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Monday Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 10:34:47 AM EST
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I've got a busy day and the dentist. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Monday Open Thread | 207 comments (207 topical)
    In the latest episode... (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by kdog on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 11:52:19 AM EST
    of "Former Fascist Mayors Say The Darndest Things!...Rudy's gone done it again.

    A teenage girl brawl at a McDonald's in Brooklyn is President Obama's fault. As is the Ferguson cop shooting. Well, ummm....duh Rudy!  Every bitter old white person knows that.  

    And the kicker...Obama should be more like Bill Cosby, every bitter old white person's favorite negro.

    Don't forget to tune in again next week when Obama is blamed for the Teapot Dome scandal and Syphilis.

     

    I think that the most effective response to ... (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 04:59:08 PM EST
    ... this sort of nonsense is simply our laughter -- which President Obama himself invoked last Thursday on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." A well-directed sense of self-deprecation is most always disarming:

    "A 30 rack of coors light is $23 now at Sun Stop. Thanks, Obama."

    Partisan bozos like Rudy Giuliani -- who's clearly outlived his era yet insists on partying like its 1999, come hell or high water -- naturally invite our ridicule. It's best not to take them too seriously, except perhaps as a ready source of cheap and easy laughs.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    That's the (none / 0) (#5)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:09:52 PM EST
    MO of the GOP these days. If we didn't have a black president there would be no racial problems in this country. Denial is something they just love to wallow in.

    Parent
    I Assume 'More Like Bill Cosby'... (none / 0) (#7)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:14:09 PM EST
    ...means ruining his reputation because he can't control his base desires, then the right could impeach him ?

    Or is Giuliani in the 20 some women are lairs camp ?

    And your forgot this stunner from Giuliana:

    Then, Giuliani "commended" officer Darren Wilson for shooting Michael Brown. "Commended" seems like an odd choice of words for shooting an unarmed teen, don't you think? Giuliani does not. He thinks it's entirely appropriate.
    LINK

    Parent
    If you had lived under... (none / 0) (#14)
    by kdog on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:53:44 PM EST
    his reign in NYC, that's no stunner Scott. Dude never met a cop shooting that didn't give him the warm and fuzzies.  The police are infallible in his eyes.

    Parent
    NYC is the Mecca... (none / 0) (#17)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:16:12 PM EST
    ...of police with no restraint, and where all little towns look for direction on how to handle their 'problems'.

    I always thought if Ferguson happen in NYC it would have been off the front page by the weekend.

    Parent

    I second that thought... (none / 0) (#20)
    by kdog on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:25:11 PM EST
    we are indeed Ferguson on steroids in NYC, but we're stuck on acceptance in our stages of grief for some strange reason.

    And when we do protest, it doesn't get much coverage unless the police do something outrageous.  I guess that might be because there are multiple protests daily in the big city, large and small, over all kinds of issues.

    Parent

    Ahh, good ol' Rudy (none / 0) (#15)
    by nycstray on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:06:41 PM EST
    working hard to become relevant for the 2016 $$$$ cycle . . .

    Parent
    Jinx (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by ruffian on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:18:17 PM EST
    I'd say agreeing to participate in a documentary to get your story out there is a pretty bad idea for anyone suspected of a crime...

    Seems to me that a (none / 0) (#23)
    by KeysDan on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:44:17 PM EST
    pretty good defense could be made for Robert Durst, based on the documentary's "smoking gun."    When confronted with the letters (the "cadaver" and his correspondence) Durst was cool, as we have seen before.  He noted similarities (e.g., misspelled Beverly Hills) and differences (block lettering). And, noted that some could claim that they are the same.  

    The off-camera, unknowingly recorded bathroom mutterings, were that I got caught, had trouble explaining, that his lawyer was right and he was wrong, and that he killed all three.

     Damming, to be sure, given what we know from the documentary,  but those mutterings could be explained as him recognizing that he got caught in the sense of not effectively telling his story as he wanted without unintended consequences--affirmed by now concurring with his attorney who advised him against participation in the filming because people will be out to get him (not that he was guilty), and, the "admission" of killing all three was what he thought his enemies would now claim, rather than a being a plea of guilty.   In any event, I do not think it is a slam-drunk.  After all, if this guy walked after admitting to killed the neighbor in Galveston and also admitted to dismembering the body,  all bets have to off.  Especially, if he fights it and get those Galveston legal minds.

    Parent

    Yes, I agree...by no means (none / 0) (#24)
    by ruffian on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 02:04:31 PM EST
    a slam dunk legally. I thought the handwriting was a lot more damning than the mutterings, which as you say he can explain away in any number of ways. He could not identify the sample he wrote when shown with the one he denied writing. He either wrote them both or someone went to a great deal of trouble to copy his handwriting. He was so sure that everyone's 'block lettering' is the same, but that is not at all the case.

    The legal arguments around all of this will be interesting.


    Parent

    I Am With You... (none / 0) (#26)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 02:40:35 PM EST
    ...god knows what I have 'talked' with myself about, certainly stuff that I would not want recorded.  Plus who knows if they can even use it in court.

    But the handwriting, not just the two words they keep showing, two entire letters for examination.

    Parent

    Plus all the other examples of his (none / 0) (#29)
    by ruffian on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 03:18:49 PM EST
    writing they gave to the handwriting analyst. It seemed pretty conclusive to me.

    If he hadn't already denied writing the letter, he could spin a story about having found the body and sent the letter anonymously so as not to get involved. Guess he can still try that route.

    Parent

    Great Job By Gov Kate Brown of Oregon (5.00 / 2) (#37)
    by CoralGables on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 06:57:03 PM EST
    on signing the new automatic voter registration law today. At voting age, get or renew a drivers license, or get an ID card with the DMV and you are now registered to vote...and retroactive for the last 2 years. Your ballot will come in the mail.

    Easy to be registered. Easy to vote. Congratulations to Oregon.

    Kate Brown has put a whole lot (5.00 / 2) (#38)
    by caseyOR on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 07:16:38 PM EST
    of energy into getting this motor voter registration program passed and signed into law. This was a project of hers when she was Secretary of State. So, I think it is so cool that, as governor, she got to sign it into law.

    And, as CG noted, ballots come in the mail about 3 weeks before election day. So voters have plenty of time to study the candidates and issues and get their ballots in.

    This is  great day for democracy.

    Parent

    In the past, every time I have gone to renew my (none / 0) (#40)
    by vml68 on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 08:49:37 PM EST
    DL, I have been asked if I want to register to vote. But, I am not a US citizen. Does Oregon have a way to distinguish between residents and citizens of this country?

    Parent
    Yes. To get a drivers license in (none / 0) (#42)
    by caseyOR on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 09:00:17 PM EST
    Oregon you must present a certified copy of your birth certificate  and your Social Security card. DMV records include one's citizenship status.

    Parent
    Thanks, Casey. (none / 0) (#43)
    by vml68 on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 09:10:39 PM EST
    I know after 9/11 some states started requiring proof of citizenship but I did not know if Oregon was one of them.

    Parent
    Netanyahu...election spirals (5.00 / 3) (#39)
    by christinep on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 07:40:33 PM EST
    Whatever happens tomorrow in the Israeli elections, the ramifications could be widespread.  So, Netanyahu stated in the past day that, if he should regain his position, there would be no two-state solution in the Palestinian question.  Think about that: He said that what has been accepted as a goal for the US and European countries interested in a negotiated solution to the interminable Israeli-Palestinian dispute is off the table ... or, no solution if Likud survives the election ... nada.  Shortly before that--as we remember--he came to the US to campaign for himself as the strong-man by essentially campaigning against any agreement between Iran and the Western powers (including the US.)

