Everything is Un-American
The gift that keeps on giving:
On Good Morning America today, Paul also steered the conversation toward something more recent, President Obama’s criticism of BP following the oil spill. Paul said: “This sort of, you know ‘I’ll put my boot heel on the throat of BP,’ I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business.”
Yes. When the American President states he is going to make sure that BRITISH Petroleum is going to be required to clean up the spill that is polluting American shores and fisheries, it is “un-American.”
When you are an idiot.
I think if we breed Sarah Palin and Rand Paul we might finally reach that idiocracy we are slouching towards.
May 21, 2010 9:56 am
Posted in: Clown Shoes, Free Markets Solve Everything, Going Galt, Republican Stupidity
167 Comments
167 Responses
Taterstick - May 21, 2010 | 9:58 am · Link
Rand Paul – The Gift That Keeps On Giving!
4tehlulz - May 21, 2010 | 10:00 am · Link
>breed Sarah Palin and Rand Paul
George Soros should fund this porno. The right would be too busy fapping to bother voting on election day.
IndieTarheel - May 21, 2010 | 10:00 am · Link
There is no such thing as Peak Wingnut™ – but that breeding would bring it awfully close…
Keith - May 21, 2010 | 10:00 am · Link
How long before his staff starts resigning to focus on their family a bit more?
Kirk Spencer - May 21, 2010 | 10:03 am · Link
It’s OK if it’s Bidness. (IOKIIB) Discrimination, tax evasion, evading consequences for mistakes and misbehavior, and so on and so forth.
Crashman - May 21, 2010 | 10:03 am · Link
free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, free markets, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah etc…. ad infinitum
mistermix - May 21, 2010 | 10:03 am · Link
And, unlike his Dad, who didn’t take Medicare, he thinks Medicare reimbursement should be sacrosanct:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/.....tab/print/
(via Sully)
JCT - May 21, 2010 | 10:03 am · Link
Hah! I just read about this on another site , and thought exactly the same thing—truly a gift that keeps on giving.
Yup—let’s DEFEND BP right now. Should really play well.
The Dems have to keep this guy talking, his new “handlers” must be pulling out their hair. Talk about completely tone deaf, but this is what happens when you operate within a bubble of your own kind. He’s obviously not used to having to actually discuss policy with anyone besides his Teabagger and militia pals.
And TPM has an amusing piece about his visits to a conspiracy theorist radio show. Good times!
No wonder the Republicans were so worried about his potentially winning the primary. He’s almost as “not ready for prime time” as the chickens for colonoscopies candidate in NV.
Emma - May 21, 2010 | 10:03 am · Link
Last night I said watching this guy was like watching a slow-motion train wreck. I think it’s picking up speed….
Fern - May 21, 2010 | 10:04 am · Link
He’s not handling this at all well – even apart from his loopy ideas. I think there is going to be a personal meltdown before November.
Bulworth - May 21, 2010 | 10:05 am · Link
@Keith: Yes, I guess no one should be held accountable for catastrophes that could have been prevented. Although I still can’t see any of that oil spill from my office.
JCT - May 21, 2010 | 10:05 am · Link
@mistermix:
I commented on that in one of the long threads yesterday—totally and COMPLETELY predictable.
It’s always “I’ve got mine” with these guys.
jrg - May 21, 2010 | 10:05 am · Link
Rand Paul is not an idiot, he’s just acting stupid to get idiots to vote for him, which is like, totally different. Totally.
It’s like the kid who sits at the back of the class making animal noises and shoving erasers up his nose: It’s pretty clear that he’s just doing it to impress the other kids. The real problem is that he’s not being challenged enough. Am I right?
Bill E Pilgrim - May 21, 2010 | 10:07 am · Link
Yes, the problem with this country is clearly too much accountability.
This guy’s definitely got his finger on the pulse of Americans.
All 12% of them.
Gregory - May 21, 2010 | 10:07 am · Link
Whoa there, don’t get Sully started!
Boots Day - May 21, 2010 | 10:08 am · Link
But being opposed to one of the most important and popular legislative achievements in American history – that’s not un-American at all.
Napoleon - May 21, 2010 | 10:08 am · Link
This is the kind of thing that Paul’s opponent could turn into a devastating commercial.
Keith - May 21, 2010 | 10:08 am · Link
BTW: I think this is about what would have happened had Sarah Palin made the rounds on more non-friendly interview shows back in ‘08. The GOP is either going to have to accept that a lot of these people are ideological to the point of being separated from reality and live with the train wreck or start keeping all these folks on Fox News and hope that the non-Jon Stewarts of the news world don’t notice.
James K Polk, Esq. - May 21, 2010 | 10:10 am · Link
Boy, I wasn’t having it when people were talking about how dumb this guy was yesterday (probably because he’s a MD).
But, damn, this guy is fucking dumb.
demo woman - May 21, 2010 | 10:11 am · Link
George Stephanopoulos did not appear happy with being accused of reading the DNC talking points. George kept pointing out that he was reading Paul’s own letter to the paper. Paul mentioned but Byrd forty years ago filibustered the Civil Rights bill. It was interesting watching GMA just to see the disgust on Stephanopoulos’s face.
eric - May 21, 2010 | 10:12 am · Link
there is not gonna be any meltdown. He will do exactly what Palin did.
His supporters treat every negative story about Rand as evidence that the meida is out to get him, even if the story is only parroting his comments. That was the same for Sista Sarah. She said the dumb thing. When the follow-up was “she said what?” Palin took the position that the ORIGINAL story was just as “negative” as the follow-up stories. So, she could “justify’ to her followers that she could never trust the MSM to give her a fair shake.
Look for Rand to say (indignantly) “Enough is enough. I am not going to play your elitist gotcha games. I will speak on the stump.” (Of course, he will go on Fox.)
Right now, he is overestimating just how clever he is and, as a result, is stepping in it. He will soon step into a pre-packaged role.
If not, then he may be the dumbest politician evah.
eric
"Fair and Balanced" Dave - May 21, 2010 | 10:12 am · Link
So far the only downside to the Rand Paul trainwreck is the satisfaction Mitch McConnell must be feeling right now.
Zifnab - May 21, 2010 | 10:12 am · Link
I can’t wait till he starts talking about how great Goldman Sachs is.
