sas says:

    what recession?

    “21,000 Jobs Worldwide Erased in Day as Recession Chokes Demand”
    http://tinyurl.com/8tft5z

  164. Shore Guy says:

    Eane as an R, I could not bring myself to vote for Bush either time. He hurt this nation in wasy that will not be fully appreciated for 25 years. I did not vote for O, based on serious policy differences. That said, I hope he goes doen in history as one of the great American presidents — we need one right now.

  165. spam spam bacon spam says:

    Huge American Embassy opens in Iraq
    $700 million facility on 104 acres is largest such U.S. post in the world

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6195852.html

    BAGHDAD — The United States inaugurated its largest embassy ever on Monday, a fortresslike compound in the heart of the Green Zone(snip)

    U.S. Marines raised the American flag over the adobe-colored buildings, which sit on a 104-acre site and has space for 1,000 employees — more than 10 times the size of any other U.S. Embassy in the world.

    (snip)
    In perhaps an unintended sign of the new relationship, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki did not attend Monday’s ceremony because he was traveling in Iran.

    (snip)

    The inauguration of the $700 million embassy came just days after a security agreement between Iraq and the United States took effect, replacing a U.N. mandate that gave legal authority to the U.S. and other foreign troops to operate in Iraq.

    (snip)

  166. Shore Guy says:

    doen? Lol, down.

  167. Shore Guy says:

    Eane? Too much wine, methinks. Even, even, even.

  168. spam spam bacon spam says:

    Bush’s Final Approval Rating: 22 Percent
    Jan. 16, 2009

    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/16/opinion/polls/main4728399.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories

    (CBS) President Bush will leave office as one of the most unpopular departing presidents in history, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll showing Mr. Bush’s final approval rating at 22 percent.

    Seventy-three percent say they disapprove of the way Mr. Bush has handled his job as president over the last eight years.

    Mr. Bush’s final approval rating is the lowest final rating for an outgoing president since Gallup began asking about presidential approval more than 70 years ago.

    The rating is far below the final ratings of recent two-term presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, who both ended their terms with a 68 percent approval rating, according to CBS News polling.

    Recent one term presidents also had higher ratings than Mr. Bush. His father George H.W. Bush had an end-of-term rating of 54 percent, while Jimmy Carter’s rating was 44 percent.

    Harry Truman had previously had the lowest end-of-term approval at 32 percent, as measured by Gallup.

  169. sas says:

    “California controller to suspend tax refunds, welfare checks, student grants”
    http://tinyurl.com/9su59n

  170. sas says:

    “Bush’s Final Approval Rating: 22 Percent”

    thats ok, cause omama gives me “hope”

    SAS

  171. spam spam bacon spam says:

    GWBush…

    Our first president with a criminal record.

    :)

  172. lostinny says:

    sas
    Just because he’s the first black president doesn’t mean he can do no wrong. When people realize that he can’t solve every problem and he can’t do it overnight, they’ll grow to hate him too. In the meantime, I’m glad we’re getting Bush out of office. Waking up the day after Election Day to find the same dolt was voted in again did not encourage a lot of people to believe in anything or anyone political.

  173. sas says:

    “GWBush…
    Our first president with a criminal record”

    ha, is that really what you think?

    there all criminals before they even become president, otherwise they would never get that far.

    SAS

  174. jamil says:

    It is appropriate to point out that our dear congressional leaders Pelosi and Reid also have all time low in approval ratings (single-digits in most surveys). Today’s MSM is the most dishonest in history, and it too has the all time lowest approval ratings.

  175. sas says:

    “Just because he’s the first black president doesn’t mean he can do no wrong”

    No, you goto to hell you racist.
    he fought adversity, he is intelligent.
    He is going to change things. He will pave the way for my kids.
    you just a hateful white person.

    get outta here, goto Mexico! and go now!!

    Get!! Get
    scram

    SAS
    (wink wink)

  176. lostinny says:

    sas
    I am so glad I didn’t have any wine in my mouth or my pretty little laptop would have just been dyed purple.
    I’d love to go to Mexico. Whatcha doin tomorrow? :)

  177. sas says:

    if you really wanna know the truth.
    it doesn’t matter what your color, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation:

    crime that pays, is crime that stays.

    remember that the next time you wanna kiss omama’s feet and wash his socks.

    and you take that statement to the bank.
    (if that bank is still standing)

    :P
    SAS

  178. spam spam bacon spam says:

    1. Patient neglect at Walter Reed Army Hospital
    2. US Attorney firings
    3. Libby/Plame Affair (Outing a CIA agent)
    4. Iraq war
    5. Afghanistan (leaving before the job was done)
    6. Iran saber rattling
    7. North Korea (mishandling nuclear issue)
    8. The War on Terror (failure to capture Osama bin Laden, dubious allies)
    9. Civilian contractors in Iraq (poor service for big bucks)
    10. Military Commissions Act (torture, kangaroo courts, indefinite detention, and loss of habeas corpus)
    11. Hurricane Katrina and the drowning of New Orleans
    12. NSA warrantless wiretapping
    13. SWIFT (international money transfers)
    14. Black sites and rendition
    15. Department of Homeland Security (a massive boondoggle)
    16. K Street lobbyists (for government you can buy)
    17. Dusty Foggo (No. 3 at the CIA)
    18. Duke Cunningham (a corrupt politician)
    19. Tom Delay (another corrupt politician)
    20. Mark Foley and the House pages
    21. Cheney Energy Task Force (and hiding info about it)
    22. Tax cuts for the richest of the rich
    23. Global warming (denial and stalling)
    24. Terri Schiavo and the attempted trashing of family privacy rights
    25. Budget deficits and a greatly increased national debt
    26. Stacking of the Supreme Court (Roberts and Alito)
    27. Medicare( lack of long term solvency)
    28. Medicare Part D (Drug prescriptions)
    29. Healthcare general mess
    30. Doug Feith (stovepiping Iraq intel)
    31. 2000 election (stolen)
    32. 2004 election (rigging)
    33. 9/11 Commission limitation and manipulation of
    34. 9/11 Commission’s recommendations delayed implementation
    35. Marginalization of the UN
    36. Preventive war doctrine
    37. Loss of US prestige
    38. Inaction on Israeli-Palestinian peace process
    39. Lack of spending on basic research
    40. Alberto Gonzales
    41. FDA restricting the mission
    42. EPA restricting the mission
    43. Porter Goss trashing the CIA
    44. Militarization of intelligence
    45. Rampant cronyism
    46. Signing statements
    47. Unilateral Executive
    48. Abuse of the National Guard
    49. Breaking the Army
    50. Increase in the balance of trade deficit
    51. Grassley Bankruptcy Bill (creditors favored over debtors)
    52. Cross border Mexican truck safety
    53. Rove’s security clearance (kept after his part in outing Valerie Plame)
    54. Anti-immigration raids (children and parents separated)
    55. Dubai Ports deal (a Middle East company in charge of US ports in the age of terrorism)
    56. Patriot Act and its Extension
    57. Privatization of Social Security (a bad idea endlessly recycled)
    58. War on Science
    59. David Safavian (Abramoff associate)
    60. Claude Allen (White House adviser caught shoplifting)
    61. Bush lying about firing Rumsfeld before the November 2006 election
    62. Armstrong Williams (paid propagandists)
    63. Labor Department (ground down by Mitch McConnell’s wife)
    64. Net neutrality/media ownership
    65. Israeli bombing of Lebanon (delay in putting a ceasefire in place)
    66. PDB on Bin Laden (ignoring the terrorist threat pre-9/11)
    67. Ground Zero declared non-toxic
    68. Sago mining disaster (non-enforcement of safety regs)
    69. Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination (a supreme act of cronyism)
    70. Vetoing stem cell research
    71. Plan B contraception
    72. Clear Skies/ Healthy Forests Acts (weakening pollution controls and opening forests to logging)
    73. Ballistic missile shield (only works to antagonize the Russians)
    74. Leandro Aragoncillo (the spy in Cheney’s office)
    75. Overseas AIDS programs (reflecting the Administration’s benighted views on sex)
    76. Constitutional amendment against gay marriage
    77. Drilling in Bristol Bay, Alaska
    78. Canard of Clintons trashing the White House before leaving
    79. Jeff Gannon (a male prostitute in the White House press corps)
    80. Native American trust funds
    81. Creationist materials at national parks
    82. Returning US war dead (banning photographing the returning coffins)
    83. False military reporting (Pat Tillman, Jessica Lynch)
    84. AIPAC spy scandal
    85. Detainee court cases (a quick guide)
    86. Opening US mail
    87. Subprime mortgage bubble
    88. Bush’s ties to Enron
    89. 2001 California energy crisis (refusal to intervene in this Enron manufactured crisis)
    90. Darfur (calling it genocide is not a policy)
    91. Russian loose nukes (underfunding)
    92. OPR Gonzales investigation (stymied)
    93. Interference in lawsuit against Big Tobacco
    94. Phone jamming in New Hampshire (with White House connections)
    95. Steven Griles (Abramoff’s man at Interior)
    96. US Attorney targeting of Democratic office holders
    97. Interim US Attorney provision (an attempt to appoint USAs without Senate approval)
    98. FBI National Security Letters (overuse and abuse)
    99. GSA (Hatch Act violations)
    100. Karl Rove
    101. Civil Rights Division at Justice (voter fraud used to suppress minority voting)
    102. Campaign finance (still rotten)
    103. Swift boating of John Kerry
    104. No Child Left Behind (an uneducated President’s predictable approach to education)
    105. Susan Dudley (an anti-regulator regulator)
    106. Paul Wolfowitz (two disasters for the price of one: Iraq and the World Bank)
    107. Kenneth Tomlinson (conservative interference in public broadcasting)
    108. Matteo Fontana (student loan administrator bought and paid for by student loan companies)
    109. Rachel Paulose (abrasive crony interim USA for Minnesota)
    110. White House email on RNC servers (in contravention of White House Records Act)
    111. Georgia Thompson Wisconsin employee railroaded by Republican USA before an election
    112. Pre-election investigation of Bob Menendez
    113. Kay James (political hires)
    114. Bernard Kerik (Giuliani crony)
    115. Bush’s early years
    116. Watch lists (so many, so large, so ineffective)
    117. Classification and de-classification Cheney style
    118. Cheney shoots Harry Whittington
    119. ATS (another database, this one at the DHS)
    120. Scalia conflict of interest (his duck hunting trip with Cheney)
    121. Election Assistance Commission (suppressed a report showing voter fraud was not a problem)
    122. Attacks against Mohammed ElBaradei (mostly for being right about Iraqi and Iranian WMD)
    123. Alice Fisher (Criminal Division Justice)
    124. House Ethics Committee (the ethics part is just for laughs)
    125. Media complicity in the Bush years
    126. Democratic inaction (in the same time frame)
    127. Lack of Republican oversight (ditto)
    128. AUMF against Iraq (often cited, seldom read)
    129. Medals of Freedom for the disaster in Iraq
    130. Real ID Act
    131. Jose Padilla (an American enemy combatant)
    132. Electronic prescription reporting
    133. Jean-Bertrand Aristide (Haiti)
    134. Hugo Chavez (Venezuela)
    135. Ethanol (a political fuel)
    136. Republican filibustering
    137. Stacking of federal judiciary with hacks
    138. Ralph Reed (Abramoff associate)
    139. Proselytizing at the US Air Force Academy
    140. Office of Faith Based Initiatives (a sop to the religious right)
    141. Military disability ratings (another story of how Bush really supports the troops)
    142. Earmarks (good when Republicans do them, bad when Democrats use them)
    143. Medicare privatization (more victimization of the elderly)
    144. Nuclear proliferation (a very unequal approach)
    145. Julie MacDonald (Fish and Wildlife)
    146. Darleen Druyum (defense procurement scam)
    147. Luis Posada Carriles/Vang Pao (terrorists but our terrorist)
    148. No White House investigation into Plame affair
    149. Politics at NASA
    150. Attempt to limit federal prisoners testifying before Congress
    151. Corporate remuneration
    152. Financial analysis and investment (a supposed separation)
    153. Scott Bloch (whistleblower protection, not really)
    154. Richard Levernier and Bogdan Dzakovic (whistleblowers)
    155. Sibel Edmonds (whistleblower)
    156. Monica Goodling (political hires)
    157. Michael Baroody and the Consumer Products Safety Commission
    158. TALON (Pentagon surveillance of civilians)
    159. Scripted Iraqi war White House news conference
    160. Bill Frist and healthcare giant HCA
    161. Julie Myers (Immigration)
    162. Randall Tobias (AIDS coordinator with a yen)
    163. Robert Coughlin (Abramoff tie in)
    164. Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction is a thankless job
    165. Continuing Republican support for the Iraq war despite the public’s rejection of it
    166. Border Fence with Mexico (a short fence for a long border)
    167. Bush coverup strategies to defeat Congressional oversight
    168. Gordon Smith campaign and White House help
    169. Debra Yang (US Attorney)
    170. Elizabeth Cheney (nepotism)
    171. Dick Cheney
    172. Oil lease fiascos
    173. Guantanamo defense counsels (not the path to career advancement)
    174. VA bonuses (for a job not well done)
    175. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (another ineffective board and doctored report)
    176. Johnnie Frazier (Commerce IG)
    177. Bill Roderick (EPA IG)
    178. Janet Rehnquist (HHS IG)
    179. Karla Corcoran (Post Office IG)
    180. Polar bears, global warming, and censorship
    181. American Center for Voting Rights (fake voter fraud group)
    182. MTBE (gas additive)
    183. FBI domestic spying without probable cause
    184. Gutting overtime pay regulations
    185. Leaving the International Criminal Court
    186. Dissemination of medical information
    187. Deregulation of energy companies
    188. James Holsinger (Anti-gay Surgeon General nominee)
    189. Italia Federici (Abramoff crony)
    190. Thomas Barnett (Anti-trust Division Justice)
    191. Palestinian civil war
    192. A list of reasons to invade Iraq
    193. A list of Iraq war turning points
    194. Torture and Guantanamo
    195. Torture and Iraq
    196. Dick Cheney and the Fourth Branch
    197. Bill Mercer and the US Attorney scandal
    198. John Rizzo (CIA lawyer permissive of torture)
    199. Public Interest Declassification Board (a useless entity)
    200. SCOTUS: Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School Dist. No. 1 (integration)
    201. SCOTUS: Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (gender discrimination)
    202. SCOTUS: Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life (issue oriented political advertising)
    203. SCOTUS: Morse et al v. Frederick (free speech of minors)
    204. SCOTUS: Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. (price fixing OK’ed)
    205. Booz Allen cost overruns on DHS intelligence contract and DHS incompetence
    206. Alphonso Jackson (Secretary HUD and political interference)
    207. Donald Rumsfeld
    208. SCOTUS: Rapanos v. United States (wetland protection)
    209. Attempts to overturn the Roadless Rule protection of wilderness areas
    210. An unreported leak of highly enriched uranium
    211. Opening up the San Rafael Swell to development
    212. Pro-rating the value of older Americans at the EPA
    213. Shoddy armoring kits for Humvees from defense contractors
    214. Senator David Vitter (a family values conservative who likes to visit prostitutes)