    So ... Netanyahu and his buddies in the Repub party (see the Letter from the 47 Repub Senators) have staked a lot on this election.

    It turns out that--since the ill-advised campaign visit to the US--Netanyahu has steadily lost support (per Haafetz report on several polls during the last two weeks.)  After being the strong-man for the last nine-ish years, he could be defeated.  I would like to think that he would lose this campaign ... for a number of reasons ... some of which have potential consequences for the US and our foreign policy interests.

    I didn't see that you had already posted (5.00 / 1) (#53)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:30:14 AM EST
    On this.  I am in complete agreement.  

    Parent
    Why was this (5.00 / 1) (#44)
    by Uncle Chip on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 08:06:18 AM EST
    Ballistics Gunshot Residue Report on Brown's Shirt pp23-24 withheld from the Ferguson Grand Jury:

    Witness 144 conducted gunshot residue analysis on Brown's shirt..... Witness 144 examined seven holes in the shirt. Gunshot residues in the form of nitrite and bullet wipe lead residues were found near some of the holes.... Nitrite residues were found near three holes in Brown's right sleeve, and one hole in the right chest of this shirt.

    There should only be four bullet holes per the autopsy report, but the shirt examiner found seven bullet holes. Where were the other three and why is there no GSR around them???

    Why is there only GSR around the holes in the right sleeve??? That finding is substantial physical and forensic evidence of a proximate shot to Brown's upper arm from 18 to 24 inches away at the SUV -- as several witnesses testified to who -- witnesses who were summarily dismissed as lying by the government lawyers because they made this claim.

    And yet there it is in black and white.

    What is/was it about this shot to the upper arm at the SUV that was so dangerous to the PA and DOJ's case that they had to hide it, lie about it, and cover it up with their BS???  

    The GJ has spoken (none / 0) (#47)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 08:46:27 AM EST
    The "Hands Up Don't Shoot" narrative has been proven wrong.

    Millions of dollars in property damage happened.

    People have lost their businesses and their jobs.

    Two police officers have been shot.

    Don't you think it is time to move on and quit trying to stir up a resolved issue.

    Parent

    Resolved issues (none / 0) (#52)
    by Uncle Chip on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:16:17 AM EST
    The "Hands Up Don't Shoot" narrative has been proven wrong.

    Show me the evidence of that proof. You have none one way or the other.

    Furthermore if you read Prosecuting Attorney McCulloch's statement, you will find that he gives credence to those witnesses who testified to "Hands Up". It's just that they described his hands up in different ways, shapes and forms.

    Don't you think it is time to move on and quit trying to stir up a resolved issue.

    Sure -- when you do the same with the resolved issues of Benghazzi, Obamacare, Global Warming, and all those other things that you bloviate over.


    Parent

    Hands up don't shoot (none / 0) (#128)
    by Slado on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:54:14 PM EST
    based on a lie.  

    Washington Post - Johnathan Capeheart


    Parent

    That is an opinion (none / 0) (#129)
    by sj on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 05:07:59 PM EST
    piece based on the author's interpretation of the few known facts.

    Parent
    Hands up (none / 0) (#137)
    by Uncle Chip on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 06:33:18 PM EST
    I guess Noheart forgot that he wrote this from the DOJ report:  

    Although some witnesses state that Brown held his hands up at shoulder level with his palms facing outward for a brief moment, these same witnesses describe Brown then dropping his hands ....

    So his hands were up, as even those who said that his hands were not up, have admitted.

    Those who said that his hands were not up are claiming that shoulder level hands up doesn't count especially if he didn't keep his hands up all the way to the ground.

    Was he supposed to keep his hands up as he lay dead on the ground too???

    It's tough to keep your hands up when you have a bullet in your arm and are taking a barrage of more bullets from the guy you're trying to surrender to.

    Three witnesses said that they didn't see him with his hands up -- one over 450 feet away, an ex-con driving a blue pickup truck that no one at the scene saw, and a mystery man who couldn't tell the color of Wilson's shirt and refused a GJ subpoena.

    None of those who testified that he had his hands up have backed off one iota but I'm betting that the three unnamed ghosts above have already disappeared down the rabbit hole.

    Parent

    The Grand Jury didn't believe (none / 0) (#144)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 08:15:02 PM EST
    And that's what counts.

    Parent
    what counts (5.00 / 1) (#157)
    by Uncle Chip on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 07:34:04 AM EST
    The Grand Jury didn't believe And that's what counts.

    So then you're saying that the Ends Justifies the Means, that it's okay to cheat to win, that it's okay to lie in court to get the jury to believe you --

    See how easy it is for a so-called conservative like you to embrace the low road and brag about it.

    Parent

    What I am saying (none / 0) (#164)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:45:25 AM EST
    is that what you, and others, are doing is massaging your paranoia trying to find some reason to not accept the GJ's ruling.

    This feeds the mob and has resulted in millions of dollars of property damage and lives harmed.

    Under our legal system, which is all we have, the GJ has found that Wilson was justified in shooting Brown in self defense.

    That is a moral and legal reason. There is no road and no political designation involved. Just the facts.

    Parent

    Jim (5.00 / 1) (#181)
    by Uncle Chip on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:24:23 AM EST
    So then was the ballistics report re the GSR from Brown's shirt presented to the Grand Jury or not???

    Doesn't that prove that Brown's friend was telling the truth about him being shot in the upper arm at the SUV window, and that Wilson's story was further perjury???

    Are you saying that we should applaud perjury and reward it and not expose it???

    Parent

    No, the treatment of African-Americans (none / 0) (#166)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:51:32 AM EST
    in Ferguson as detailed in the DOJ report, along with the miscarriage of justice you so valiantly defend were the immediate danger cause of the riots, not the fault of any commentators or your dreaded Far Left.

    You are a toad when it comes to morality, Jim.  If you resent that description, then you are free to consult with any spiritual/religious advisors to change that, and you are free to b*tch and moan to Jeralyn if your nose is bent out of shape by this comment or others by me.

    Parent

    New incident for the DoJ Report (none / 0) (#148)
    by Palli on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:58:27 PM EST
    My friends tweet from Ferguson:

    The lawyer for Jeffrey Williams, the suspect arrested for the shooting at last Wednesday's protest in Ferguson, says his client Williams DID NOT confess, DID NOT have access to counsel and was beaten. The lawyer had do get a court injunction to photograph his injuries. Photographs could not be taken for 3 days.

    Unsurprisingly, arresting officers of the StL County Police Department DID NOT turn on their body cams to film Jeffrey Williams' arrest, supposed Mirandizing and alleged beating.

    Parent

    Arrest (none / 0) (#159)
    by Uncle Chip on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 07:56:50 AM EST
    He needs to look on the bright side -- atleast he survived his arrest.

    I'm sure that whole 12 man squad of swatters that descended on him felt threatened and afraid for their lives and were just itchin' to relieve their fear with their trigger fingers.

    Atleast they didn't put 7 bullets in him after he put his hands up in the air to surrender, or shoot him in the head as he was falling to the ground in compliance.

    Parent

    Legally resolved... (none / 0) (#55)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:51:00 AM EST
    and morally resolved are two different things Jim, and I'm much more concerned with the moral.

    Parent
    kdog, I gotta say that (2.00 / 2) (#145)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 08:22:14 PM EST
    if you are, then why dis Cosby for unresolved claims while ignoring his many comments about responsibility and morality?

    And was it moral for the rioters to steal and damage people's properties and businesses??

    And was it moral for Brown to steal and then intimidate the store clerk??????

    Moral positions can be kinda slippery.

    Parent

    Whatever he did or didn't do (5.00 / 1) (#150)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:07:40 PM EST
    did not entitle Wilson to shoot him dead.  

    Except in your own weird version of morality.