Zifnab - May 21, 2010 | 10:13 am · Link
@eric:
And Palin certainly hasn’t melted down since last election season.
different church-lady - May 21, 2010 | 10:14 am · Link
John, John, John… the American thing is to allow a corporation to do whatever it likes, no matter where that corporation is from.
I swear some of you are still living in the early 20th century…
beltane - May 21, 2010 | 10:15 am · Link
The libertarian slave mentality strikes again. Despite all their talk of FREEDOM, a good libertarian grovels before every big corporation they see.
Cat Lady - May 21, 2010 | 10:15 am · Link
This whole light shining on people who are used to saying things to like minded people in private is full of win. The
ConfederateRepublican party appeal requires nudge nudge winkkk winkkk dogwhistling, and when they have to come out and state publicly what they say privately in their meetings and private clubs, well, it’s what the screeching about freedom is all about. They don’t have the freedom to be idiots and unreconstructed bigots, without pushback, in the spotlight. Boo freaking hoo.williamc - May 21, 2010 | 10:18 am · Link
@IndieTarheel:
Damnit! You got there first! I was totally thinking, “and they could name this child Peak Wingnut and so it was…”
But knowing how crazy the two of them are, their powers combined to make a child would probably end up with that child finally leading the revolution of the proletariat that overthrows capitalism just to spite his really stupid parents and make the other kids stop teasing him.
Nylund - May 21, 2010 | 10:18 am · Link
Even though I know that corporations are legally considered people, something tells me that his answer would be a lot different if it was an actual living person from another country that came over here, blew up a rig, and caused the worst oil spill in US history. Then he’d probably be complaining that Obama wasn’t water-boarding him while putting his boot on his throat.
For some reason, Libertarians idea of personal liberty seems to revolve around the idea that corporations have the liberty to do whatever they want to citizens. But citizens do NOT have the freedom to create a union, or to create an oversight board that makes sure corporations aren’t lying. No. In fact the freedom to do that should be outlawed.
Noonan - May 21, 2010 | 10:20 am · Link
Anti civil rights. Pro big oil. Yes, quite the conservative trailblazer.
Glenn Beck's Chalkboard - May 21, 2010 | 10:21 am · Link
Paul was also asked about federal regulation of mines in the wake of the Massey disaster, and he said that the real problem was government regulations, which are really, really complex, and sometime accidents just happen.
Seriously, he said that.
Mudge - May 21, 2010 | 10:21 am · Link
The MSM argument will fail. Paul is in a fight with Conway for a Senate seat and Conway will beat him about the head with his comments..Paul is much more poorly handled than Palin and the dynamics of his race very different than McCain’s (keep in mind McCain-Palin lost). Translate Paul’s BP comments to a big barge spill on the Ohio River or some coal mine deaths and they will not play well in Kentucky.
eric - May 21, 2010 | 10:22 am · Link
@Zifnab: nope. She is up at least $12 Million and so-called respected political people still think she could win the GOP nomination in 2012. I do not think she has melted down at all. You could convince that McMaverick has melted down, but not her.
eric
thereisnorule6 - May 21, 2010 | 10:22 am · Link
think of this as a pre-season game for the 2012 election season of Palin/Paul v. Obama. Good opportunity for the Dems to work out their game before the big game.
James K Polk, Esq. - May 21, 2010 | 10:23 am · Link
Boy, the shit is about to hit the fan for dear ole’ Randi…
You and your toupee are toast pal.
stonetools - May 21, 2010 | 10:24 am · Link
My fervent prayer is that he will say something new every day from now to November…..
Hunter Gathers - May 21, 2010 | 10:24 am · Link
Idiocracy is the least of our problems. That Unholy Act would lead to the birth of the Wingnut Kwisatz Haderach.
eric - May 21, 2010 | 10:24 am · Link
@Mudge: The election is still months away. At best Conway gets some commercials, but it will be countered by the “politics of personal destruction” or “just attack ads”. Dont overestimate the low information voter that is often the deciding voter in these contests.
eric
toujoursdan - May 21, 2010 | 10:26 am · Link
Yup. “[Mining] accidents just happen” will play real well in the coal belt.
SpotWeld - May 21, 2010 | 10:27 am · Link
@Keith: Paul added: “Maybe sometimes accidents happen.”
Gah!! I… gah.
A vessle the size of the USS Iowa has an onboard explosion, catches fire, and sinks in calm weather. And he says “Accidents happen”
Okay, catastrophic accidents occur (The Kursk, The USS Scorpion, etc.. etc..) But when those happen, there is an exacting review and investigation and corrections are impliements to make sure they never happen again.
All evidence to date seems to suggest BP wants to do as little as possible to change the SOP here, and they want to bury any investigation to limit the liability on this.
I fully expect “act of god” to be thrown around a lot.
Paul Rand is displaying a brand of Bush-ian “aw shucks” folksy politicing that I hate hate hate
matoko_chan - May 21, 2010 | 10:28 am · Link
Now will you admit Paul is not a libertarian, Cole?
from Paul’s website
Paul is a teabagger libertarian…...that means he is only libertarian as it applies to ensuring liberty in the practice of racial discrimination, and in ensuring the untrammeled liberty of the unregulated invisible hand of the market to punch american working families in the face..
On a happier note, the UD has accepted my definition of Rasmussen Statistics.
Bill E Pilgrim - May 21, 2010 | 10:29 am · Link
It’s strange though, he was polling pretty well before people knew any of his political positions or beliefs.
Funny, that.
dmsilev - May 21, 2010 | 10:31 am · Link
So, shall we set up a betting pool for the next thing that he’ll advocate? I’ll take “By inspecting food and requiring drugs to be tested, the FDA is an unwarranted government intrusion into the rights of individuals and corporations.” to win. “Federal regulation of the financial sector represents a boot on the throats of some of our country’s most productive companies” will run a close second, but will fade down the stretch and lose by half a length. Bringing up third will be “the government requiring private mine operators to follow safety regulations is interference in the marketplace. Consumers who want to buy ‘safe coal’ should do their research and switch which mine they buy from.”.
If I win the trifecta, I’m taking a vacation on the winnings. Or buying a cup of coffee.
dms
SpotWeld - May 21, 2010 | 10:31 am · Link
I’m going to rant again, but this really gets to the core of the problem with this sort of libertarianism.
The idea is that without outside (goverment) control a system will correct itself when those elements that are sub-optimal die and drop out.