    215. Nuclear Regulatory Commission control of radioactive materials remain ineffective
    216. Hedge fund profits while huge are taxed at lower rates
    217. SAIC, the revolving door, and expensive contracts for systems that don’t work
    218. MRAP, delay in deployment of IED resistant vehicles to Iraq
    219. Intelligence Oversight Board which did nothing during 5 1/2 years of Bush excesses
    220. DHS employed Wackenhut for its security, a firm that just may be more incompetent than the DHS
    221. Drug czar John Walters and Hatch Act violations
    222. SCHIP (children’s healthcare less important than insurance company profits)
    223. Alaska’s two Senators and one Congressman all caught up in corruption scandals
    224. Don Siegelman (ex-Governor of Alabama and a political prosecution with ties to Karl Rove)
    225. FEMA trailers for Katrina victims with high levels of formaldehyde
    226. The White House declares that Harriet Miers doesn’t have to answer a subpoena based on a legal opinion by a lawyer who legally should no longer be in his post
    227. White House says it will not prosecute contempt citations
    228. Matthew McKeown a political appointee hired into a career position at Interior
    229. Attempted political interference in Oxycontin plea deal
    230. David Petraeus mislays 350,000 rifles and pistols in Iraq
    231. David Palmer (EOCC nomination despite poor management and legal skills)
    232. Peter Kirsanow affirmative action opponent named to Civil Rights Commission
    233. Patriot Act Extension gave the AG the right to decide if death penalty defendants were adequately represented
    234. Petraeus report (hyped by the White House but actually written by it and not presented by Petraeus)
    235. Richard Stickler (opposed to mine safety regulation nominated to head Mine Safety)
    236. Daniel Pipes (anti-Moslem appointed to the US Institute of Peace)
    237. Nicole Nason (head of National Traffic Safety Administration bans experts from talking with public)
    238. Senator Larry Craig arrested for soliciting sex with a male police officer
    239. Auditor of no bid KBR Iraq contract demoted
    240. ADVISE DHS data mining program inappropriately reviewed
    241. Use of state secrets argument
    242. Breastfeeding campaign changed due to infant formula manufacturers‚ pressure
    243. Consumer Products Safety Commission gutted
    244. Steven Law (Mitch McConnell crony)
    245. Iraq met few of the Bush Administration’s own benchmarks
    246. Peter Keisler (Civil Division Justice)
    247. Six nuclear tipped cruise missiles flown across US in massive security breach
    248. Marion Blakey (FAA head takes job with industry trade group)
    249. DOJ announces it will not prosecute Chiquita Banana executives for paying off Columbian terrorists
    250. Alexis Debat neocon terrorism expert caught making up numerous interviews
    251. Howard Krongard (State IG more interested in covering up department misdeeds)
    252. Telecoms involved in warrantless wiretapping are represented by former government officials and protected by current officials who used to work for them
    253. Turbulence, an NSA/DHS intrusive cyber surveillance program
    254. Charles Reichers procurement officer benefitted from contractor largesse
    255. Karl Zinsmeister kooky White House domestic policy adviser
    256. Blackwater (private security contractor involved in numerous incidents in Iraq)
    257. Runup to the Iraq war (in quotes)
    258. State Department gives grant to Taliban
    259. Failure to spend funds to exonerate individuals through DNA testing
    260. Proposed DHS use of flawed Social Security info to weed out undocumented workers
    261. CIA Director investigates his own Inspector General
    262. Joseph Schmitz (partisan former DOD IG)
    263. Chemical restraints used on undocumented immigrants
    264. Downing Street memo (Bush determined to go to war, non-coverage by US press)
    265. Michael Mukasey nominated as AG, makes clear he will back all of Bush’s policies
    266. In test, airport screeners miss most fake bombs; near collisions between aircraft on the ground little changed
    267. Dyncorp was given a billion dollars to train the Iraqi police force
    268. Abdallah Higazy mistakenly arrested and held after 9/11
    269. Racist, anti-gay judge Leslie Southwick confirmed by Senate to Court of Appeals
    270. Holy Land Foundation accused of funding terrorists; signature case ends in big mistrial
    271. Two antagonistic anti-corruption units in Iraq
    272. Medical contract for National Guard let to cronies
    273. Fake FEMA news conference
    274. Zacarias Moussaoui case
    275. Failure to secure fissile material at American nuclear sites
    276. NIE summaries no longer to be released
    277. Donald Vance (whistleblower) held for 3 months without charge by US military
    278. Sami al Haj and Bilal Hussein, newsmen, held without charge
    279. Stacking the Commission on Civil Rights with Republicans
    280. Beating the war drums and the November 2007 NIE on Iran
    281. Donald Kerr, No. 2 to DNI Mike McConnell, declares anonymity a thing of the past
    282. Bush visit “free speech” zones
    283. Executive order authorizing political commissars at federal agencies
    284. Al Hubbard wrongheaded Bush economic adviser leaves post
    285. Push for last minute pro-business regulations
    286. Right to kidnap foreign nationals even of countries with an extradition treaty
    287. White House logs declared a state secret
    288. Torture tapes made then destroyed
    289. Social Security disability backlogs growing
    290. Proposal (withdrawn) to place JAG corps under politically appointed DOD counsel
    291. Increasing mental health needs in US Army after service in Iraq
    292. KBR employee raped in Iraq held against will by KBR
    293. Another data base this one an FBI biometric system
    294. Eric Andell (Education) in travel scandal
    295. Lester Crawford (FDA) Plan B and conflicts of interest
    296. Carl Truscott (ATF) more interested in decorating his office than doing his job
    297. John Korsmo illegal campaign event
    298. Bush job creation (not)
    299. US Attorney Chris Christie steering contracts
    300. FBI not paying phone bills for wiretaps
    301. DC Circuit court says torture is OK; detainees not persons
    302. DHS’ goofy terrorist target list
    303. Unnecessary intrusive background checks
    304. Boats that don’t float
    305. Cambone’s soft landing
    306. More incompetence at the VA
    307. The diving dollar
    308. Soaring oil and gas prices
    309. John Bolton, International Man of Disaster
    310. Bush versus the whales
    311. The Federal (non)- Protective Service
    312. A buried report on Iraq reconstruction
    313. A buried report on Great Lakes pollution
    314. A buried report on privatizing US intelligence
    315. Rick Renzi for hire
    316. Understaffing at State
    317. Understaffing at the US Park Police
    318. William Haynes the Pentagon’s torture lawyer
    319. Emasculating oversight boards
    320. Americans behind bars
    321. Manipulating reports at the EPA
    322. Timothy Goeglein, a faith-based plagiarist
    323. Substandard military helmets
    324. In the bag at the SEC
    325. Another punished whistleblower
    326. Inspector Generals, a broken system
    327. Staying in Iraq forever
    328. The National Data Exchange
    329. A crook at the House Republican campaign committee
    330. A semi-buried report on Saddam and al Qaeda
    331. Freedom of Information, well not so much
    332. Running interference for crooks in LA
    333. Government by contractor
    334. Bad ammo, worse contractors
    335. Another one bites the dust
    336. Monica Goodling strikes again
    337. The FAA and the less than safe skies
    338. Pentagon waste in acquisition spending
    339. Abuse in the government’s SmartPay card program
    340. Rumsfeld’s army of the future
    341. The Supreme Court: Physicians of last resort
    342. al Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas
    343. Torture in Afghanistan in 2003
    344. The military propagandists
    345. The Indiana voter ID case
    346. No Child Left Behind’s Reading First boondoggle
    347. Cheney and the right whales
    348. The EPA, Mary Gade, and dioxin
    349. Conflicts of interest in NASA’s moon project
    350. Poorly secured nuclear material at Lawrence Livermore
    351. Iraqi anti-corruption chief held out to dry
    352. FDA loosens rules for drug trials in Third World countries
    353. Another attempt to restrict information
    354. USDA to no longer track pesticide use
    355. Department of Defense can not account for billions it spent in Iraq
    356. Pentagon aeronautics contractor supplies dubious products for aircraft
    357. Pentagon has too few auditors for its weapons acquisition programs
    358. Failure of KBR to fix electrical problems leads to soldier’s electrocution
    359. Investigating the run up to the Iraq War
    360. KBR dodges an audit and ditches the auditor
    361. A medical report on torture
    362. KBR exposed US soldiers to a carcinogen in Iraq
    363. Political Selection in Justice Department internship programs
    364. Supreme Court: 2nd Amendment applies to individuals
    365. Speculation in crude oil futures markets
    366. The anthrax attacks, a blown investigation
    367. War, oil, oil companies, and Iraq
    368. SEC to reduce oversight of international corporations and markets
    369. Pentagon General lies to Congress about KBR Iraq water contract
    370. Renting public officials to pay for the Bush Library
    371. HHS seeks to permit refusal of services for women
    372. Fusion Centers and Domestic Intelligence
    373. Bush tax policy favors foreign corporations
    374. Selling off the country’s roads
    375. The Hubbush letter and a forged justification for war
    376. Policing the national political conventions
    377. Gonzales’ mishandling of national security document
    378. KBR and forced labor in Iraq
    379. The GSA opposes 9/11 safety changes in building construction
    380. Republican US Attorney downplays Obama assassination plot
    381. Labor Department pulls rug out from under corporate whistleblowers
    382. More corruption in the government’s oil leasing programs
    383. Active duty Army unit to be deployed for domestic operations
    384. Datamining: Intrusive and it doesn’t work
    385. Corruption in the missile defense program
    386. Failure to outfit planes to fight fires in Southern California
    387. Political censorship at PBS
    388. Religious profiling at the DHS
    389. A political hit: Michael Garcia and Eliot Spitzer
    390. Voter suppression efforts in the 2008 elections
    391. The Bureau of Land Management and shady deals in Utah again
    392. BP receives a slap on the wrist from Justice Department
    393. Oh, and another Bureau of Land Management shady deal in the West
    394. Transportation Department relaxes rules on truckdriving safety
    395. Lax oversight at the Office of Thrift Supervision contributed to bank failures
    396. Wrongdoing in the Air Marshal Service
    397. Government OK’s dumping mining debris in and near streams
    398. Managing the Obama transition, the NASA example
    399. The cockamamie FBI investigation of the Madrid train bombings and Brandon Mayfield