    Parent

    According to the rules we all live under (none / 0) (#162)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:35:47 AM EST
    Wilson was justified in shooting Brown in self defense. That is a moral and legal decision.

    Parent
    Nope, there is no evidence for that (none / 0) (#165)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:45:52 AM EST
    conclusion, given the selective questioning of some witnesses and ignoring some others in the GJ process

    Again,  as I noted earlier, it doesn't prevent an indictment of ex-Officer Wilson in the future if a DA decides to do so.

    You are one of the whited sepulchers that Jesus talked about in the NT.

    Parent

    So is there nothing Brown might have done... (none / 0) (#163)
    by unitron on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:45:05 AM EST
    ...which would make Wilson justified in shooting?

    Nothing at all?

    Or am I misinterpreting what you mean by "Whatever he did or didn't do"?

    Parent

    Given he was unarmed and not (none / 0) (#171)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:59:17 AM EST

    in a position to hurt Wilson, given the distance between them, yes, I don't think under the shooting could be justified, given the circumstances as they were.

    Wilson had his Mace, his club, and could've used either or both to keep Brown from hurting anyone including Wilson.

    Also, his crime, while not trivial, definitely didn't mean he deserved to be shot for it.

    Now, if Wilson had a gun, or deadly weapon of some sort, that would be a different story, but he didn't.

    Capiche?

    Parent

    The lack of an indictment doesn't (none / 0) (#102)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:46:25 PM EST
    mean a future charge couldn't be brought if another DA gets into office.  The GJ finding shouldn't be confused with a verdict in a criminal trial, as some would have people believe.

    Parent
    IMO the best summary of the DOJ's (none / 0) (#110)
    by MO Blue on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:25:13 PM EST
    report on the Ferguson's Police Department was surprisingly written by RedState.com contributing editor Leon Wolf. Wolf appeared on Chris Hayes' show and had this to say:  "no conservative on earth should feel comfortable with the way the Ferguson PD has been operating."

    After reading the 102-page report on the department he wrote the following post at Red State: "Many Conservatives are Blowing it on the Ferguson DOJ Report"

    He comments in detail on the basis his conclusions.

    I. The Ferguson Police Department acts almost exclusively as a revenue generation machine for the city.

    II. The Ferguson PD Habitually Uses Excessive Force

    III. The Ferguson PD has Utterly Failed to Supervise its Officers' Use of Force

    IV. The Ferguson PD Systematically Punishes Residents of Ferguson for `Contempt of Cop'

    V. The Evidence of Racial Bias in the Administration of Justice in Ferguson is Overwhelming

    V. Conclusion

    This post is extremely informative. Everyone here, no matter what your ideology, should IMO take the time to read Mr. Wolf's post.

    Parent

    Starbucks "race together" plan: (5.00 / 1) (#66)
    by oculus on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:00:11 AM EST
    link

    This seems like a lame-brain idea from Mr. Schulz.  Stay tuned.

    Seems well intentioned... (5.00 / 1) (#68)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:17:58 AM EST
    but I think a better venue might be the coffee room at the precint...race relations are good at my local Starbucks.

    Parent
    Right... (none / 0) (#84)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:33:19 PM EST
    ...for the most part yuppies are not in need of more race discussions.

    And what are they going to do when someone gets cold clocked talking to strangers about race because of a coffee cup.

    One of their conversation starters:

    In the past year, I have been to the home of someone of a different race _ times.

    Really, that's a conversation starter, looks more like a argument starter.  Wouldn't be a bad way to break the ice for getting a date of someone out of your race, aka race relations.  Joke.

    This is probably why they no longer allow guns into their shops.

    If race discussion were that simple we wouldn't need companies trying to devise ways to sell more coffee using race as some sort of premise.

    Maybe Starbucks can discuss why some of their S American coffee growers are making peanuts, while they rake in massive profits, or did they just mean customers discussing race.

    Parent

    This has "SNL skit" written all over it, (5.00 / 1) (#91)
    by Anne on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:07:04 PM EST
    and I can hardly wait.

    And how long after it airs will Starbucks abandon its new initiative?

    Parent

    As Quick... (none / 0) (#100)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:42:08 PM EST
    ...as they dropped their 'Guns OK' stand.

    Parent
    Touche... (none / 0) (#90)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:04:29 PM EST
    I'm sure the CEO is strictly talking United States Race Relations...not the ever-present corporate exploitation of the 3rd World that took over right where colonial exploitation left off.

    At least domestically, Starbucks treats their workers pretty good, as far as McJobs go.  Much better than the fast food joints or Walmart.

    Full disclosure...my niece has worked there for a few years now and I get tons of free coffee.  If I recall correctly every employee gets a free lb. to take home every week, which trickles down to me;)  Plus she gets stock in the company and regular raises...she does a lot of training now as assistant manager and that comes with a 65 dollar bonus for every new employee trained.  

    Parent

    and every friend of every employee (none / 0) (#92)
    by CST on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:10:27 PM EST
    also gets free coffee... and maybe a cappuccino if they're not too busy :)

    Also Starbucks is somewhat responsible for the fact that fair trade coffee is now fairly standard for coffee.  In other words - they don't "just" care about their local workers.

    Parent

    Touche Squared... (none / 0) (#99)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:26:58 PM EST
    as far as evil corporations go, we can do a lot worse than Starbucks...they have at least half a conscience.

    Parent
    yea they aren't so bad (none / 0) (#103)
    by CST on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:52:24 PM EST
    although this has got to be the yuppiest thing I've ever heard.  It's so stupid it just might work.

    White and Black people join together to protest having to talk to anyone while getting their coffee.  Thinking about it more - there's no way someone from the northeast came up with this.

    Parent

    Yeah... (none / 0) (#108)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:17:37 PM EST
    Also, I can't remember the last time I walked into a Starbucks...I use the drive-thru.  Though I suppose I can have a discussion about race with the radio;)

    Parent
    OK. Please keep us updated (none / 0) (#93)
    by oculus on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:11:50 PM EST
    as to what your niece thinks of this initiative and the specifics as applied.

    Parent
    Will do... (none / 0) (#98)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:25:42 PM EST
    I tend to get an entertaining weekly saga of Starbucks from her anyway...this week's included two customers almost breaking out in fisticuffs, for reasons unknown...hopefully not racial! ;)

    Parent
    The only (none / 0) (#89)
    by CST on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:42:23 PM EST
    "color" problem they have at Starbucks is "how do you take your coffee"

    Parent
    I think this could work (none / 0) (#67)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:06:59 AM EST
    There must be rules though.  First off you must request the race together cup.  Second, you can't use your conversation starters with someone not holding the race together cup.  It's the same kind of social pressure I get down here only in reverse :)

    Everyone with their race together cups will form a coalition In Starbucks :). And if you don't choose a race together cup, what is that saying about you?

    This is job creation too oculus.  Starbucks could need bouncers at some locations.

    Parent

    If someone handed me one (5.00 / 1) (#70)
    by nycstray on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:34:04 AM EST
    I would think they were about a marathon or something, and would want a pup cup for my dog  :P

    Parent
    Cha ching (none / 0) (#73)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:40:11 AM EST
    And a 5k subtlely organizing already:)

    Parent
    Race in America (5.00 / 1) (#77)
    by CoralGables on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:02:35 PM EST
    On foot anyway...one of the few areas in the US where the metric system plays a major role. (that and Japanese car care).

    Perhaps you could be the race director for the Alabama Starbucks to Starbucks 5K Bridge Race.

    Parent

    Whoa whoa what are you signing me up for? (none / 0) (#79)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:06:30 PM EST
    oh...bridge....I'll do it :)

    Parent
    Couldn't find a Starbucks in Selma (none / 0) (#87)
    by CoralGables on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:40:13 PM EST
    so will have to find 2 Starbucks a 5K apart on both sides of an Alabama bridge somewhere.