Okay, simplistic, but pretty sound.
Except that we as Americans do not accept large sections of our population being dragged into poverty, destitution and early death because large prive companies ended up being “sub-optimal”.
Scott - May 21, 2010 | 10:31 am · Link
I dunno—I think this shows that Rand Paul is ready for the big time. His grasp of issues, public opinion, and policy is almost McCainian in its ineptitude…
danimal - May 21, 2010 | 10:32 am · Link
Ok, I’ll stop lurking on the Rand Paul threads enough to say it. Rand Paul is not dumb. You heard me.
At least, he’s not dumber than a vast swath of American conservatives. He’s just saying out loud what almost all conservatives know to be true but keep hidden from view. His sins are of the “Kinsley gaffe” variety—unintentionally telling the truth in public. Rand Paul is exposing the real heart of conservatism and he has a decent shot at being the junior senator from Kentucky by taking this approach.
Libertarian and conservative views are, IMHO, crazy, heartless and ineffective. But they are very popular, especially in places like Kentucky.
And no, I can’t scrub my brain fast enough to rid it of images of the Rand Paul/Sarah Palin tryst and progeny.
MattF - May 21, 2010 | 10:33 am · Link
Well, I don’t know how it will play in Kentucky, but, fwiw, Paul is playing on a national stage—e.g., interviews on teevee with Maddow, Stephanopoulos, appearances on GMA… I’d advise his opponent to stay home and campaign locally, and let Paul continue to tour the media making Kentucky politics look ridiculous.
El Cid - May 21, 2010 | 10:33 am · Link
So it’s un-American to suggest BP pay for cleanup efforts on a rig it owned and failed to maintain or design and which was inherently risky and likely prone to massive risk in the first place.
And it’s also un-American to suggest that the oppressive fedrul gubmit spend taxpayer money in a soshullist response to the crisis.
Apparently, the only patriotic, truly liberty-seeking response would be a voluntary effort by concerned American citizens, maybe a combination of small boats and citizen donations.
And, if that doesn’t do anything at all, buck up, and just deal with it, because oil companies shouldn’t be forced by a mean repressive government to follow non-market rules in either operating extremely risky oil-drilling activities which might destroy an entire sea or be called to pay for such accidents’ repair and some degree of cleanup when it does happen.
Live with the oil, people, and, also too, SHUT UP.
beltane - May 21, 2010 | 10:35 am · Link
@matoko_chan: Congratulations!! You’ve made the big time.
And Rand Paul is one of those libertarians who want to get government off your back and put it right in your vagina (for those who have one). The disgust I feel for this so-called philosophy is hard to put into words. I hate them; I really, really hate them.
zzyzx - May 21, 2010 | 10:35 am · Link
The sad thing is that he still wins KY IMO…
...but I think this will scare people away from Republicans in other states.
Alex S. - May 21, 2010 | 10:36 am · Link
I’m a little bit annoyed that all the talk is about Rand Paul now. Noone is talking about Jack Conway, Bill Halter or Joe Sestak. Probably because the media are so fixated on the Tea Party… But maybe it’s not so bad at all, if Rand Paul keeps on talking.
Randy P - May 21, 2010 | 10:37 am · Link
@Keith:
Is he taking a bold stance against investigation here?
Anya - May 21, 2010 | 10:38 am · Link
When you lose Mark Halperin:
On top of his idiotic ideas, his voice is annoying beyond believe.
beltane - May 21, 2010 | 10:38 am · Link
@Scott: He is running for crazy Jim Bunning’s seat, so there would definitely be continuity in representation should he be elected.
celticdragonchick - May 21, 2010 | 10:39 am · Link
@Cat Lady:
Fixed.
Alex - May 21, 2010 | 10:41 am · Link
John, you indicate in your first post on this Paul incident that you don’t believe individuals have the “right to be racist.” I was wondering whether you could elaborate on this. Does this mean that you don’t think people should be allowed to have racist thoughts? racist words? Do you support speech codes? I am continually amazed how, like Sullivan, you are willing to make glib, authoritative statements on weighty issues and then not deal with the corollaries and tangential matters that naturally attach to these statements.
matoko_chan - May 21, 2010 | 10:42 am · Link
@beltane: tyvm
im working up a definition of teabagger libertarian next.
i <3 the UD.
its like 80 proof culture schnapps.
its my hope that in the future "rasmussen statistics" becomes synonymous with fake polling and junk statistics.
its an example of memetic warfare….or what i like to call motie engineering (from the Mote in God’s Eye).
you turn their own blade against them.
/flexes motie toolarms
FormerSwingVoter - May 21, 2010 | 10:42 am · Link
So wait – is holding people accountable when they fuck up is un-American? Or is disagreeing with Rand Paul on literally anything un-American? Or is just doing anything at all that our corporate masters would prefer we not do un-American? I’m confused.
Rand Paul, like all Republicans, is a coward. Casting hysterical accusations to avoid talking about the merits of your position is a sign that your position is without merit or worth. Much like Paul himself.
comrade scott's agenda of rage - May 21, 2010 | 10:42 am · Link
@JCT:
That’s a prerequisite for being a libertarian. Never met one who wasn’t…an asshole.
celticdragonchick - May 21, 2010 | 10:42 am · Link
@danimal:
I will shamelessly borrow a quote from last night
and refer to that as the equivalent of tentacle porn. Coming soon to a creepy Japanese animated porn site near you.
Linda Featheringill - May 21, 2010 | 10:43 am · Link
Rand Paul is correct. Requiring financial payment from BP is not really the American Way.
The American Way would be to bomb London because “they” unleashed a weapon of mass destruction onto the Americas. That is what W would have done.
Except, of course, that a lot of people in the UK have blond hair and blue eyes. That does complicate things.
catclub - May 21, 2010 | 10:44 am · Link
If you look at Social Security, Medicare and the Civil Rights Act, these are all landmark laws that at the time, Republicans opposed tooth and nail.
NOW, they are obliged to say they are for them or risk political self-immolation.
My question: are there any landmark laws that liberals opposed tooth and nail that are now virtual political suicide to oppose? I’m drawing a blank.
I know it is the nature of conservatives to oppose change, so the deck may be stacked against them.
comrade scott's agenda of rage - May 21, 2010 | 10:44 am · Link
@Napoleon:
He needs to hire the guy that ran the ads for Sestak’s campaign. Except in this case, it’s far easier to find video clips that have the same devastating effect as Specter’s “ree eh LECT ed” quote.