  179. Frank says:

    “California controller to suspend tax refunds, welfare checks, student grants”

    But I bet you they will pay for health care and schooling for illegals. Only in America you ignore your citizens and reward criminals.

  180. spam spam bacon spam says:

    http://www.netrootsmass.net/category/hughs-bush-scandals-list/

    1. Patient neglect at Walter Reed Army Hospital
    2. US Attorney firings
    3. Libby/Plame Affair (Outing a CIA agent)
    4. Iraq war
    5. Afghanistan (leaving before the job was done)
    6. Iran saber rattling
    7. North Korea (mishandling nuclear issue)
    8. The War on Terror (failure to capture Osama bin Laden, dubious allies)
    9. Civilian contractors in Iraq (poor service for big bucks)
    10. Military Commissions Act (torture, kangaroo courts, indefinite detention, and loss of habeas corpus)
    11. Hurricane Katrina and the drowning of New Orleans
    12. NSA warrantless wiretapping
    13. SWIFT (international money transfers)
    14. Black sites and rendition
    15. Department of Homeland Security (a massive boondoggle)
    16. K Street lobbyists (for government you can buy)
    17. Dusty Foggo (No. 3 at the CIA)
    18. Duke Cunningham (a corrupt politician)
    19. Tom Delay (another corrupt politician)
    20. Mark Foley and the House pages
    21. Cheney Energy Task Force (and hiding info about it)
    22. Tax cuts for the richest of the rich
    23. Global warming (denial and stalling)
    24. Terri Schiavo and the attempted trashing of family privacy rights
    25. Budget deficits and a greatly increased national debt
    26. Stacking of the Supreme Court (Roberts and Alito)
    27. Medicare( lack of long term solvency)
    28. Medicare Part D (Drug prescriptions)
    29. Healthcare general mess
    30. Doug Feith (stovepiping Iraq intel)
    31. 2000 election (stolen)
    32. 2004 election (rigging)
    33. 9/11 Commission limitation and manipulation of
    34. 9/11 Commission’s recommendations delayed implementation
    35. Marginalization of the UN
    36. Preventive war doctrine
    37. Loss of US prestige
    38. Inaction on Israeli-Palestinian peace process
    39. Lack of spending on basic research
    40. Alberto Gonzales
    41. FDA restricting the mission
    42. EPA restricting the mission
    43. Porter Goss trashing the CIA
    44. Militarization of intelligence
    45. Rampant cronyism
    46. Signing statements
    47. Unilateral Executive
    48. Abuse of the National Guard
    49. Breaking the Army
    50. Increase in the balance of trade deficit

  181. spam spam bacon spam says:

    1. Patient neglect at Walter Reed Army Hospital
    2. US Attorney firings
    3. Libby/Plame Affair (Outing a CIA agent)
    4. Iraq war
    5. Afghanistan (leaving before the job was done)
    6. Iran saber rattling
    7. North Korea (mishandling nuclear issue)
    8. The War on Terror (failure to capture Osama bin Laden, dubious allies)
    9. Civilian contractors in Iraq (poor service for big bucks)
    10. Military Commissions Act (torture, kangaroo courts, indefinite detention, and loss of habeas corpus)
    11. Hurricane Katrina and the drowning of New Orleans
    12. NSA warrantless wiretapping
    13. SWIFT (international money transfers)
    14. Black sites and rendition
    15. Department of Homeland Security (a massive boondoggle)
    16. K Street lobbyists (for government you can buy)
    17. Dusty Foggo (No. 3 at the CIA)
    18. Duke Cunningham (a corrupt politician)
    19. Tom Delay (another corrupt politician)
    20. Mark Foley and the House pages
    21. Cheney Energy Task Force (and hiding info about it)
    22. Tax cuts for the richest of the rich
    23. Global warming (denial and stalling)
    24. Terri Schiavo and the attempted trashing of family privacy rights
    25. Budget deficits and a greatly increased national debt
    26. Stacking of the Supreme Court (Roberts and Alito)
    27. Medicare( lack of long term solvency)
    28. Medicare Part D (Drug prescriptions)
    29. Healthcare general mess
    30. Doug Feith (stovepiping Iraq intel)
    31. 2000 election (stolen)
    32. 2004 election (rigging)
    33. 9/11 Commission limitation and manipulation of
    34. 9/11 Commission’s recommendations delayed implementation
    35. Marginalization of the UN
    36. Preventive war doctrine
    37. Loss of US prestige
    38. Inaction on Israeli-Palestinian peace process
    39. Lack of spending on basic research
    40. Alberto Gonzales
    41. FDA restricting the mission
    42. EPA restricting the mission
    43. Porter Goss trashing the CIA
    44. Militarization of intelligence
    45. Rampant cronyism
    46. Signing statements
    47. Unilateral Executive
    48. Abuse of the National Guard
    49. Breaking the Army
    50. Increase in the balance of trade deficit
    51. Grassley Bankruptcy Bill (creditors favored over debtors)
    52. Cross border Mexican truck safety
    53. Rove’s security clearance (kept after his part in outing Valerie Plame)
    54. Anti-immigration raids (children and parents separated)
    55. Dubai Ports deal (a Middle East company in charge of US ports in the age of terrorism)
    56. Patriot Act and its Extension
    57. Privatization of Social Security (a bad idea endlessly recycled)
    58. War on Science
    59. David Safavian (Abramoff associate)
    60. Claude Allen (White House adviser caught shoplifting)
    61. Bush lying about firing Rumsfeld before the November 2006 election
    62. Armstrong Williams (paid propagandists)
    63. Labor Department (ground down by Mitch McConnell’s wife)
    64. Net neutrality/media ownership
    65. Israeli bombing of Lebanon (delay in putting a ceasefire in place)
    66. PDB on Bin Laden (ignoring the terrorist threat pre-9/11)
    67. Ground Zero declared non-toxic
    68. Sago mining disaster (non-enforcement of safety regs)
    69. Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination (a supreme act of cronyism)
    70. Vetoing stem cell research
    71. Plan B contraception
    72. Clear Skies/ Healthy Forests Acts (weakening pollution controls and opening forests to logging)
    73. Ballistic missile shield (only works to antagonize the Russians)
    74. Leandro Aragoncillo (the spy in Cheney’s office)
    75. Overseas AIDS programs (reflecting the Administration’s benighted views on sex)
    76. Constitutional amendment against gay marriage
    77. Drilling in Bristol Bay, Alaska
    78. Canard of Clintons trashing the White House before leaving
    79. Jeff Gannon (a male prostitute in the White House press corps)
    80. Native American trust funds
    81. Creationist materials at national parks
    82. Returning US war dead (banning photographing the returning coffins)
    83. False military reporting (Pat Tillman, Jessica Lynch)
    84. AIPAC spy scandal
    85. Detainee court cases (a quick guide)
    86. Opening US mail
    87. Subprime mortgage bubble
    88. Bush’s ties to Enron
    89. 2001 California energy crisis (refusal to intervene in this Enron manufactured crisis)
    90. Darfur (calling it genocide is not a policy)
    91. Russian loose nukes (underfunding)
    92. OPR Gonzales investigation (stymied)
    93. Interference in lawsuit against Big Tobacco
    94. Phone jamming in New Hampshire (with White House connections)
    95. Steven Griles (Abramoff’s man at Interior)
    96. US Attorney targeting of Democratic office holders
    97. Interim US Attorney provision (an attempt to appoint USAs without Senate approval)
    98. FBI National Security Letters (overuse and abuse)
    99. GSA (Hatch Act violations)