    Parent
    There hasn't been enough (none / 0) (#106)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:09:07 PM EST
    Rehabilitation of the existing economic devastation in Selma and the surrounding area.  I wonder if Starbucks would be willing to step up on this very specific race together need?

    Parent
    Ya know, if ya invite enough (5.00 / 2) (#94)
    by nycstray on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:14:16 PM EST
    Dalmatians . . . . .  :P

    Parent
    Starbucks (none / 0) (#134)
    by The Addams Family on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 06:06:35 PM EST
    is about the only place (other than home) where a tea drinker like me can get a reliably good, basic cup of tea in this coffee-centric culture - the baristas are clearly trained by people who bothered to talk with & listen to actual people who drink real tea

    but if this creepy "race together" thing starts up in my local Starbucks, i'll be staying away till it stops

    Parent

    Just saw on the news (none / 0) (#136)
    by nycstray on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 06:25:34 PM EST
    only for a week.

    I'll have to try a tea there. I rarely go there and when I do, it's for a mocha. I like me a good cuppa tea :)

    Parent

    99 percent of the time (none / 0) (#140)
    by The Addams Family on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 07:29:45 PM EST
    the baristas know that they're supposed to place the teabag into the paper cup & then pour the water over it

    they take the water from the espresso machine, not from one of those lame Bunn coffee warmers

    & they promptly hand you the steeping tea so you can be the one who decides how strong it will be

    therefore, the tea tastes good, is hot enough, & is not capped with the unattractive foam that results from dipping a teabag into insufficiently hot water

    Parent

    I Don't Drink Coffee, but... (none / 0) (#167)
    by ScottW714 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:51:53 AM EST
    ...every single sole I know loves Starbucks, so often I find myself sitting in one.

    The hot chocolate ain't bad.

    Parent

    I like coffee but can't stand Starbucks (5.00 / 1) (#197)
    by vml68 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 10:51:10 AM EST
    coffee. It just tastes burnt to me. My husband loves it so I find myself in one of their stores quite often.

    Parent
    They have been criticized in the (none / 0) (#199)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 11:01:14 AM EST
    past for using over-roasted coffee beans, with the resulting burnt taste because of that.

    Parent
    The only Starbucks down here (none / 0) (#176)
    by fishcamp on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:11:15 AM EST
    is on the shelf at the grocery store, where it's a dollar more costly than all the other coffee.  But at least I get to practice my various Spanish dialects, in each aisle, from the workers of every country south of the border.  There are also a couple of Thai workers too, but that language is impossible.

    Parent
    Y'all missed it big time (none / 0) (#170)
    by unitron on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:59:02 AM EST
    When word of this got out Sunday night, BlackTwitter got on the previously moribund #NewStarbucksDrinks hashtag and "race relations/civil rights history/coffee-tea varieties" based puns had me nearly unable to breath.

    It was a thoroughly excellent few hours until the tag spammers showed up and ruined it in short order.

    Parent

    OMG, These are Too Funny (5.00 / 1) (#200)
    by ScottW714 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 11:40:32 AM EST
    LINK

    • Some of My Best Friends Are Black Coffee

    • I'd like a venti We Shall Overcharge coffee, please.

    • I feared for my safe-Tea

    • Latte from a Birmingham Jail

    • The white chocolate mocha's burden


    Parent
    The GOP (5.00 / 1) (#86)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:39:12 PM EST
    and their trifecta against women today:
    1. holding up the nomination of the first woman African American AG.
    2. Playing politics with human trafficing victims
    3. Threatening women's health and rights.

    ht/HRC

    What a piece of work these nuts are.

    Question (none / 0) (#97)
    by jbindc on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:25:24 PM EST
    While the expansion of the Hyde Amendment in an anti-human trafficking bill is despicable, why do you think it's just Republicans "playing politics"?  Where have the Dems been on this??

    The bill was released in January - the Hyde Amendment language was in there; it was there when the bill was marked up in committee and it was there when the 68-page bill was unanimously passed.  How can the Dems now cry foul?

    Parent

    They (2.00 / 1) (#101)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:45:21 PM EST
    voted against expanding the Hyde Amendment and are you fine with that being in an anti trafficking bill??? All this shows is the GOP cannot help themselves.

    Look the GOP is run by a bunch of fundamentalist nut bags and they got hit in the jaw with this. For whatever reason they cannot help themselves when it comes to abortion. I guess you don't remember back in the 90's they attached an antiabortion bill to EVERY piece of legislation.

    The GOP controls the senate so they take the hit.

    Parent

    Ahem. (none / 0) (#104)
    by jbindc on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:02:42 PM EST
    I never said I was "fine" with it - in fact, I called it "despicable'. (Do you read??) However, the point you seen to be missing is the Dems previously voted for it (it came out of the House Judiciary Committee unanimously and was marked up by both houses) and only NOW are they raising a fuss.

    Yes, Republicans control Congress now.  But the excuse when Democrats controlled it was that " they didn't have the numbers.' Why don't you ever want to hold Dems responsible for their actions?  

    Parent

    Despicable the lengths (5.00 / 1) (#107)
    by vicndabx on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:11:20 PM EST
    to which you will go to try and prove this, "they both do it nonsense".....

    The Huffington Post obtained a January email exchange between Democratic and Republican Judiciary Committee staffers regarding the bill's reintroduction and its changes from the last Congress. The Republican staffer lists seven changes, but the abortion language was not included.

    "They added the new language quietly, hoping nobody would notice, then we'd all march down there," Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said last week. "I put my name on this bill, by the way, because my staff trusted the Republican staff when they said there wasn't any change in abortion language. How awful it was for my staff that they said to me, 'Senator, we feel terrible, we took their word.' And I got my name off this bill."

    Or was the argument you were making they should've read the bill?

    Parent

    Lots of people (none / 0) (#105)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:08:55 PM EST
    vote for bills to come to the floor and then vote against them because they believe that bills should be voted on.

    You must have missed what I wrote back in 2009 then if you think that. I was one that never said "they don't have the numbers.". You really keep confusing me with a lot of other people for some reason. The fact that the GOP is run by nut bags seems to have escaped you for some reason.

    Either way it would seem that Mitch got played on this one.

    Parent

    The NYT is perpetually ragging on HRC (5.00 / 2) (#118)
    by oculus on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 03:39:36 PM EST
    (see Bruni and Chozick).  

    But today, a freebie for Jeb (but will GOP evangelicals vote for a practicing Catholic?):

    link

    The Voted for a Practicing Mormon (none / 0) (#119)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 03:44:13 PM EST


    Parent
    I can (none / 0) (#120)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 03:57:05 PM EST
    tell you it is going to be a problem for him in the primaries. At least in some states. Some states it probably will not matter.

    Parent
    Shouldn't be that difficult as Jeb is (5.00 / 2) (#121)
    by oculus on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:02:14 PM EST
    solidly pro life. Well, except for the death penalty

    Parent
    So (none / 0) (#122)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:08:16 PM EST
    are the rest of them. Southern Baptists believe that catholicism is a cult. So given the choice of voting for Jeb or voting for say a Huckabee they're going to go with Huckabee.

    Parent
    Wait untill they see the photo of (none / 0) (#123)
    by oculus on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:11:15 PM EST
    Jeb shaking hands w/the pope @ The Vatican!

    Parent
    Yeah (none / 0) (#124)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:13:53 PM EST
    that ought to freak them out a lot especially with that particular pope's history. LOL.

    Parent
    regionalism is funny (none / 0) (#125)
    by CST on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:15:15 PM EST
    Growing up I just assumed that most of the U.S. was Catholic.