Belafon (formerly anonevent) - May 21, 2010 | 10:46 am · Link
So we’d end up with Muad’Dim.
El Cid - May 21, 2010 | 10:46 am · Link
@Linda Featheringill: Wouldn’t the American way, at least in the Bush / Cheney years, have been to bomb Venezuela or Iran for the BP blowout?
celticdragonchick - May 21, 2010 | 10:46 am · Link
@Hunter Gathers:
More like the wingnut resurrection of Baron Harkonnen.
Mainer - May 21, 2010 | 10:47 am · Link
He also said of the coal mine disaster, “accidents happen.”
Yet we know this accident happened because Massey didn’t want to spend any time or money on keeping the mine safe. They may have been bribing inspectors; this is under investigation.
But, hey, workplace health and safety is anti-American and anti-freedom.
You’d think the United Mine Workers might have something to say about now.
And you’d think a certain Attorney General—the one running against him—would say something about laws regarding negligence.
Belafon (formerly anonevent) - May 21, 2010 | 10:48 am · Link
@catclub: I doubt it, because as someone from TNR - I believe it was Chait – pointed out, if something ends up working, liberals tend to adopt it. If you want adhering to a liberal principle even if it is wrong, see libertarian.
celticdragonchick - May 21, 2010 | 10:48 am · Link
@El Cid:
We have a winner!
I have actually read conspiracy threads suggesting a North Korean sub torpedoed the rig. Time to arm the Tomahawk cruise missiles!
EarBucket - May 21, 2010 | 10:49 am · Link
I think there’s about a 20% chance of a Sarah Palin/Rand Paul Tea Party ticket in 2012. It would be the most fantastic thing ever.
Cat Lady - May 21, 2010 | 10:49 am · Link
@Anya:
He wonders why he’s not getting a honeymoon? Has he ever left his house?
EdTheRed - May 21, 2010 | 10:50 am · Link
I eagerly await the birth of Arctic Cat Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho Palin-Paul, our new Overlord.
Cyrus - May 21, 2010 | 10:51 am · Link
@eric:
I’m glad you said “so-called” respected political people, and even if she wins the nomination there is absolutely no way that moron would win the general election. (Uh oh, I know those are words that should never be uttered in America, but still… her???) She has made all that money by quitting her job as governor to spend more time giving speeches. Her career trajectory has been the reverse of all those idiots us liberals love to deride – from politician to entertainer rather than the other way around. She’s threatening and worthy of respect as a leader of the Teabaggers, but she isn’t even acting like she wants to be elected to national office.
This guy probably does want to be elected, but I’ll be surprised if he does. I see no reason for things to get better for him than the past week has gone. Come on, let’s have a Democratic Senator from Kentucky! (Sure, whoever it is will probably be a DINO, but just the schadenfreude of a Democrat in Bunning’s seat alone will make it worth it.)
celticdragonchick - May 21, 2010 | 10:51 am · Link
@Linda Featheringill:
Naw. Haven’t you heard it is now Londonistan according to Mark Steyn at The National Review?
Bombs away, baby!
Svensker - May 21, 2010 | 10:52 am · Link
@Keith:
And Rand Paul is the obvious result.
celticdragonchick - May 21, 2010 | 10:52 am · Link
@EdTheRed:
LMAO :)
Randy P - May 21, 2010 | 10:53 am · Link
@Mainer:
Well, the invisible hand of the marketplace will fix that because all the coal miners will work for another coal mine in West Virginia that has a good safety record and a solid of investment in mine ventilation, etc.
I know the “reality-based community” line is getting old, but libertarians seem to share this non-reality based thing with neocons. I once heard neocons characterized as people who believed that the world just had to align with their pre-conceptions, and any data to the contrary could just be ignored. It doesn’t matter if this policy doesn’t actually work. I believe it’s right and I believe that it will work. Therefore it will work and I should keep it in place.
Hence, no amount of pointing out the strong correlation between abstinence-only education and teen pregnancy will ever convince a neocon to support sex education.
Fergus Wooster - May 21, 2010 | 10:53 am · Link
From the WSJ:
Classy guy.
Allison W. - May 21, 2010 | 10:54 am · Link
Paul is not appealing to idiots, he’s appealing to his campaign donors – his country club buddies and the establishment GOP.
Svensker - May 21, 2010 | 10:56 am · Link
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Win
TomG - May 21, 2010 | 10:56 am · Link
Rand Paul is just stupid. As far as I’m concerned, there’s NO problem with making BP pay as much as necessary to clean up this mess. It’s not UN-libertarian to expect companies to have to take responsibility for huge costs that THEY incurred by being totally lazy and not thinking about preventative measure. It’s also NOT un-libertarian to remove any and all caps on damage assessments to companies who create toxic problems in the environment – gee, you think it might encourage other companies to get on the ball and do a better job of prevention? I sure hope so.
Linda Featheringill - May 21, 2010 | 10:56 am · Link
@El Cid:
You have a point. And maybe North Korea, too. And why not go after Cuba?
Any or all of the above. Innocence is no defense.
Bill H - May 21, 2010 | 10:56 am · Link
Well, it’s not actually BRITISH Petroleum, and hasn’t been for some years, despite the media’s proclivity for continuing to call it by that name. It is mostly Amoco Oil Company and Castrol, both of which were entirely American companies, and its headquarters, IIRC, are in Houston, TX. That’s why it is no longer named British Petroleum, but is now just named BP.
That being said, I think the most patriotic thing we could to is put a boot on its neck and strangle it to death.
PK - May 21, 2010 | 10:59 am · Link
I would like the barbarian queen from the north to run for president with Rand Paul as her running mate. That would be a match made in hell!
Tsulagi - May 21, 2010 | 10:59 am · Link
Yeah, that’s the imagery I want in my head on a Friday morning. Thanks. Paul trying to get it up dreaming of free market government while Palin urges him on with dirty word salad talk.
Napoleon - May 21, 2010 | 11:03 am · Link
@Bill H:
And Sohio, which is how they got their start in the US - it was headquartered in Cleveland (in fact MSNBC has been running stock footage of their old Clev HQ when talking of them) unil I think they merged with Amoco.
batgirl - May 21, 2010 | 11:06 am · Link
@Mainer:
Don’t you now the free market will work it out? Unsafe companies won’t be able to find workers because worker’s families don’t need to eat or anything. They’ll use their freedom to starve, live on the street, etc. rather than go to work in an unsafe environment. And if they chose to eat instead, well, fuckum, they knew they were taking a risk.
