not your average, boring, old fencepost

[piranha]

click to see larger versions.

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so, the US house passed HR 3962, the affordable health care act for america, by 220:215. one republican, anh joseph cao, voted for it. i have a feeling he's going to be persona non grata among the GOP.

which i find endlessly amusing, because when he got elected in a heavily democratic district in lousiana, over his opponent who was under indictment, john boehner touted his win as "a symbol of our future" -- prophetic! cao has since said obama deserved an "A" for his first 100 days in office, voted for HR 2346 (supplemental appropriations), voted in favor of the resolution of disapproval toward SC rep joe wilson for his outburst against obama, voted for the hate crimes prevention act.

one of the few republicans for whom "bipartisanship" isn't just an empty phrase. it's good to occasionally see one of those in action.

HR 3962, pdf, 1990 pages.

Comments

What he had to say

[From: klwalton]

“I have always said that I would put aside partisan wrangling to do the business of the people. My vote tonight was based on my priority of doing what is best for my constituents."

Re: What he had to say

[From: treesahquiche]

Yes! Toeing the party line only works when people's livelihoods aren't at stake ... and when are they not? He's such an example of what an elected official should be.

I don't think he'll be purged, exactly; surely his YEA vote on Stupak/Pitts will mollify his party and his more very conservative constituents.

[From: supergee]

He'll be purged.

[From: piranha]

oh yeah, probably. though most likely by the voters, because i don't think he has a chance against a non-indicted democrat in that district, even if he votes like this. he beat the indicted guy by only 3%.

[From: green_knight]

Stunning picture. I'd be interested to hear about your experience with smugmug, as I've eyed them myself. (I love Flickr, but would like to add a commercial site.)

I am apalled that he is the only Republican who noticed the plight of his constituents.

[From: piranha]

so far i am really delighted with them -- i can organize my images in ways that work for me, uploading and sorting them is a snap, displaying them elsewhere is too; their help pages are comprehensive, there's a wiki on top of that, and a thriving community with more help available. i can make my site look however i please (my own CSS), or use one of their premade themes. the pricing is very finely grained: i can set my own prices above their base prices; set prices portfolio-wide, gallery-wide, and down to the specific picture -- so i can sell some things at cost, and others higher, and i can even make specific galleries for certain people who can buy things more cheaply, like friends and family.

the quality of images on the site is high (i would guess that the site being pay-only has a lot to do with that). people don't generally upload an entire "roll" of unedited images that are 90% blurry such as they do on flickr.

now, they're not cheap; certainly more expensive than flickr even at the basic account level, but i really like their organizational tools much better.

you can give them a try for free for 14 days, at all account levels -- a very useful trial IMO. if you decide to use that, let me know, and i give you a coupon code so you can get $5 off if you sign up.

[From: stone_ocean]

That picture is gorgeous.

[From: piranha]

thank you!

[From: pameladean]

That picture is glorious. At first glance, it looked like a bunch of trees taking over an old highway.

I'm so mad about the idiot Stupak Amendment that I could spit. That said, I guess it's good they finally passed somethiong.

[From: piranha]

this is my favourite fence post in the entire world. :) each year i get some amazing photos from it.

yeah, the stupak thing pisses me off to no end. but i wouldn't have voted against the bill even with that. who knows what will happen in the senate and later in conference; it might never make it. heck, i worry nothing good will make it out of that process; abortion is sort of a lesser issue in that context.

[From: pameladean]

Oh, if it's a traditional subject that's even better!

I forgot what I was going to say about the abominable Stupak amendment because Obama -- whom I have spent an ordinate amount of time recently wishing to hit over the head with an umbrella until he saw sense -- just said he didn't support the Stupak amendment. I feel a lot better. Still hate that creep Stupak, though.

P.

[From: benedict]

ooh. That picture looks like something out of a sci-fi universe, for some reason.