    Parent
    me too: Catholic or Public (5.00 / 2) (#152)
    by ruffian on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 04:05:00 AM EST
    going to Catholic school, I thought Public was the other religion.

    Parent
    hah! (none / 0) (#178)
    by CST on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:16:51 AM EST
    As a member of the public tribe - that's funny.  I never thought someone would see it that way.

    Although around here it broke down more on racial lines.  White Protestants often sent their kids to Catholic school as well, making it seem to younger me like there were even more Catholics than there actually were here.  My parents were Athiest, so there was no way they were sending us to Catholic school.

    Parent

    Me too... (none / 0) (#130)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 05:08:43 PM EST
    Well, "born Catholic" anyway. As in....

    Q..."What religion are you?"

    A..."Well I was born Catholic but..."

    Parent

    If the SBs' think catholicism is a cult (none / 0) (#126)
    by nycstray on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:29:44 PM EST
    what do they think they are?

    Parent
    They (none / 0) (#127)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 04:31:03 PM EST
    are tolerable but not "real Christians" but since they're protestant they don't have as many problems with them.

    Parent
    Jim, you really think that (5.00 / 1) (#202)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Thu Mar 19, 2015 at 08:35:01 AM EST
    16 million more insured isn't a step in the right directions?

    Then you are a moron, plain and simple.

    Jim... (5.00 / 1) (#204)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Mar 19, 2015 at 04:19:46 PM EST
    ...the party you vote for "insure(s) that we never get a single payer system."

    Jesus, we were lucky to squeak this one out with your party screaming bloody murder, literally.  Or were death panels Obama fault as well.

    If you had the insurance your party wants for everyone, you probably wouldn't be here, on planet Earth.  

    You sure as hell wouldn't have medicare, because it wouldn't exist.

    First of all (2.00 / 1) (#203)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Mar 19, 2015 at 04:00:09 PM EST
    if you net out the ones who lost I'm not sure
    16 million is correct.

    11.7 million are estimated to have enrolled in the Marketplaces during 2015 open enrollment (Nov 2014 to Feb 2015). This includes 4.5 million who re-enrolled from 2014.

    So the new number is 11.5. 3.5 million didn't re-enroll.

    link

    But my real point remains.

    Obama has insured that we never get a single payer system.

    And that is a shame.

    To sum up (1.00 / 1) (#201)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Mar 19, 2015 at 07:44:47 AM EST
    CST & Mordiggian - "Good is the enemy of best" is a  cliché made popular in the 80's by various "Zero Defects" programs. It dates back to Aristotle and upwards through Shakespeare and reflects the conflict between accepting one level versus rejecting the imperfect and demanding improvement.  

    In another sense it means that any change that effects people will be resisted more by those in charge of the system than the broader group of participants. You can see this in the resistance to change in the education system. It is the administrators and teachers who have the greatest push back. (See also "Who Hid My Cheese.")  It has long been understood that when companies merge it is middle management who resist the most because it has the greatest to lose.

    One of my strongest objections to Obamacare was that once implemented it would never become a true single payer system. Obama had the opportunity to institute a onetime change over the objections of most Repubs and a few Demos. He chose Obamacare. To now make it a single payer system will require overcoming the objections of most Repubs and 99.99% of the Demos.  It's DOA.

    Mordiggian - You can always excuse lack of trying by claiming that it could not be done.  Thank God for Jonas Salk and those like him.

    FlJoe - Well, he did run on "change." How's that working out in the ME and Russia?

    Mordiggian - Obama was elected to fix the problems, not expand them.

    Anne - Thank you for playing the `If you don't like Obama you're a racist card." I couldn't have exposed what you are better.

    Chip  - What I am saying is that the GJ system is what we have and it has been working very well for a very long time. And having proven your blathering wrong numerous times last fall all I see out of you is a hatred for the system.

    Mordiggian - My comment had nothing to do with the DOJ report. Why do you make things up? And Jesus also said Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's.

    Fishcamp - An artist must first see the painting in his mind.

    Scott - I see you are still using curses to prove you are an adult. Hint - It isn't working well. BTW - Hillary isn't running?? Really?? Wow.

    Mordiggian - How did Wilson not know that Brown had a knife or gun? After all, he had attacked Wilson. And "capiche?" No man, I can't understand why people descend to your level.

    Gotta go now! The games await!

    Oh, good lord (none / 0) (#1)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 11:36:12 AM EST
    GA legislator wages battle against human jellyfish hybrid

    A friend of mine who is an activist at the capital says this guy is emotionally disturbed. I said he's certainly not the only one in the Gold Dome that is emotionally disturbed. Georgia has election a slew of these emotionally disturbed fundamentalists lately.

    I Mean Seriously... (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:07:00 PM EST
    "The mixing of Human Embryos with Jellyfish cells to create a glow in the dark human," his 2014 campaign Web site reads, "we say not in Georgia."

    The problem is that there is no way this guy believes his own hype.  If someone truly believed scientists were trying to create a 'glow in the dark human' or 'human-animal hybrids' don't you think they would want penalty a bit more higher than a misdemeanor ?

    They want to execute people who destroy embryos in the female body, yet melding them with animals is barely a crime.  Idiots.

    Parent

    Maybe (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by jbindc on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:10:29 PM EST
    They could mix jellyfish with human Rights embryos, then those women could swallow tiny cameras (See: Vito Barbieri) and we could see those cool pictures!

    Parent
    Hmmm...makes me wonder if J Boehner is a (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by ruffian on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:31:34 PM EST
    human-jellyfish hybrid..I do believe he glows in the dark. I would not be so quick to ban it if I were the GOP. It may be the only source of their future electorate.

    Parent
    Scott (none / 0) (#4)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:08:44 PM EST
    you're trying to use reason with a whacked out fundamentalist. It doesn't work.

    Parent
    I despair, I truly do. (n/t) (none / 0) (#11)
    by Anne on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:32:12 PM EST


    Parent
    According to your article, (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:25:37 PM EST
    This was  "one of four issues Kirby highlighted in his reelection campaign." And he won reelection in a rout.

    As long as voters will continue to vote for them, there is no downside for a politician to be baths!t crazy.

    Parent

    Yes (none / 0) (#9)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:29:08 PM EST
    but he's in a gerrymandered district with a bunch of crazy fundamentalists. He might still win in a non gerrymandered district but we will never know.

    Parent
    LOL! (none / 0) (#33)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 05:24:15 PM EST
    Oh, those wacky Republicans way down South in Dixie! When they're not busy sounding the alarm about the Zombie Apocalypse, or trading in their adopted children after subjecting them to exorcism, they're defending mankind against the dire prospect of human-jellyfish hybrids and telling pre-schoolers that thanks to Barack Obama, the end times are upon us.

    Some people have apparently been binge-watching too many bad horror films on "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark." And then afterward, if they live in the Bible Belt, they're elected to public office. And to think such clowns consider themselves to be the adults in the room!

    Boo. Hiss.

    Parent

    The little girl's voice asking if (none / 0) (#36)
    by christinep on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 06:36:07 PM EST
    we are on fire is so sweet & so troubling ... you want to hold her and you then want to throw brickbats at the ignorant meanie who scared her.  That meanie wouldn't be a star in a horror flick ... well, maybe, since it was Repub star Senator Ted Cruz.  Frightening children seems to be his new specialty.

    Yet, Donald ... keep doing what you are doing with it ... humor, satire, mocking. Jonathan Swift did a lot with sharp humor.  And, for the nighttime audience, Jon Stewart gets the point(s) across about the crazies quickly and pointedly.