All bow down to the magical free market.
gocart mozart - May 21, 2010 | 11:08 am · Link
Rand Paul wants total freedom for all persons whether they be:
Goldman or Sachs
Exon or Mobil
Pratt or Whitney
Proctor or Gamble
Eli or Lilly
Blue Cross or Blue Shield
Black or WhiteMikeJ - May 21, 2010 | 11:08 am · Link
You know it’s not the liberal media doing this to him. Cheney endorsed his opponent in the primary, and now Politico et al, mouthpieces for the big money GOP, are going after Paul.
For any Tea Partiers out there, your leaders are trying to screw you. The only way for the Tea Party to get anywhere is to deny any support to the institutional GOP. No votes, no money. You can’t survive without cutting them off.
I’m deeply concerned for you.
MrBenchley - May 21, 2010 | 11:10 am · Link
@celticdragonchick: That is exactly right. Nobody is surprised that Republicans believe that Jim Crow was dandy and that BP ought to skate and that the guy who killed those miners did nothing wrong.
The surprise is that there’s one of them too stupid and crazy to use code words to hide it…
And the tea bagging imbeciles who wave swastikas and guns all looked at this yutz and said “Ah, how brilliant!”
Gregory - May 21, 2010 | 11:10 am · Link
@Mainer:
Did he really? That’ll go over well in Kentucky.
gocart mozart - May 21, 2010 | 11:13 am · Link
@Bill H:
That is what the founding fathers would have done.
Alice Blue - May 21, 2010 | 11:13 am · Link
I hate to be a downer, but I have the gut feeling that he’s going to win.
MrBenchley - May 21, 2010 | 11:13 am · Link
@FormerSwingVoter: Isn’t it interesting that all of the people who were so concerned about the deficit just a few weeks ago are now utterly unconcerned about how the taxpayer is going to be able to pony up billions to clean up BP’s oil spill?
Where will the money come from?
Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle - May 21, 2010 | 11:15 am · Link
@Keith: Stewart and Colbert must think they are cursed. They still have another week and a half of vacation to go.
beltane - May 21, 2010 | 11:15 am · Link
@Fergus Wooster: He should be able to eek out a comfortable living from payments in chickens and other livestock. I’m sick of the selective socialism espoused by these people.
celticdragonchick - May 21, 2010 | 11:17 am · Link
@Alice Blue:
You may be right. Something ugly is happening in our polity, and it is rewarding views that had ben considered obscene not that long ago.
Google “Jack Bauer Republicans” and get ready to scream.
Former military officers accused of serious warcrimes and murder are using the accusations as a bonus in Republican districts…
John PM - May 21, 2010 | 11:18 am · Link
Slightly off topic, but only slightly… My wife is part of the Parent Teacher Organization at my son’s school. The other day she compared the president of the PTO to Sarah Palin, and not in a good way. This is a woman who (unbeknownst to me at the time) voted for W twice. However, she did vote for Obama and I have brought her around to liking the Colbert Report, so things are looking up. If my wife, the very definition of a low information voter, cannot stomach Palin, I do not think we have to worry about her in 2012.
Back on topic: It appears that Rand Paul is giving W and Mika Brenzynski a run for their money as stupidest offspring of a well-known political figure.
kay - May 21, 2010 | 11:21 am · Link
@Fergus Wooster:
I wondered about that.
The rugged individualist libertarian wants a “comfortable living” in terms of federal payments to his medical practice. 50% of Rand Paul’s medical practice income comes from a single payer program administered by the federal government. He fills in a code and sends in a form for payment.
His central campaign issue (his only campaign issue) is opposing the “federal take-over” of health insurance.
They’re incredible, aren’t they?
I don’t know: how do you walk around and say these things that are directly contradicted by your life?
celticdragonchick - May 21, 2010 | 11:21 am · Link
@MrBenchley:
Probably from the same badly written Dungeons and Dragons hack and slash adventure that gave us the “Bixby’s clenched fist of the marketplace” spell for lawful evil
magic usersfollowers of the Cult of Ayn Rand.matoko_chan - May 21, 2010 | 11:22 am · Link
Rand Paul isn’t actually stupid.
He is just artless at this point.
He is saying what he honestly believes.
He will get muchmuch better at covering the uglies up, and translating them into dogwhistle, and that is why he needs to be brought down now.
gocart mozart - May 21, 2010 | 11:22 am · Link
@catclub:
Tough question but I would say the ‘96 Welfare Reform Act and although not a law, the Vietnam War?
celticdragonchick - May 21, 2010 | 11:23 am · Link
@kay:
The Ministry of Truth reports their efforts in promoting doublethink are wildly successful this year.
Comrade Dread - May 21, 2010 | 11:25 am · Link
Dismissing gross malfeasance, neglect, and a non-existent regulatory agency that let the business in question write and enforce its own safety provisions without oversight as an ‘accident’ makes you look like an ignorant fool.
Or a Randian in denial. “The free market can never fail, it can only be failed.”
Anya - May 21, 2010 | 11:25 am · Link
@Alice Blue: I agree with you. This controversy will not kill Rand Paul’s candidacy or even damage it in Kentucky, but it might expose the republicans’ not so hidden agenda on civil rights issues to the rest of the nation.
Jim, Once - May 21, 2010 | 11:26 am · Link
@matoko_chan:
Excellent. I was impressed with your definition.
kay - May 21, 2010 | 11:26 am · Link
@celticdragonchick:
Imagine if Rand Paul had to find a way to get paid like every other service provider. Christ. He’d curl up and die.
“I demand a comfortable living!”. Maybe Tea Partiers could hold a rally.
Glenn Beck's Chalkboard - May 21, 2010 | 11:27 am · Link
@Gregory:
Yes, he said it, both with reference to the BP disaster and to mining:
See it here, at about the 6:30 mark.
Malron - May 21, 2010 | 11:27 am · Link
Rand Paul is the slow-motion train wreck with Michael Steele as the cow on the tracks.
