Propeller Week In Review: June 13, 2008 — Jun 13th 2008

By James Marcus

IMPEACHMENT FAILS

It's not often that a single article earns the most votes and the most comments in any given week. But this time around, that honor went to "Kucinich presents Bush impeachment articles," with 276 votes and 735 comments. The debate was, to say the least, spirited. JoseMadre predicted from the start that the Democratic majority would bury the impeachment: "Pelosi wants no part of it, because then she and Kerry and a lot of other Democrats would be exposed for their part in the war lead-up." Replied mesodude: "When Democrats and Republicans agreed to allow Bush to disarm Iraq, they didn't agree to anything like what this horrific three-hour tour has morphed into over the course of 5 years.... No way, Jose." Teech took it one step further, praising Kucinich and comparing him to Abraham Lincoln: "A renegade? No. A clear thinker? Seems to be. Hears the music of the Democrats, but marches to his own drum." Meanwhile, slate called for a nonpartisan sweep of the broom: "While you're at it, Denny, remember to finish off the guy with frozen money and Feinstein for lining her pockets with military money. Oh yeah, I'd also love for you to look into the carbon credit company that will rake in billions of dollars of payola." And while several members immediately labeled George W. Bush the worst president in U.S. history, there was a demurral from Mdiar: "I still support Buchanan for that title." A follow-up story, "House waves off impeachment measure against Bush," bagged 179 votes and 307 comments. Said libsRfunny: "To paraphrase a famous line from the Ali-Frazier fight: Down goes Kucinich!" There was a different reaction from unome2: "It astonishes me that the liberal media wasn't the least bit interested in this impeachment, concerning lies, murder, and the loss of our Constitution." Only Beau7890 seemed somewhat satisfied with the outcome: "We all knew the impeachment resolution wasn't going to go anywhere. I'm still glad it was introduced and read into the public record."

HIS BETTER HALF

Another hot-button story, "Michelle Obama's problem with 'Whitey'," rang up 174 votes and 644 comments. The tape, of course, has yet to be produced--even Republican spitfire Michelle Malkin seemed a little wary--and UnusualSuspect took a similar approach: "Just show me the tape. No judgment can be made at all until the tape is available and seen." Replied aniokly: "The tape will come out before the convention. You can bet your last tax dollar. They sold many copies before they shut down that part of their website in March." And in the blink of an eye, the conversation swerved over to John McCain's use of the word gook to describe his North Vietnamese captors. Was some equivalency being proposed? For abntv, McCain was merely conforming to custom: "If you are going to call everyone in the U.S. military that used the word "gook" [a racist], nobody that ever served in that war would be qualified to run for any office, including myself." Another member, nightschase, felt differently: "Being an Asian, I must say your comment is very disturbing for a couple of reason[s]. Just because a number of people have called Asians gooks in the past makes it in no shape or form okay at all to excuse such blatant racism." When the conversation drifted back over to the original topic, Candida dismissed Michelle Obama's comment as a minor faux-pas (assuming she actually made it): "There is absolutely no comparison between calling people 'whitey' and calling them 'N.' The emotional baggage simply isn't there. It's like calling someone filthy rich." Another story, "Michelle Obama Rumor Stolen from Novel?," earned 127 votes and 464 comments. "Figures," mused APixieInDixie. But it was mackiemesser who urged us, once again, to keep our powder dry and await further developments: "Well, I'll give this issue the benefit of a doubt and wait for the video to surface. I'm quite patient, as I've been waiting for a World Series win for a Washington DC baseball team for over 50 years now."

NORTH TO ALASKA

As gas prices continue to skyrocket, it's no surprise that "Alaska drilling needs to happen" got the community talking. FSU92grad was all for opening up ANWR as quickly as possible: "My family and yours come first, and most people in here know that they can safely drill and get this badly needed oil without leaving much of a footprint." For emandand99, that was only the first step: "Obviously, we know how to use oil, gas, coal and nuclear. We need to exploit those while we heavily research wind, solar, biofuels, geothermal, etc." Endoscopy pointed to earlier, failed efforts in the same area: "Carter had the government spend a ton of money on that. NASA headed up the scientific research on it. They put up a bunch of experimental wind turbines and other forms of generating electricity. All cost prohibitive." Replied zaphod: "Well, when gas gets to $10.00 a gallon maybe it will become cost effective." BB64 backed up Endoscopy's argument: "I sell components to GE Wind and then the replacement parts. It's a huge cash cow that wouldn't be possible without huge government handouts." But RickyDawkins was still rather skeptical about the benefits of Alaskan drilling: "There is no real need to drill in ANWR. The Bushites and their Big Oil pals know this, but are merely trying to exploit consumer frustration at the pump to ruin yet another wildlife area for the sake of short-term oil company profits." A related story, "Oil Prices Average Sets New Record," bagged 189 votes, 66 comments, and this indignant assessment from RichFatCat: "Shortage? Storage tanks are at full capacity! Like it or not, rampant speculation on oil as a commodity and as a hedge against a plunging dollar is mostly the cause. Billions and billions are made every day and one doesn't even have to get one's hands dirty." And then there was "Republicans block extra taxes on oil companies," with 151 votes and 254 comments. Again, there was room for plenty of disagreement. "Drill!" said Locky. "Let's drill in the Dakotas, off the California shelf, in Alaska." To which Bopi365 replied: "That's right, consume, spend, drill, consume, spend some more. I've got a full-size pickup that needs fillin'."

AND DON'T OVERLOOK....

"1.4 Million Bankruptcy Claims expected in 2008" sparked some lively debate. "This has been coming for years," said cowboygrandpa. "Reaganomics has caught up to us." Added reviewer: "The statistic is made worse when you consider that bankruptcy law is more strict now than during other troubling times of the late 70s and early 80s." But DPittman made a pitch for personal responsibility: "Wonder how many of those people that lost their jobs and can't pay their bills manage to find the money to pay for cell phones, IPods, Playstations, cigarettes, and beer. This has nothing to do with Bush or Congress--it has to do with people making bad decision and then looking for someone to bail them out." There were high-profile stories about stress, Hooters, and the impending Propeller redesign. And finally, there was "Go And Tidy Your Room, Say Scientists," posted by that maestro of mirth ind06. "Tidy-up fairies are a finicky bunch," noted chevydog. "They have to be wanted before they appear and do their stuff." But truthiness thought the whole neatness thing was overblown: "What's wrong with wearing the same pants all week?" Or all year, for that matter?

Tags: week-in-review, wir

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