  182. spam spam bacon spam says:

    147. Luis Posada Carriles/Vang Pao (terrorists but our terrorist)
    148. No White House investigation into Plame affair
    149. Politics at NASA
    150. Attempt to limit federal prisoners testifying before Congress
    151. Corporate remuneration
    152. Financial analysis and investment (a supposed separation)
    153. Scott Bloch (whistleblower protection, not really)
    154. Richard Levernier and Bogdan Dzakovic (whistleblowers)
    155. Sibel Edmonds (whistleblower)
    156. Monica Goodling (political hires)
    157. Michael Baroody and the Consumer Products Safety Commission
    158. TALON (Pentagon surveillance of civilians)
    159. Scripted Iraqi war White House news conference
    160. Bill Frist and healthcare giant HCA
    161. Julie Myers (Immigration)
    162. Randall Tobias (AIDS coordinator with a yen)
    163. Robert Coughlin (Abramoff tie in)
    164. Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction is a thankless job
    165. Continuing Republican support for the Iraq war despite the public’s rejection of it
    166. Border Fence with Mexico (a short fence for a long border)
    167. Bush coverup strategies to defeat Congressional oversight
    168. Gordon Smith campaign and White House help
    169. Debra Yang (US Attorney)
    170. Elizabeth Cheney (nepotism)
    171. Dick Cheney
    172. Oil lease fiascos
    173. Guantanamo defense counsels (not the path to career advancement)
    174. VA bonuses (for a job not well done)
    175. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (another ineffective board and doctored report)
    176. Johnnie Frazier (Commerce IG)
    177. Bill Roderick (EPA IG)
    178. Janet Rehnquist (HHS IG)
    179. Karla Corcoran (Post Office IG)
    180. Polar bears, global warming, and censorship
    181. American Center for Voting Rights (fake voter fraud group)
    182. MTBE (gas additive)
    183. FBI domestic spying without probable cause
    184. Gutting overtime pay regulations
    185. Leaving the International Criminal Court
    186. Dissemination of medical information
    187. Deregulation of energy companies
    188. James Holsinger (Anti-gay Surgeon General nominee)
    189. Italia Federici (Abramoff crony)
    190. Thomas Barnett (Anti-trust Division Justice)
    191. Palestinian civil war
    192. A list of reasons to invade Iraq
    193. A list of Iraq war turning points
    194. Torture and Guantanamo
    195. Torture and Iraq
    196. Dick Cheney and the Fourth Branch

  183. reinvestor101(the original) says:

    This is what you get when you have liberals running the damn government. All this liberal largess is no longer fundable now. Good, let the libs learn live within their damn means.

    Shore Guy, you’re supposed to support the party no matter what. We can’t have you fair weather republicans associating themselves with the rest of us. You sound like a Rockefeller republican and that in my book is a closet liberal.

    sas says:
    January 17, 2009 at 9:00 pm
    “California controller to suspend tax refunds, welfare checks, student grants”
    http://tinyurl.com/9su59n

  184. spam spam bacon spam says:

    286. Right to kidnap foreign nationals even of countries with an extradition treaty
    287. White House logs declared a state secret
    288. Torture tapes made then destroyed
    289. Social Security disability backlogs growing
    290. Proposal (withdrawn) to place JAG corps under politically appointed DOD counsel
    291. Increasing mental health needs in US Army after service in Iraq
    292. KBR employee raped in Iraq held against will by KBR
    293. Another data base this one an FBI biometric system
    294. Eric Andell (Education) in travel scandal
    295. Lester Crawford (FDA) Plan B and conflicts of interest
    296. Carl Truscott (ATF) more interested in decorating his office than doing his job
    297. John Korsmo illegal campaign event
    298. Bush job creation (not)
    299. US Attorney Chris Christie steering contracts
    300. FBI not paying phone bills for wiretaps
    301. DC Circuit court says torture is OK; detainees not persons
    302. DHS’ goofy terrorist target list
    303. Unnecessary intrusive background checks
    304. Boats that don’t float
    305. Cambone’s soft landing
    306. More incompetence at the VA
    307. The diving dollar
    308. Soaring oil and gas prices
    309. John Bolton, International Man of Disaster
    310. Bush versus the whales
    311. The Federal (non)- Protective Service
    312. A buried report on Iraq reconstruction
    313. A buried report on Great Lakes pollution
    314. A buried report on privatizing US intelligence
    315. Rick Renzi for hire
    316. Understaffing at State
    317. Understaffing at the US Park Police
    318. William Haynes the Pentagon’s torture lawyer
    319. Emasculating oversight boards
    320. Americans behind bars
    321. Manipulating reports at the EPA
    322. Timothy Goeglein, a faith-based plagiarist
    323. Substandard military helmets
    324. In the bag at the SEC
    325. Another punished whistleblower
    326. Inspector Generals, a broken system
    327. Staying in Iraq forever
    328. The National Data Exchange
    329. A crook at the House Republican campaign committee
    330. A semi-buried report on Saddam and al Qaeda
    331. Freedom of Information, well not so much
    332. Running interference for crooks in LA
    333. Government by contractor
    334. Bad ammo, worse contractors
    335. Another one bites the dust
    336. Monica Goodling strikes again

  185. spam spam bacon spam says:

    337. The FAA and the less than safe skies
    338. Pentagon waste in acquisition spending
    339. Abuse in the government’s SmartPay card program
    340. Rumsfeld’s army of the future
    341. The Supreme Court: Physicians of last resort
    342. al Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas
    343. Torture in Afghanistan in 2003
    344. The military propagandists
    345. The Indiana voter ID case
    346. No Child Left Behind’s Reading First boondoggle
    347. Cheney and the right whales
    348. The EPA, Mary Gade, and dioxin
    349. Conflicts of interest in NASA’s moon project
    350. Poorly secured nuclear material at Lawrence Livermore
    351. Iraqi anti-corruption chief held out to dry
    352. FDA loosens rules for drug trials in Third World countries
    353. Another attempt to restrict information
    354. USDA to no longer track pesticide use
    355. Department of Defense can not account for billions it spent in Iraq
    356. Pentagon aeronautics contractor supplies dubious products for aircraft
    357. Pentagon has too few auditors for its weapons acquisition programs
    358. Failure of KBR to fix electrical problems leads to soldier’s electrocution
    359. Investigating the run up to the Iraq War
    360. KBR dodges an audit and ditches the auditor
    361. A medical report on torture
    362. KBR exposed US soldiers to a carcinogen in Iraq
    363. Political Selection in Justice Department internship programs
    364. Supreme Court: 2nd Amendment applies to individuals
    365. Speculation in crude oil futures markets
    366. The anthrax attacks, a blown investigation
    367. War, oil, oil companies, and Iraq
    368. SEC to reduce oversight of international corporations and markets
    369. Pentagon General lies to Congress about KBR Iraq water contract
    370. Renting public officials to pay for the Bush Library
    371. HHS seeks to permit refusal of services for women
    372. Fusion Centers and Domestic Intelligence
    373. Bush tax policy favors foreign corporations
    374. Selling off the country’s roads
    375. The Hubbush letter and a forged justification for war
    376. Policing the national political conventions
    377. Gonzales’ mishandling of national security document
    378. KBR and forced labor in Iraq
    379. The GSA opposes 9/11 safety changes in building construction
    380. Republican US Attorney downplays Obama assassination plot
    381. Labor Department pulls rug out from under corporate whistleblowers
    382. More corruption in the government’s oil leasing programs
    383. Active duty Army unit to be deployed for domestic operations
    384. Datamining: Intrusive and it doesn’t work
    385. Corruption in the missile defense program
    386. Failure to outfit planes to fight fires in Southern California
    387. Political censorship at PBS

  186. sas says:

    spam,

    get over it. we all agree with you.
    don’t focus so much on the x-puppet.

    know the system, and the players that pull the string. and don’t tell me you already do, cause ye don’t.

    i only say it because i care:)
    SAS

  187. sas says:

    ok,

    does Frank = reinvestor101 = spam

    ?

    i can find out you know, i don’t need grim.

    on second thought, i don’t really care that much.

    carry on !
    SAS

  188. NJGator says:

    Shore – We are at the Inn at Essex just outside of Burlington. http://www.vtculinaryresort.com

    We are closer to Stowe and Smuggler’s Notch than we are to Killington. It wasn’t a bad ride up today at all from Essex County.

    We had dinner at Butler’s – one of the 2 onsite restaurants run by the Culinary Institute. The food quality was pretty high, the service was a bit uneven. They did a 3 course pre-fixe for $35.

    Will report back on the classes and massages. And I totally agree re the stones.

  189. spam spam bacon spam says:

    WMFG!!!

    :)

    Frank=Re101=Spam…

    that’s good…

    Hardly.
    Check my ip.

    And, I’ve met in person, for real, several njreposters…

    I am not re101, nor Frank.

    If playing troll, I’d come up with MUCH BETTER material… ;)

  190. spam spam bacon spam says:

    Just so you know, Bi doesn’t exist…

  191. sas says:

    “If playing troll, I’d come up with MUCH BETTER material”

    touché
    :)
    SAS

  192. lostinny says:

    I think there are several trolls that don’t exist.

  193. schabadoo says:

    omama

    I hope you’re drunk, cause this is some tired stuff.

    I have to say that the “you guys think O is the messiah” bit from the right side of the aisle is getting pretty old.

    Hearing it from Reagan worshipers is my favorite…

  194. jamil says:

    spam: Give me a break. For example, Clinton fired every US attorney, especially those who were closing in on him and about to prosecute him. Libby trial was a disgrace, the leaker was a liberal and F pursued the case even after knowing that. Meanwhile, NYT leaked national secrets. NYT “journalists” should have been prosecuted and executed, like Rosenberg.

    Biggest disgrace with Bush is that he wasn’t as aggressive as Clinton, e.g. letting NYT, Sandy Berger and Schumer get away (people working for Schumer stole SS number of african-american republican senate candidate and tried to sabotage him).

  195. sas says:

    “Reagan”

    don’t get me started on Reagen.
    anyone say? Jim Crow laws

    and just say no!
    (while we ship it in, and with the profits, we funnel it to wall st, and sell military arms)

    ha ha ha.
    SAS

    (ps. i actually have a pic of me with Reagen in my photo album, i should burn it right now)

  196. lostinny says:

    sas
    no burning good pics.

  197. schabadoo says:

    For example, Clinton fired every US attorney, especially those who were closing in on him and about to prosecute him.

    “It is customary for a President to replace U.S. attorneys at the beginning of a term.” Gerson added that “Ronald Reagan replaced every sitting U.S. attorney when he appointed his first Attorney General.”

    So much noise, so little signal.

  198. sas says:

    true, i better hold off for now.

    :P
    SAS

  199. Barbara says:

    is it open bar Wi-Fi night?

  200. lostinny says:

    sas
    If you do that, the fantasy will die a little.

  201. lostinny says:

    Barbara
    Must be. But then there are always the people who post like they’re drunk all the time.

  202. sas says:

    “(while we ship it in, and with the profits, we funnel it to wall st, and sell military arms)”

    to be fair, i should correct myself, this started way before Reagen, he just uped the annie.

    you blokes should watch that movie “american gangster” there is some truth to that movie.

    but i will tell you right now,
    Frank Lucas was nothing in the larger scheme of things.

    SAS

  203. jamil says:

    “So much noise, so little signal.”

    US attorneys were investigating criminal activity by Clinton, and fired by Clinton. Bush did not fire US attorneys (he should have). It is customary that incompetent employees (who are serving under the pleasure of president) can be fired at will. This was ridiculous “scandal” made up be the most dishonest media in history.

  204. sas says:

    and you won’t hear that on that pencil neck geek Sean Hannity show.

    SAS

  205. renter says:

    http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=1&pg=6&srcnt=215&sid=0a45f9ff424648f880839e2fcc7f7000&fhcnt=8&loc=East+Brunswick+NJ&usrloc=East+Brunswick+NJ&bd=4&typ=3F&fhpg=2&lid=1104301070&lsn=60

    This is the listing for a house in East Brunswick at $374,900, if you look at the Agent’s Other Real Estate Listings on the lower right hand side of the page you will see the same house at $399,999

  206. sas says:

    reinvestor101,

    hey bloke… run up to the store and get lostinny, jamil, spam & I some more beer.

    Barbara, you need anything?

    :P
    SAS

  207. spam spam bacon spam says:

    ROFL…
    good catch, renter.

    Nice countertops.

    She should have been slapped by the countertop salesperson.

  208. lostinny says:

    sas
    Awww thanks for thinking of us all. I think I still want to go to Mexico tomorrow.

  209. lostinny says:

    Spam
    Is that pink formica?

  210. james says:

    Ahhh, my therapy session is complete. At least I know I am not alone in my disenchantment of Obama and the country. Please answer this question…

    What will the country become when the honest, tax paying, hard working white guy who expects nothing from government except to stay out of his way gives up and joins the realm of government tit sucking losers?

    When is the breaking point? I am getting there awfully fast.

  211. renter says:

    The countertops are a fright. I told someone in East Brunswick this house was $374,900 and they were surprised at what a bargain it was because these were going for $450,000 in 2005.

    I wonder what a house comparable to this was selling for in 2000.

  212. spam spam bacon spam says:

    Lost,
    yeah looks like it.

    bismuth subsalicylate pink.

  213. sas says:

    “What will the country become when the honest, tax paying, hard working white guy who expects nothing from government except to stay out of his way gives up and joins the realm of government tit sucking losers?”

    you lost me my friend..
    white people are already tit sucking losers? always have been and only will be.

    everyone needs to ween themselves from the teet.
    but mother’s milk is so sweet for many, just ask any kids from the age of 18-30 living in NJ.

