tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9999692.post116356949450686247..comments2023-10-16T02:46:52.844-07:00Comments on palosverdesblog: Nancy versus StenyBill Lamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02092428206818183253noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9999692.post-1163632832953582032006-11-15T15:20:00.000-08:002006-11-15T15:20:00.000-08:00Bill,On December 5, 2002, at the 100th birthday pa...Bill,<BR/><BR/>On December 5, 2002, at the 100th birthday party for Senator Strom Thurmond, who in 1948 had run for president as a segregationist, Repblican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said,<BR/><BR/>"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."<BR/><BR/>A blog-fueled firestorm ensued. (Credit to Josh Marshall for banging that drum). And Lott resigned as majority leader, though he remained a senator from Mississippi and became chairman of the powerful rules committee. Wikipedia describes the controversy this way:<BR/><BR/>After President Bush voiced his own harsh criticism of Lott's remarks ("Any suggestion that the segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive, and it is wrong. Recent comments by Senator Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country. He has apologized and rightly so. Every day that our nation was segregated was a day our nation was unfaithful to our founding ideals"), Lott's position became untenable. It was obvious he would be unable to remain as Senate Republican Leader, although the official White House line was that Lott did not need to resign....<BR/><BR/>Under pressure from Senate colleagues, and having lost the support of the White House, Lott resigned as Senate Republican Leader on December 20, 2002. Bill Frist of Tennessee was later elected to the leadership position.<BR/><BR/>Yesterday, nearly four years after Lott's Strom gaffe, the Republican caucus in the Senate rehabilitated Lott, electing him to be the Senate minority whip--the No. 2 Republican position in that body. <BR/><BR/>Three questions:<BR/><BR/>* Is what Lott said any less offensive--or insensitive today--than it was four years ago?<BR/><BR/>* Are the Senate Republicans so devoid of potential leaders that they have to bring back Lott?<BR/><BR/>* Is this a big kiss-off to the soon-to-be-gone GOP party chief Ken Mehlman's effort to reach out to blacks? <BR/><BR/>The answers: No. Yes. Yes. <BR/><BR/>The restoration of Trent Lott is far more squalid than anything going inside the Democratic party.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9999692.post-1163629024342791612006-11-15T14:17:00.000-08:002006-11-15T14:17:00.000-08:00Where do you teach college Helen?Where do you teach college Helen?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9999692.post-1163624987329814542006-11-15T13:09:00.000-08:002006-11-15T13:09:00.000-08:00Bill, We should all try to see this show when it c...Bill, <BR/><BR/>We should all try to see this show when it comes to town...<BR/><BR/>O'Reilly Opera Much Better Than Cats<BR/><BR/>O'PERATIC O'Reilly <BR/><BR/>While the sexual harassment allegations levied against Bill O'Reilly by former Fox News producer Andrea Mackris might seem like fodder for a made-for-TV movie, some have decided to elevate the he-said/she-said back-and-forth to a more refined art form. Enter Igor Keller, a tenor saxophone player from Belltown, Washington, who has re-imagined the O'Reilly saga as a 31-part, concert-length baroque oratorio titled, rather theatrically, Mackris v. O'Reilly. Keller's opus doesn't cut any corners: The libretto opens with a reading of the original complaint filed by Mackris and runs through seven chorales, four recitatives, and numerous arias before the denouement, which features a dramatic reading of the settlement O'Reilly (played by Charles Robert Stephens, once hailed by the New York Times as a "baritone of smooth distinction") reached with Mackris. <BR/>Those who aren't quite sure they can stomach two hours of O'Reilly opera might be better advised to come in for the recitative and aria that comprise part 27, when the infamous loofah-as-falafel finally makes an appearance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9999692.post-1163624271994918522006-11-15T12:57:00.000-08:002006-11-15T12:57:00.000-08:00My God -what a lineup!! I would LOVE to see her g...My God -what a lineup!! I would LOVE to see her get dumped!<BR/><BR/>HelenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com