    Parent

    When all you have is clowns, (none / 0) (#12)
    by KeysDan on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:43:00 PM EST
    all you get is laughs.  Except when it is not funny: the NYTimes reports  that likely Republican presidential contender, Mike Huckabee, is pursuing some unconventional income streams-- using all his folksiness as a preacher, politician and former Fox person.

    Huckabee is huckstering a dubious "kitchen cabinet" treatment for diabetes, advising diabetics to ignore medically recognized care.

    Another ad, claims there is a miracle cure for cancer hidden in the Bible.  The ad links to a lengthy internet video which offers a booklet about the so-called Matthew 4 Protocol.  It is "free" with a $72 subscription to a health newsletter.  

    Another recent pitch promoted Foods4Patriots survival food kits, the "no. 1 item you should be hoarding,"  owing to, according to the subject line, "Food Shortage Could Devastate the Country."  

    In Huckabee's diabetes video, the Reverend Huckabee promotes the "Diabetes Solution Kit," a $19.95 booklet, he says is backed by science (at least he recognizes the word).  However, rather than science, the video peddles a diabetes cure consisting of cinnamon and chromium.

     (Both, the American Diabetes Assoc. and the Canadian Diabetes Assoc. warn that dietary and herbal supplements are ineffective, but, then, what do they know.)

    Huckabee, who lost over 100 pounds after being diagnosed with Type II diabetes says in the video, "Techniques just like you're going to find in this kit worked for me"  However, asked, according to the NYT report, in Iowa this month if he had used the nostrum he was pitching, said no--he reversed it by taking better care of his health.  Pressed about the product, he said "I'll do anything that promotes good health, Yes, sir."   I wonder if this includes Obamacare?    

    Like (none / 0) (#13)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 12:46:00 PM EST
    I've said 1,000,000 times the GOP is masterful at fleecing the rubes. This is what happens when you have a voting base that has to turn off all ability to reason.

    Parent
    At What Point is Obamacare... (none / 0) (#16)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:08:53 PM EST
    ...going to be considered a sucess ?

    I think this qualifies:

    More than 16 million people who did not have health insurance before have gained it through the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, the federal government said Monday.

    More than 14 million adults have health insurance either from the new exchanges or through expanded access to Medicaid, the Health and Human Services Department said.

    Another 2 million young adults aged under 26 got health insurance because of a provision that allows their parents to keep them on their health insurance plans, HHS said.

    "Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act almost five years ago, about 16.4 million uninsured people have gained health coverage -- the largest reduction in the uninsured in four decades," HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement.

    The administration says about 11 million people signed up for or renewed health insurance on the new exchanges for 2015. The law was designed in part to get more Americans covered by health insurance.

    LINK

    That is New York City, Los Angles, Chicago, and half of Houston, combined.  

    That is a lot of people, the last Presidential election was decided by just under 5 million votes.  

    But all all means republicans, please have vote number 57 in the house to abolish a law 16M have befitted from and has zero chance of getting signed into law.

    Yes. Scott ... the ACA is (none / 0) (#25)
    by christinep on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 02:13:37 PM EST
    a tremendous success. Sixteen million+ people who now have healthcare who could not obtain it before ... a success+.

    For now, tho, it may be difficult for those who shouted so loudly against it while offering no workable alternatives of their own and for those who have almost staked their political reputation on being totally opposed to the ACA/Obamacare ... it can be very difficult to admit such a level of error publicly. If it weren't for the harm of no healthcare assistance to so many that they had/have allowed to persist--these Repubs who only froth against it--I'd almost feel a kind of pity for their run of lies in this area being seen for what it is.

    Anyway, the ACA and the good news upon good news is too good for me to get the dander up about the tactics in Congress.  After a breather ... tho ... until the Supreme Court rules on subsidies ....  Well, until & unless a just (as well as pragmatic) ruling comes in King v.
    Burwell, we are not home yet.

    Parent

    How about the people who (none / 0) (#45)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 08:30:38 AM EST
    don't have health care and can't get Medicaid??

    And why are some people getting tax payer paid subsidies while others do not??

    Obamacare has merely rearranged the chairs, taking from all and giving to some and leaving millions in the range. Celebrating it is like saying we've removed the cancerous leg but the lung cancer lives on.

    Parent

    In many cases, jim, the fault lies with (5.00 / 4) (#54)
    by Anne on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:39:49 AM EST
    red states whose governors/legislatures refused to expand Medicaid, leaving many people in that gray area where they didn't qualify for Medicaid and the couldn't afford private insurance.

    Listen, I am a longtime proponent of a single-payer system, much like Medicare, but I am also a realist, who understands that we don't have a single-payer system.  And that's what we're dealing with.

    You can bitch and moan all you want that not everyone has health insurance - and you would be right - but all your whining and complaining and jabs at Obama can't and won't change the fact that millions of people now do have access to affordable care because they now have health insurance coverage.  Just accept that, will you?  

    It's not perfect.  Deductibles and co-pays - the dreaded "cost-sharing" - have gone up for a lot of people.  Preferred provider groups and networks have gotten smaller, or harder to access if you rely on public transportation.  But there's a lot of mandated coverage that requires no co-pays and no deductibles - the basics of at least staying on top of people's health and making sure they can get routine health screenings.

    Will it succeed over the long term?  I have my doubts; I think building the ACA on the foundation of a terribly dysfunctional system means eventually, we will be at "crisis" stage again, with the only question being how soon.  I've come to believe that failure of the ACA is not necessarily going to move us closer to single-payer; I think it dumps us right back where we were, only in worse shape, and for many people, even less trustful of government involvement in the health care system than they were before.    It may be possible to start moving people to Medicare by lowering the eligibility age incrementally until we have a single-payer system that could include people of all ages, but even that doesn't work if the only people in it are the old, the poor and the sick.  I've also come to believe that failure of the ACA means millions of people will actually suffer - they will lose their coverage, not be able to afford it on their own.  And by extension we will all feel the effects - in our economy, in our society.

    Meantime, the ACA is helping people, whether you want it to or not.  I don't think it says much nice about you if you are willing to sacrifice the health of people it is helping just so you can put one more thing on your list of perceived Obama failures.  But if that's where you want to go with this, I hope you have another list, one for the governors and legislators who have and are playing a role in whether the ACA succeeds, and whether millions of people who need it ever get the opportunity to have health insurance coverage.


    Parent

    The irony (5.00 / 2) (#56)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:54:23 AM EST
    is Jim supports the same people who don't wany anybody to have insurance.

    Parent
    Well jim, at least 16m Americans (5.00 / 1) (#182)
    by fishcamp on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:28:39 AM EST
    think ACA is a better choice than the Republican one of just going to the emergency room for health care.

    Parent
    The GOP (5.00 / 1) (#183)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:47:33 AM EST
    plan of die quick is what Jim supports. Basically what Jim does is moan and groan that people he does not vote for don't do what he wants.

    Parent
    Some People's Cups are Overflowing... (5.00 / 1) (#57)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:57:59 AM EST
    ...some are not, which is directly correlated to the subsidies.

    Rearranging chairs in which people of means pay more is what most of the adult thinkers in the world would call fair and just in regards to human health.

    16M Jim, and the fact that you can't get past your partisanship and realize how great that is so sad and proof that your brain has lost any sort function related to the human race.  But at least you are consistent and it certainly falls in the same realm as believing killing children used as shields isn't disputable.

    That number is amazing, it's the population, or more, of like 70 countries.  It's one in 20 people in the US, more than Republicans have helped throughout their entire 20th and 21st centuries.  it's double the population of the entire state of Tennessee.

    If I was a god fearing man, I would be a little worried that my views of my fellow human beings are going to be a problem when it counts.