Any minute now, the Paul campaign recognizes he’s making Katie Couric’s interview of Sarah Palin look like Frost/Nixon, cancels the media blitz and relegates all of his future “statements” to his Facebook page.
beltane - May 21, 2010 | 11:29 am · Link
@John PM: Most women who are not hard core Republicans absolutely despise Sarah Palin. This is evident in both polling and anecdotal evidence. Aside from her politics, she embodies everything about the high-school mean girl that most women grew up hating.
poledancer - May 21, 2010 | 11:30 am · Link
sully’s got a full on mancrush for Rand going on over there…it’s pretty amusing to watch.
Alice Blue - May 21, 2010 | 11:30 am · Link
@celticdragonchick: I’ve read about several of these candidates and it just left me numb.
During presidential campaigns, it’s common to hear “well, if so-in-so wins, I’m moving to __________ (insert name of country). It’s really kind of a jest. But my husband and I are in our fifties, and when I start to imagine what this country will be like in 10 or 20 years, I don’t feel optimistic. It hurts me to say it, but we’ve actually started considering moving to Costa Rica when we retire.
Kirk Spencer - May 21, 2010 | 11:31 am · Link
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage: Actually, I have met some that weren’t. The majority are, but let’s consider why.
They’re anarchists.
The essential argument of libertarianism is “no imposed rules.” If we just let every person do his or her own thing, the bad will be constrained by the good and by their own negative consequences. We all just want to do well for ourselves, and nobody will be able or really willing to destroy others just to get a little further ahead.
They just use “free market” as a cover.
kay - May 21, 2010 | 11:31 am · Link
@Malron:
I agree. He’ll get away with it too, because media must carefully nurture and promote this new and exciting political movement, and not frighten or challenge the candidates.
If he’s anything like his father, though, Paul himself will have no qualms about talking at length on things he knows nothing about.
Palin is smart enough to stick to gibberish.
Malron - May 21, 2010 | 11:35 am · Link
@Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle: I hope Colbert and Stewart are compiling every second of the Raul Failapalooza. I look forward to their returns.
The have to stop taking their vacations in the same weeks. Also.
Bill E Pilgrim - May 21, 2010 | 11:38 am · Link
@Hunter Gathers:
That must be why people call her Bible Spice. It’s prophecy!
“From the home planet of Arraska, where water is so plentiful that it freezes on the ground, to the battlefields of the arid planet Dumb, ruled by the young Emperor Paul…”
This thing definitely writes itself.
AxelFoley - May 21, 2010 | 11:38 am · Link
Rand, just STFU.
No, on second thought, keep the stupid comin’. No one outside of Paulites and Kentuckyians knew who you were before Tuesday, but now the whole nation knows you’re a fuckin’ idiot.
Cat Lady - May 21, 2010 | 11:39 am · Link
@kay:
I don’t know. He’s done too much walking his own bullshit back in the last 24 hours. I just don’t get it – if he had just told Rachel when she asked him about segregated lunch counters, “yes, I’m really sorry that there are racist property owners, and I would not frequent those places myself, but the government should not force these important engines of the economy to offer their services to customers they don’t want”, I’d still think he was crazy, but not a whinging coward too. Since he doesn’t appear to have the courage of his convictions, or at least the courage to claim them in public, I think we’ll hear from him less and less, unfortunately.
Ed Drone - May 21, 2010 | 11:39 am · Link
You know, Rand Paul’s version of tea-gaggery makes me even more likely to call the group of his followers the “Tea Klux Klan.”
It’s out in the open now, and as the radical right flocks to support him and his stands, we see even more that the Repuliconfederate party is now the party of the Tea-Kluxers. I just have to worry about which federal establishment will become the new Ft. Sumpter.
Ed
Bill H - May 21, 2010 | 11:40 am · Link
Well, I was a little off, it is “...The London-based energy giant.”
But it’s still not “British Petroleum,” it does have a US headquarters in Houston, and it has a very large US ownership. So, I’m half right, which goes well with being half-assed and, sometimes, a half-wit.
kay - May 21, 2010 | 11:43 am · Link
@poledancer:
His standards have certainly dropped. He admits that Paul doesn’t know a thing about the BP disaster, but admires that as “artless honesty”.
Yeah, or laziness, or a knee jerk political response, or willful ignorance and arrogance.
I don’t know “honesty” comes into this at all.
If Palin had decided to launch another uninformed attack on Obama, he’d be savaging her. Rand Paul is “honest” but, sadly, misinformed.
Alice Blue - May 21, 2010 | 11:44 am · Link
@Ed Drone: Hat’s off to “Tea Klux Klan.” I’m in kind of a bummed out mood today, but that made me laugh.
dms - May 21, 2010 | 11:44 am · Link
@Linda Featheringill:
No, Dubya would have bombed France.
Ed Drone - May 21, 2010 | 11:45 am · Link
@Fergus Wooster:
Now THERE’s the guy we want trying to balance the budget, eh? At least he’s not like the rest of his party in trying to cut Medicare, but a stand of, “No cuts, ever, to doctors” won’t endear him to many of the small-government-no-safety-net crowd.
At least he can still go to the AMA for contributions. It’s in their ‘enlightened self-interest’ to buy a portion of him.
Ed
Don K - May 21, 2010 | 11:46 am · Link
Funny how libertarians argue that tort law would be a good substitute for regulation, then, given an actual example of a case when tort law should be applied, argue that it would be putting one’s bootheel on the throat of business.
Having said that, Paul the Younger’s libertarianism has exceptions that seem finely calibrated to have something to appeal to various parts of the Kentucky electorate (or to benefit himself). Civil Rights Act? Worst thing ever! Drug War? AOK! Abortion? No state’s rights there, no way! Expanding National Security State? You betcha! And (as mistermix pointed out above) Medicare reimbursements? No cuts ever!
And before some outraged Kentuckian accuses me, no I’m not saying all Kentuckians (or even a majority of them) are opposed to the Civil Rights Act or its application to private businesses. Hell, you could probably find some small fraction of Vermonters who would take that position, so I’m guessing there’s a non-trivial percentage of Kentuckians who would find that congenial.
Brachiator - May 21, 2010 | 11:47 am · Link
@eric:
Hell, even Palin’s daughter Bristol is making money as a paid speaker. This has got to be giving Grampy McCain the fits. He has been totally eclipsed by his own creation.
And the wingnuts’ embrace of Palin seriously portends the total rise of mob rule in the US. I don’t think that Palin has a serious chance of getting the GOP nomination in 2012, but whoever is the nominee will have to pass the Moron-in-Chief threshold which Palin has set.