    SAS

  214. schabadoo says:

    US attorneys were investigating criminal activity by Clinton, and fired by Clinton.

    Soooo…you just ignore facts that bother your ingrained POV and plod on with this?

    “It is customary for a President to replace U.S. attorneys at the beginning of a term.” Gerson added that “Ronald Reagan replaced every sitting U.S. attorney when he appointed his first Attorney General.”

  215. sas says:

    just in case i didn’t make myself clear from my last post:

    white people ARE and ALWAYS have been teet sucking losers.

    SAS

  216. sas says:

    yes, i’m white.

    SAS

  217. lostinny says:

    sas
    You know you are fiesty when the mrs. is away.

  218. spam spam bacon spam says:

    Jamil,
    tried to reply 3x and keep getting in moderation.

    Which doesn’t make any sense, because we all know the liberals own and control the media, so I’m not sure how yours got thru and mine didn’t, but hey. ;)

  219. spam spam bacon spam says:

    *caught in moderation

  220. spam spam bacon spam says:

    Somebody go kick snoring grim and tell him to unmoderate just one of them…
    (and the rest of my Hugh’s list too, while he’s up. And tell him to bring us all another beer while he’s up…)

  221. alia says:

    i just finished a cider. pear. yum.

    (i am a cheap date, what can i say?)

  222. lostinny says:

    spam
    Can he refill my wine too?

  223. alia says:

    someone had suggested we take turns paying grim for a month’s hosting fees. any idea what that comes out to? (are we talking $20 or $200?)

  224. spam spam bacon spam says:

    “grim!”

    “grab the wine, too!”

    [You guys are hungry?]

    “Can you make us a snack while you’re in there?”

  225. Happy Camper says:

    “What will the country become when the honest, tax paying, hard working white guy who expects nothing from government except to stay out of his way gives up and joins the realm of government tit sucking losers?”

    What’s up with the racial stuff?

    HC

  226. sas says:

    actually, the black man has been living in a depression type economics for sometime now, and we haven’t heard jack from omama, the media, or anyone for that matter.

    we only hear hub bub when the rich white guy starts to take a financial hit.

    pretty sad actually.

    SAS

  227. Happy Camper says:

    “white people ARE and ALWAYS have been teet sucking losers.”

    what exactly do you mean? that statement makes absolutely no sense on 1,000 levels.

    HC

  228. spam spam bacon spam says:

    someone had suggested we take turns paying grim for a month’s hosting fees. any idea what that comes out to? (are we talking $20 or $200?)

    I think that would make grim too soft and teet sucking-like…

    I mean…hosting fee welfare?

    Next, he’ll want cable teevee and conjugal visits…

  229. sas says:

    “what exactly do you mean? that statement makes absolutely no sense on 1,000 levels”

    what i meant is that everyone (generally speaking), don’t matter your color wants a govt paycheck.

    its was my counter to a previous comment.

    SAS

  230. alia says:

    sas, for true.

    speaking as a Previously Poor Person ™… and lily white.

    classism in this country is pretty bad, we just don’t notice it because it gets mixed up with racism so much.

  231. Happy Camper says:

    225 post helps to clarify. the african-american man has been been living in depression type economics for….EVER!!!

    (no, I ain’t african-american)

    HC

  232. lostinny says:

    Yes food would be good right now. Do we have any bread?

  233. Happy Camper says:

    @228…OK. I didn’t mean to get into an argument you had before.

    I’ll back off.

    HC

  234. sas says:

    “the african-american man has been been living in depression type economics for….EVER!”

    ok, i don’t totally agree, but nonetheless, its an issue that has been overlooked and its a damn shame.

    SAS

  235. alia says:

    i have pumpkin seed brittle. (and no, i’m not orange.)

  236. lostinny says:

    sas
    I would like to meet you irl because I am entirely too buzzed right now but if I was with you in person I would take the bait.

  237. spam spam bacon spam says:

    no bread, but we have a bag of chinese noodles and a can of corn.

    can we do something with that?

  238. lostinny says:

    alia
    I’m not sure that would work right now but it does sound yummy.

  239. alia says:

    add a can of cream of mushroom soup, and you have dorm casserole.

  240. spam spam bacon spam says:

    The other piece of meat in my bed promised to get me up early and I promised not to be crabby about it….

    So, I should be sleeping soon if I’m gonna keep my promise…

    ‘nite all

  241. lostinny says:

    No I have to pass on the mushrooms. Chinese noodles are ok if I had some decent soup.

  242. lostinny says:

    Nite Spam!

  243. Happy Camper says:

    I now see that it was “James” who got me going….

    HC

  244. sas says:

    i remember when Newark had some of thee best jazz clubs in the states.

    alot of good production & factories once came out of Newark too.

    SAS

  245. sas says:

    and the soul food place that use to be there too.. man!
    out of sight!!

    SAS

  246. lostinny says:

    sas
    Things change. It sucks. Hopefully, we find new places to make us feel just as good.

  247. Happy Camper says:

    Krugman says:

    January 17, 2009, 3:57 PM

    Crazy people

    “Grover Norquist:
    The U.S. corporate rate is 35 percent; the European rate is 25 percent. Obama is a more international guy, so we should be close to the European average. We’ll stop torturing people, we’ll stop torturing corporations, and that will make us more like Europe.”

    This isn’t some random crank: this guy was at the center of the K Street Project, the attempt to build Republican dominance in Washington. And he thinks that a few percentage points on the corporate tax rate is the moral equivalent of waterboarding.

  248. Qwerty says:

    RE: What do you want to see more of?

    More lowballs.

    More foreclosures.

    More pain.

    More cowbell.

  249. sas says:

    “I now see that it was “James” who got me going”

    i think what he meant to was when are we going to quit paying the unproductive and start paying the productive. a feeling of frusteration for many people.

    and the cavet being unproductive comes many flavors.

    SAS

  250. sas says:

    i can’t type, let me fix it:

    “I now see that it was “James” who got me going”

    i think what James meant in his post was-when are we going to quit paying the unproductive and start paying the productive-a feeling of frusteration for many people, and may push the general population to a breaking point.

    and the cavet being unproductive comes many flavors.

    SAS

  251. Happy Camper says:

    You are 100% correct that the unproductive comes in many flavors. But, when it comes to whom exactly created this mess?

    CEO,
    Big cheeses,
    Int’l bankers,
    Hedge funds,

    then the unproductive begins to narrow down….

    HC

  252. rhymingrealtor says:

    “What will the country become when the honest, tax paying, hard working white guy who expects nothing from government except to stay out of his way gives up and joins the realm of government tit sucking losers??

    Do you really expect nothing from the government? nothing…. come on James give me a break. I am sure you do but what you get from the government is okay because you say it is.

    KL

  253. lostinny says:

    OK I’m off. Have a great night all.

  254. james says:

    “everyone needs to ween themselves from the teet.
    but mother’s milk is so sweet for many, just ask any kids from the age of 18-30 living in NJ.”

    I wouldnt know, I spent those years in Maryland and north Philly.

    As far as the other posts go…. Dont pull the race card on me because I simply dont play that game and call it as it is. The Rev Al was on CNN tonight claiming responsibility for Obama’s win. I am so G-Dam mad I am ready to take up arms.

  255. sas says:

    “Circuit City”

    i wonder how many x-employees will do their aprt in the “liquidation” process.

    Ebay anyone..

    SAS

  256. james says:

    As far as the unproductive goes. Yes they come in many flavors. Its the liberal trend in this country which makes me irate.

    Thomas Jefferson, where are you?

    “A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:”

  257. Happy Camper says:

    “Dont pull the race card on me because I simply dont play that game and call it as it is.”

    Hatred is clouding your judgement. No, you don’t call it as it is. Rev Al did not create this mess. Get on with reality. Rev Al, who I don’t like one bit, ain’t a banker.
    It is bankers who are making a mess of it all. There is plenty of evidence for it, but I won’t bring it to you because you need to read a newspaper yourself.