    Parent

    et al (none / 0) (#142)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 08:09:47 PM EST
    What I want to see is people admit that the only system that makes sense is a single payer system that covers everyone instead of the people lucky enough to live in a state that expanded Medicaid and/or have a job that pays the premium.

    My hope for Obama was that he would, with his majorities in both Houses, get a single payer system based on Medicare as a model, except no co-pays, paid for by a sales tax that covers everyone.

    Instead he gave us welfare for the insurance companies and welfare for his base. Millions remain uncovered and many are paying much more.

    That's the deal, dear chums, and if that makes me a Repub then hello Abe and good bye Franklin.

    Parent

    No - what makes you a Repub (5.00 / 3) (#149)
    by Yman on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:11:38 PM EST
    ... is the fact that you're only "liberal" on issues you don't really care about.  On all the issues you really care about, you're far right.  One look at your blog will tell you all you need to know.

    Parent
    So I don't care about the health care (none / 0) (#172)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:00:13 AM EST
    system that my children, grandson and great grand children have??

    Wow.

    And what might my support for drug law reform, minority rights, including gay marriage, women's right to choose, LWOP make me? (Hint: Most people think them liberal.)

    And Obama?? He screwed the pooch on health care and has destroyed our foreign policy. We'll be in a sure enough real shooting war within 8-10 years.

    Parent

    No, you'd rather apportion (5.00 / 1) (#173)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:04:15 AM EST
    blame and a disordered version of the facts in the case rather than be glad that 16 million people got health care.

    Parent
    Like I said (2.00 / 1) (#177)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:15:31 AM EST
    Obama had a chance and blew it.

    If that's good enough for you, fine. It fits right in with "Hillary can do no wrong because Powell did wrong."

    As for facts.

    There are millions of people, right now, who need to go to the doctor and cannot because they have no coverage. Of course they can go to the ER of the local hospital where they will be treated and then have their credit ruined when they cannot pay.

    You approve of that.

    What a refined sense of decency you have.

    Parent

    and you apparently think it would be better to add (5.00 / 2) (#179)
    by CST on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:19:02 AM EST
    16 million or so to that number.

    Parent
    et both (2.00 / 1) (#184)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:48:42 AM EST
    CST - How would going to a single payer system add people to the uninsured???

    BTW - TN's Senator's recently rejected the Guv's Medicaid expansion. I pushed my Rep and Sen to support it and raised hell with both of them when they waffled around hiding behind a "committee's actiuons."

    Mordiggian - No. Obama had no idea how the midterms would go. He had the majority and the popularity.

    He sold out to the insurance lobby and covered it by taking care of his base.

    How Chicago of him.

    Parent

    perfect is the enemy of good (5.00 / 2) (#189)
    by CST on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:58:02 AM EST
    We don't have a single payer system and you have expressed favor of eliminating the system we do have - before a single payer plan is in place.

    Which would bring us back to 16 million more uninsured.

    I think any and all of us would toss ACA for single payer, but we won't toss it BEFORE single payer arrives.  The fact that you would means you would add 16 million people to the uninsured.

    Saying you support something doesn't make it the law.  You can say you support single payer till the cows come home, but that doesn't make it any more likely to happen.  Especially if you keep voting for people who oppose it.

    Parent

    Nope, you do your research (none / 0) (#188)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:56:13 AM EST
     

    and you will know the truth about the Congressional make up, especially in the Senate at that time, that made it difficult for Obama to get the ACA passed as it was, let alone with single-payer in it.

    I'm afraid that will always be beyond your abilities because you always fall for, and swallow, the Fox News and any RW cr*p that sounds plausible, cork and bottle included.

    Parent

    jim, remember it took (5.00 / 1) (#187)
    by fishcamp on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:53:36 AM EST
    the French 15 years to roll out their health care program.  Obama made a great move that naturally isn't perfect yet.  Give it some time, instead of a continual bad rap.  

    Parent
    It isn't (none / 0) (#180)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:21:31 AM EST

    perfect by any means.

    Given that there was a small window of time when Obama could get anything thru, which you can research and discover for yourself instead of listening to RW blather on the subject:

    16 MILLION people covered is a good beginning, but this Congress isn't about improving it, and you and I know that.

    Parent

    Good is the enemy of best. (2.00 / 1) (#185)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:51:03 AM EST
    It can't be improved. It can be replaced.

    Parent
    that's not how (5.00 / 1) (#190)
    by CST on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:58:55 AM EST
    It worked with social security or any other government program ever.

    It most definitely can be improved.

    Parent

    Ah, you've descended into (none / 0) (#191)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:59:18 AM EST
    word games to try and make a point.  

    You are not much of a thinker when you stoop to that, Jim.

    Parent

    That Was Your Hope Jim (5.00 / 1) (#169)
    by ScottW714 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:56:56 AM EST
    We don't have the health care system you wanted, because the party you didn't vote for, couldn't over come the party you did vote for.  Got it.

    In Excel, that is called a 'circular error' because it makes no GD sense.

    Parent

    Not being a single issue voter (none / 0) (#174)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:06:08 AM EST
    I weigh all the positions.

    I saw Obama as an inexperienced man who would try and bring America down to a third world level while screwing up our foreign policy to the extent we would be at war. Which, BTW, is were we are at. We just aren't resisting.

    And what do you call your support of Hillary??

    I call it blind obedience to the demands of the group you hang out with. Try thinking on your own.

    BTW, I just love those little curses you throw in. They make you look so adult.

    Parent

    Adult (none / 0) (#194)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 10:26:51 AM EST
    Isn't how I would describe your political understanding.

    Parent
    Really? (none / 0) (#195)
    by FlJoe on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 10:40:26 AM EST
    I saw Obama as an inexperienced man who would try and bring America down to a third world level
    . Do you really think Obama is actively trying to degrade this country, or did that talking point just pop up on your majic H8-ball?

    Parent
    So Obama would continue the project (none / 0) (#198)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 10:58:21 AM EST
    started by GWB?

    Makes sense to me.........

    Parent

    16 million people now have coverage (none / 0) (#48)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 08:52:37 AM EST
    where they didn't before.  Some see the glass as 3/4th full, you want us to see it as half-empty.

    Parent
    Jim (none / 0) (#49)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:08:24 AM EST
    is a republican. All they have to offer is gloom and doom.

    Parent
    And many people can't (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:13:28 AM EST
    get coverage because the Republican governors and legislatures where they live refused the Medicaid expansion despite the fact that it would cost the taxpayers in those states not one Thin red cent in doing so.

    Parent
    and the hits (none / 0) (#18)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:17:49 PM EST
    just keep on coming from GA these days. Now discriminating against gay people is legal. You can refuse to serve anyone for "religious" reasons.

    The Georgia "Religious (none / 0) (#21)
    by KeysDan on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:30:58 PM EST
    Freedom Act,"  goes beyond having a "sincerely held belief" (key words) to discriminate against gays.  It has the potential to override many anti-discrimination laws and brutal acts, such as wife beating, sale of contraceptive, child abuse.  Some say that female genital mutilation may be permitted based on a "sincerely held belief."   Some efforts are supposedly being made to except wife beating from the bill, so there's that.

     My understanding is that this nightmare has passed the GA senate, but not yet the House.  That vote is likely to be a close. The Senate bill passed when the Republican chair of the committee permitted the Democrats to leave the room for a bathroom break, and then took the vote in their absence.   Many of the business people, Delta, Coca Cola, are opposed, but it is not clear as to how hard they plan to fight the religious fanatics.

    Parent

    KeysDan (none / 0) (#22)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:37:40 PM EST
    is a CF for sure and I am completely embarrassed to be from Georgia and to be a Christian. The leglislature has brought shame on the entire state. But I can't just blame them. The people who elected these bozos have brought shame on the entire state.