Recently, I when I go to bed, I reflect on the day, and wonder how GOP candidates and politicians can say such mindnumbingly stupid stuff.
And in the morning when I wake up, I find that they have topped themselves.
mistersnrub - May 21, 2010 | 11:53 am · Link
@MikeJ: Yup – Gerson wrote an anti-Paul editorial for the Post today. The Neo-Con-Teabagger rift is a big problem for the GOP and will be quite entertaining. Case in point: watching Kristol hold his nose to not-so-convincingly back Paul.
kay - May 21, 2010 | 11:56 am · Link
@Ed Drone:
He’s allowed to make a comfortable living. The sky’s the limit. He can drop out of Medicare. No one is forcing him to accept federal payments.
I don’t know how 50% of his patients are going to pay out of pocket for his fees, but he probably has a plan for that, because he opposes health care reform.
He could try his libertarian payment plan in his practice. See how it works out. It’s risky, sure, he’s now guaranteed 50% of fees risk-free, but if the magic of markets work, he should be doing great competing for the health care dollar, after some lean years.
Peter J - May 21, 2010 | 11:56 am · Link
For the love of god and Humanity.
DON’T GIVE THEM ANY IDEAS.
Ed Drone - May 21, 2010 | 11:57 am · Link
@Alice Blue:
Thanks. I don’t even think I coined it, but, similar to the “John Birth Society” another Balloon-Juicer coined, I’m ready and willing to use it.
I keep hoping my term, “right whinger” will catch on, but it doesn’t. I guess people don’t know the term and that whinging is what those clowns do.
Ed
Brachiator - May 21, 2010 | 12:01 pm · Link
@kay:
And chickens. Don’t forget chickens as payment in kind for medical services.
Damned at Random - May 21, 2010 | 12:07 pm · Link
My former libertarian husband was watching Maddow with me when the Rand Paul interview was on and he agreed that the government shouldn’t interfere in private business “in a perfect world.” He’s come to believe that libertarians are idealists at heart, but human failings, greed, fear, jealousy – make it impractical.
He was never much interested in politics- he voted libertarian because it got him out of paying attention to issues he had no interest in and he pretty much wanted to be left alone. Since we’ve been together I’ve turned him into a barking moonbat.
celticdragonchick - May 21, 2010 | 12:10 pm · Link
@Alice Blue:
I hear ya.
We have been seriously considering going to Canada if the toxic trends continue.
Has Sarah Palin had a sex change operation? « Karen's Rant Page - May 21, 2010 | 12:15 pm · Link
[...] John Cole is thinking almost along the same lines… http://www.balloon-juice.com/2.....namerican/ [...]
Bruce (formerly Steve S.) - May 21, 2010 | 12:17 pm · Link
There’s a kernel of truth to this, of course. Consider what they were doing out there; drilling through a mile of ocean and two more miles of rock. Technical experts I have seen on my TV have likened it to sending people to the Moon. Forget the particulars of this accident, the very idea of doing this is insane. I mean, at least when you are sending people to the Moon you can argue that it’s part of a larger fight against global Communism or something, but the reason for drilling at Deepwater Horizon was so that I could save a couple of pennies off a gallon of gas. That’s crazy. It’s crazy to do it in the first place because it’s crazy to think that accidents don’t happen.
Eleven people burned to death and countless animals are dying so that I could save a few bucks a year at the gas pump. Dr. Paul is right, accidents happen, which is why his philosophy of allowing private business to do whatever they want wherever they want is lunatic.
bemused - May 21, 2010 | 12:17 pm · Link
A pox on Rand “Shit Happens” Paul.
I’m sick to the core of Big Polluters, Wall Street banksters & the whole filthy lot of corporate con men trashing & fleecing the whole planet.
ot, but the doc at Cannes, “Inside Job” depicting financial sector as criminal enterprise looks like a must see.
Is anyone else skeptical when people blame or credit one event or piece of legislation for stock market ups & downs? I think deliberate manipulation is much more at play esp after the recent Black Swan swoon. Sure it was an accidental slip of the finger from an M to a B.
Alice Blue - May 21, 2010 | 12:28 pm · Link
@celticdragonchick: Canada is appealing. I fell in love with Quebec city the first time I visited there as a teenager. Toronto is lovely too. If only it wasn’t so cold! I’m a native southerner, and I find that as I get older, I like cold weather less and less. Of course I’m really not fond of Georgia’s hot humid summers either. Actually, I’m really finicky.
El Cid - May 21, 2010 | 12:35 pm · Link
@Damned at Random: In a “perfect world,” you would never have had to desegregate public or private institutions from racial discrimination, so, if we’re going to use fantasies as political theory, why not go whole hog?
Alice Blue - May 21, 2010 | 12:37 pm · Link
@bemused: Deliberate manipulation of the stock market? I wouldn’t doubt it a bit.
I’m sick of it all too. I feel helpless and enraged at the same time.
Tonal Crow - May 21, 2010 | 12:47 pm · Link
This is gonna sell real well outside the nutterbase. I can’t wait for November.
Dr. Omed - May 21, 2010 | 12:49 pm · Link
Looks to me like Altas’ shrug is really a tic. Rand Paul makes Libertarianism seem like a form of Tourette’s Syndrome.
Frankly, I wish Obama WOULD “put his boot heel on the throat of BP” instead of pretend growling while licking BP’s boots—and them’s some oily boots, you betcha.
Rand Paul reminds of that annoying kid in High School—the one who carried equally well thumbed paperback copies of The Fountainhead and The Late Great Planet Earth everywhere he went. He also adored the music of the band Yes, and would evangelize for this unholy trinity with a kind of damp, doe-eyed, sweaty enthusiasm that made me want to wash my hands.
Does Rand have a brother named Galt? Enquiring minds want to know.
El Cid - May 21, 2010 | 12:52 pm · Link
@Dr. Omed: There were people who both liked Yes and Hal Lindsay?
bemused - May 21, 2010 | 12:53 pm · Link
@Alice Blue:
I think manipulation isn’t new but it seems to have gone to a whole other level. I do wonder about that recent blip as some call it. Some blip, that was shocking. Makes me wonder if someone or somebodies were running a control test that was not meant to be that obvious.
I’m a cynic.