    HC.

  258. sas says:

    HC & James,

    i think we are all straying from the road. we should get back on it before it things escalate.

    yes?

    SAS

  259. Happy Camper says:

    “As far as the unproductive goes. Yes they come in many flavors. Its the liberal trend in this country which makes me irate.”

    You think Lehman, Citibank, Madoff et. al. are liberals?

    James, you are the problem. You are a fanatic who is unwilling to understand reality. This is not a liberal or republican issue. And it is people like you who are most dangerous to the health of America.

    SAS put the finger right on the issue. The unproductive comes in many flavors, political views and economic status.

    Thank God we have a new administration to clean house.

    HC

  260. Clotpoll says:

    shore (154)-

    Congress is just a fancy word for f*ck.

  261. galgon says:

    Grim,

    If you are looking for suggested improvements to the comments section, how about breaking the comments in to different pages every 50 to 100 comments? That should reduce the bandwidth used every time someone refreshes the comment list. Plus those of us using cell phone (especially the iPhone) wont have to spend 5 minutes to scroll down to the bottom to read the newest comments.

    The only real downside of pages would be having to navigate back to another page to see what comment another comment is referencing. I think the positive features far outweigh the negatives on this one.

  262. reinvestor101(the original) says:

    What the hell is going on here?? Another Saturday night with sas on the damn sauce again drinking like a damn whale?

    sas, put down the damn bottle and get with the program.

  263. d2b says:

    Happy:

    People tell me all the time that we are in this mess because the banks were forced to give poor people loans. These are normally the same people that think that GWB because president on 9-12. People spent the first six years of this decade blaming Clinton. the last two were spent blaming congress.

  264. Clotpoll says:

    Smoke ’em if you got ’em.

    Spent the evening with my pal from the SEC. The horrorshow ain’t over yet.

    Not by a longshot.

  265. Clotpoll says:

    tard (261)-

    sas blind drunk is better than you, stone cold sober.

  266. Clotpoll says:

    I think I said that to a girl once.

  267. Clotpoll says:

    Saturday Night Live is back to sucking.

    Same as it ever was.

    My wife voted for O. Told me today she’s already sick of him.

    I think my expat thingy is moving to the front of her brain.

  268. reinvestor101(the original) says:

    You guys are acting so crazy here, you’re throwing off my damn numbering system for my list.

    sas, cut the shlt and stop trying to imply that the government has a damn thing to do with drugs. Everyone knows these punks with their pants halfway down their asses are the one’s selling the damn drugs.

    There is no “big” player in the drug industry, just a bunch of small player conspiring to get the stuff in the country. Who the hell do you think you are anyway? Gary Webb of San Jose Mercury News? Do you know what happened to him after making all those damn wild accusations about the CIA and cocaine? Well, he regretted that and killed himself probably because he felt remorseful telling lies like that.

    Cut the crap and put a sock in in sas.

  269. Happy Camper says:

    d2b,

    yes, we can’t go around blaming the same old, same old…..but we are at the edge of the abyss, so we may want to cool the old liberal vs. republican stuff. Let”s get America back on track.

    HC

  270. reinvestor101(the original) says:

    in=it

  271. reinvestor101(the original) says:

    Guess what?? That damn dog of yours is living on borrowed time.

    Clotpoll says:
    January 17, 2009 at 11:56 pm
    tard (261)-

    sas blind drunk is better than you, stone cold sober.

  272. reinvestor101(the original) says:

    Pat,

    Your position is the list is not transferable. There’s no secondary market for the terrorist t-shirt list positions. Cut the crap and take the number.

  273. syncmaster says:

    A 55+ community ready to “relax” the age limit and allow in 45 year olds?

    Is this becoming more common these days?

    This listing, from Trulia:

    11 Maidenflower Lane, Princeton Junction NJ 08550
    $339,900
    3 br 2 ½ ba sqft Single-Family Home
    OPEN HOUSE
    Saturday Jan 17th, 1pm to 4pm
    Sunday Jan 18th, 1pm to 4pm
    GREAT LOCATION! GREAT HOME! GREAT PRICE! All this and a FULL BASEMENT. A rare find in this community. Owner says SELL so come and see and submit your best offer. Presently TWO bedrooms but seller will convert back to THIRD bedroom . This 6 year old adult Community will relax the 55+ age limit to 45+. Close to major roads and train station. Shows like a model home.

  274. randy says:

    okay Clot, Bridgewater is a deceptively crappy place to lay roots. so, please name some good alternatives? they must be in NJ! obviously, this is just opinion.

  275. james says:

    “Thank God we have a new administration to clean house.”

    If cleaning house means bringing in Rev Al then why dont I just pull the trigger now. HC take a look at the economic reports coming out of Europe. You think that is the answer? Grab a sack, pull yourself together, and you and your liberal friends can start contributing to the cause without sucking the life out of the private sector.

    As far as the bankers go, I agree. They should be hung for treason. I dont care if they are Republican or not. Somewhere along the line the political boundaries got clouded. So there is common ground on that.

    Come on man, its almost laughable whats going on in this country. B of A gets bailed out then buys Merril Lynch, then 2 months later threatens to cancel the purchase if Paulson doesnt give B of A another 120 billion?

    When is America gonna wake the F up? How about I mortage my shit to the ears and walk out of the country with my bag of gold bars. Perhaps that is fiscally reasonable, however, I would rather fight to the end no matter how unpopular it may be.

  276. syncmaster says:

    I have mixed feelings about Bridgewater. If I lived there I’d have a great commute to work (near intersection of 287 and 78) and would be close to family and friends. But I hate going there only a little less than I hate going to Edison, both for the same reason – the traffic. And they say the taxes in B’water are extortionary. But that’s true for most of the state.

  277. bairen says:

    Just had a dream I was being robbed. Woke up and realized it wasn’t a dream…. It was TARP and Klink in action.

  278. portmanteau says:

    268. RE are you happy being the resident retard on a ship of fools?

  279. Clotpoll says:

    randy (274)-

    Keep heading West. Another 1-12 minutes gets you a lot more house and many fewer wannabes.

  280. yikes says:

    spam spam bacon spam says:
    January 16, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    When Bush became president:
    DJIA 11,139, S&P 500 1209, Nasdaq Composite: 2139. USD/EUR 1.07
    Median household income: $50,007

    Today:
    DJIA 10,365, S&P 500 1106, Nasdaq Composite: 1983. USD/EUR 0.69
    Median household income: $49,901

    without question, he’ll go down as one of the five worst presidents in US history. i love to hear republicans stumble for answers when these points are brought up.

  281. yikes says:

    John says:
    January 16, 2009 at 3:22 pm
    BTW good credit record is even more important than just getting a mortgage. Every company in Financial Services nowdays run a credit report, bankruptcies, bad credit unpaid bills you are automatically disqualified.

    so true. we got a great deal on our house and car insurance simply because of the wife’s great credit.
    we even showed the quote to all the big boys and usually-competitive USAA and none of them could match it.

  282. yikes says:

    comrade nom deplume says:
    January 16, 2009 at 4:54 pm
    [229]

    In that vein, some of the unthinkable may make sense. For example, should a state plan for secession? Not do it, but have a plan in case they decide to. Scary, you say? Well, states plan and prepare for hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tornados and nuclear attack. Why not secession?

    has there been a time in US history in the last hundred or so years when anyone tried to make a secession happen?

    has it ever gotten this bad the such an idea was mentioned?

  283. BC Bob says:

    JB,

    If you are still taking suggestions; move all that O, GW, Rev Al, etc.. crap to another page.

  284. Sybarite says:

    282

    BC Bob: Thank you. I second the motion.

  285. chicago-commercial-real-estate.com – cool sitename man)))

  286. AssigeBew says:

    fascinating and communicative, but would be suffering with something more on this topic?

Comments are closed.