El Cid - May 21, 2010 | 12:57 pm · Link
By the way, for those who are interested, left libertarians (as opposed to Randian psychotics, anarcho-capitalists and propertarians) are still at least thinking about the possibilities of and outlines for a consensual democratic economy. I find it a very interesting subject. Is it “unrealistic” in the sense of not even being close to being around any conceivable corner? No. But it’s not fantasizing that someday a combination of Exxon and 18th century yeoman landholders will replace our economic system either.
sukabi - May 21, 2010 | 12:59 pm · Link
I think if we breed Sarah Palin and Rand Paul we might finally reach that idiocracy we are slouching towards.
I haven’t read the thread, so this may be restating what’s already been said:
We quit slouching towards idiocracy about 91/2 years ago when, as a country, we stood up proudly and embraced it.
Midnight Marauder - May 21, 2010 | 1:05 pm · Link
@Alice Blue:
It’s cool. The rest of us will continue reveling in this newfound optimism about Kentucky!
This is one of the biggest problems Rand Paul has working against him: He is trying to run a national, “Tea Party Revolution” campaign in a race for one of Kentucky’s Senate seats. And because of that, he will continue to make comments like this when sprinting away from his libertarian induced bigotry:
And then find himself in a world of hurt when more and more of the Tea Party brigade finds out about quotes and positions like this:
Between that and telling the good people of Kentucky that “sometimes accidents just happen,” I am stunned that so many people think this guy is still going to just cakewalk to victory. Do you realize that even Jim DeMint refused to say anything about Rand Paul yesterday?! Jim DeMint!
Senator Jack Conway. Yeah, that sounds nice.
Chuck - May 21, 2010 | 1:09 pm · Link
@Alex:
Yes Alex, John completely supports the provisions of the Civil Rights Act that regulate your thoughts. Which would certainly be quite a tyranny if there actually were any.
Alex - May 21, 2010 | 1:19 pm · Link
Hey, Yes is awesome!
Alice Blue - May 21, 2010 | 1:24 pm · Link
@Midnight Marauder: I’m really hoping that the folks in Kentucky will prove me wrong!
Fergus Wooster - May 21, 2010 | 1:26 pm · Link
@kay:
I’m been convinced we’re living Jabberwocky, ever since Sarah Palin denounced quitters while resigning mid-term.
Also, re: “accidents happen”, hoocodanoode, etc. . . As of today, every time I hear “Black Swan” I reach for my revolver.
matoko_chan - May 21, 2010 | 1:26 pm · Link
amg, an eckshual example of rasmussen statistics.
pollster finds it.
Midnight Marauder - May 21, 2010 | 1:30 pm · Link
@kay:
It really is astonishing. 50% of his patients are on Medicare. 50%! And this guy is a Tea Party hero?
The Tea Party is as good at vetting their candidates as the McCain campaign.
matoko_chan - May 21, 2010 | 1:33 pm · Link
@Jim, Once: ty.
here is a RL example of rasmussen statistics from Pollster.
i think….the poll-and-statistics guild will be better at policing rasmussen and the fakesters than the media is in policing foxnews…because….the media is more customer service dependent.
low-tech cyclist - May 21, 2010 | 1:33 pm · Link
@Bill E Pilgrim:
F’in brilliant!
Joseph Nobles - May 21, 2010 | 1:34 pm · Link
David Gregory just announced on Twitter that he’ll be
lighting candles and warming the massage oilinterviewing Rand this Sunday on Meet The Press.Joe Bauers - May 21, 2010 | 1:53 pm · Link
@Brachiator:
And chickens. Don’t forget chickens as payment in kind for medical services.
It’s not a barn, it’s my health savings account!
Alex - May 21, 2010 | 1:54 pm · Link
@Chuck, The sloppiness of your response ironically mirrors the sloppiness of John’s argument that I was trying to highlight. I’m still seeking the deontological and practical limits of this purported power on the part of the State to abrogate an individual’s right to be racist. I sincerely doubt that either you or John have the capacity to address this question without snark, as it likely reaches past the outer bounds of your cognitive abilities. Here’s a test: try to answer this post without using the word “glibertarian.” I know it will be tough.
matoko_chan - May 21, 2010 | 2:05 pm · Link
@Jim, Once: ty.
fresh example.
Uloborus - May 21, 2010 | 2:33 pm · Link
@Don K:
Notice that no Kentuckian is standing up to defend Kentucky. Kentucky is not Texas. There’s nothing to defend here.
maus - May 21, 2010 | 2:52 pm · Link
@Dr. Omed:
I L-O-V-E how Alex Jones and the “anti-corporatists” fellate both Pauls and corporations. Maybe it’s just the ZOG-operated shadow groups that such brave independents rail against?
goatchowder - May 21, 2010 | 2:56 pm · Link
@beltane: THIS!
Dog is My Co-Pilot - May 21, 2010 | 3:47 pm · Link
I have no response to that comment by Rand. Words truly fail me. Unbelievable.
Remember November - May 21, 2010 | 6:07 pm · Link
It’s our bizness…”we’ll take the n*ggers and the chinks..but no Irish!”
Mr Obama…”why come you have no tattoo?”
asiangrrlMN - May 21, 2010 | 6:12 pm · Link
OK. Apparently Paul the Younger doesn’t consider himself a libertarian. Sooooo, that leaves far-rightwing batshitcrazy, yes?
As for the unholy alliance of Paul and Palin, I need the mind bleach now, thank you.
Paul the Younger is shell-shocked because he, like most of us, probably surrounds himself with people who think the way he does. I mean, for god sake, look at his father! Therefore, when he found out that most of the country does not think like him, he turned into the WATB he is. No way he would have went on Maddow’s show if he had an inkling of self-awareness.
mclaren - May 21, 2010 | 7:23 pm · Link
Idiocracy is already here. The commenters on Balloon Juice provide ample proof.
Joe Bauers - May 21, 2010 | 8:45 pm · Link
How many Jesuses of oil have been spilled? Until it can be expressed in that particular unit, I don’t think we can expect Real Merkins to get too excited about it.
b-psycho - May 22, 2010 | 10:35 am · Link
@Don K:
Because Rand Paul is an idiot. Functional tort law would basically BE the “boot heel” he’s so afraid of, as it should be.
So why are there liability limits? Regulatory Capture, a concept that Paul doesn’t understand because he is an idiot.