    But then again I knew this kind of thing was going to happen. The GOP is nothing if not small, bitter and mean spirited these days. Think of the ugly fundamentalist who beats his kids and that's more or less what we've got running GA these days.

    Parent

    Yes, noted an article in (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by KeysDan on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 05:30:10 PM EST
    the Atlanta Journal-Constitution by Daniel Malloy describing the problem that even the most far right of the far right are having with their constituents.  US Reps Jody Hice and Barry Loudermilk (apparently from small Ga towns) won their seats last fall by going way right of the rightist contenders.  

    Hice is a Baptist  preacher and radio talk show host and Barry is a former air force member.  But they are getting it from their constituents--they are accused of doing nothing in DC and they have already been there for two months. What's up guys?  They were angry that they did not even get rid of Boehner.

    And,  worse, President Obama is coming out on top of the battles.   Hice's voters pressed him while in his district on why Obama has not been impeached, and, one woman, wanted to know why Obama has not yet been arrested for treason. Loudermilk is in trouble with Georgia Right to Life, threatening to can him if he votes to allow exemptions for rape and incest in antiabortion bills.  

    I hope Democrats realize the stakes in the next election; not only from Republicans like Hice and Barry, but from constituents that pressure guys not only like Hice and Loudermilk but, also, your basic wingers.

    Parent

    Barry Loudermilk (none / 0) (#35)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 06:04:35 PM EST
    is my rep. No one was running against him so I wrote in Mickey Mouse. But Loudermilk and Hice deserve what they are getting. Loudermilk had every tea nut group in the area as an endorsement on his page. Hice wrote hideous stuff about women last fall. They pandered to these nuts and now these nuts are saying that they should have done what they said they were going to do. I mean don't run on a crackpot plat form of birtherism or allowing people to think you're a birther and then  all of a sudden pretend that is not the kind of campaign you have run.

    Parent
    Senator Ted Cruz (R. TX) (none / 0) (#27)
    by KeysDan on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 03:02:20 PM EST
    has his work cut out for him.  Today's Cruz message: "Federal government has no business sticking its nose in education.  We need to repeal every word of Common Core. #Make DC Listen.     First, Cruz will have to pass a federal Common Core Act, and then repeal it.  

    The sad thing is that it really (none / 0) (#28)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 03:13:23 PM EST
    doesn't matter that Cruz has invented an issue to rail against. People have already bought the bridge and doubled down on the swamp land.

    I'm sure I will hear about how necessary it is for the people in D.C. to repeal it at the next senior citizen get together.  

    Parent

    I read (none / 0) (#30)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 03:24:57 PM EST
    an article and I'm not sure where I read it but the GOP believes you only have to repeat a lie five times before people will believe it. So therefore since most of that kind of stuff goes unchallenged the people on the right will believe it.

    Parent
    Looks Like... (none / 0) (#31)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 03:40:53 PM EST
    ...Georgia is getting a little competition on crazy.

    I bet the GOP would love to the Fed out of education, a country red stater educations is  GOP wet dream.


    Parent

    Here's why many (none / 0) (#46)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 08:39:54 AM EST
    people are supporting any politician who is against Common Core.

    Parent
    LOL! That's just pathetic. (none / 0) (#75)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:57:25 AM EST
    The whiter-than-white Joshua Riddle is so obsessed with the almost unbearable whiteness of his core being, he clearly doesn't know his a$$ from his elbow:

    "In the mind of a liberal, it's important to teach 4th graders that white people are racist and hate Obama because he's black. [...] Our children are being taught that America is, at its core, a racist nation."

    And since you apparently also subscribe to this ignorant race-baiting nonsense, given your link to it, neither do you.

    H8ers just gotta H8 on the Prez from the 808.

    Parent

    Tying Obama to CC is completely stupid (none / 0) (#113)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:35:47 PM EST
    regardless of where one stands on the subject:

    Myth: The standards will be implemented through No Child Left Behind (NCLB), signifying that the federal government will be leading them.

    Fact: The Common Core is a state‐led effort that is not part of No Child Left Behind or any other federal initiative. The federal government played no role in the development of the Common Core. State adoption of the standards is in no way mandatory. States began the work to create clear, consistent standards before the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided funding for the Race to the Top grant program. It also began before the Elementary and Secondary Education Act blueprint was released, because this work is being driven by the needs of the states, not the federal government. Learn more about the development process here.

    Didn't see anything about teaching kids to hate American, oddly enough.

    Parent

    Try reading and understanding (none / 0) (#143)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 08:12:45 PM EST
    The point is that millions of people see Common Care as a propaganda arm of the Left.


    Parent
    That people believe it is because of (5.00 / 1) (#147)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:32:28 PM EST
    Glenn Beck and the like attacking it doesn't mean it's true.

    Millions of people also believe in flying saucers too.  Does that mean I need to improve my reading and comprehension before pointing out the errors in their beliefs as well?

    This is interesting:

    Silver Lake Elementary School in Middletown, Del., has begun implementing the national Common Core State Standards for academics. The GOP largely backs the standards that are rolling out in 45 states, but Tea Party conservatives have been critical -- and liberals increasingly have the same complaints.

    Damn The Left!

    Just when you think you have them figured out, some of them go and do this sort of thing.

    Any questions on who needs lessons in reading and comprehension?

    Parent

    You seem to be a bit (1.50 / 2) (#168)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:52:39 AM EST
    paranoid and confused. The issue isn't Common Core standards, but what is in the material:

    Classic liberal indoctrination here folks.  In the mind of a liberal, it's important to teach 4th graders that white people are racist and hate Obama because he's black.  "White voters would never voter for a black president."  The jokers who wrote this book aren't even trying to be subtle about it.

    Of course whites voted for Obama. He couldn't have won otherwise.

    "Our children are being taught that America is, at its core, a racist nation."


    Parent
    First of all, I don't think conservatives (5.00 / 2) (#186)
    by Anne on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:51:41 AM EST
    should be trying to divine what is in anyone else's mind, much less what is in the mind of a liberal, so right off the bat, there's a false premise on which the rest of the writer's argument is based and by which he views the whole issue.

    Second, it isn't indoctrination of any kind to note how some people reacted to the candidacy and eventual presidency of the nation's first black president.

    Third, you left out the context for your "white people would never vote for a black president" excerpt.  That sentence was part of a passage that began with "Some people said that Americans weren't ready for that much change.  Sure Barack was a nice fellow they said.  But white voters would never vote for a black president."

    See how that works?  Reading comprehension is your friend.

    Finally, I think it is both unintentionally hilarious, and 10 kinds of hypocritical, for the white person whose own blog demonstrates a deep level of racism, much of it centered on Obama, to quibble with the text of a book that acknowledges the reaction of many people to Barack Obama's candidacy.

    Just stop, would you?  You have ZERO credibility on this and many other issues, and your constant misrepresentation of the facts just wastes people's time.

    Parent

    I'd have to see the material in question (none / 0) (#175)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 09:09:59 AM EST
    instead of a cockamamie version as promulgated by somebody with an obvious racial ax to grind against Obama.

    You credulity is boundless, just like the Universe, or human......

    Parent

    LOL! The Tea Party News Network (none / 0) (#139)
    by Yman on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 07:08:26 PM EST
    "Some people" - heh.

    "Some people" are idiots.

    Parent

    Common Core's Problem (none / 0) (#81)
    by vicndabx on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:19:29 PM EST
    that no one wants to really say is the problem - crappy great schools ratings thus lowered property values.

    As someone who moved from the city to the suburbs, I can say that my kids elementary school education was significantly tougher in the city than the warmed over work my kids get now.

    I wonder if this is anecdotal or representative of a real trend.

    Parent

    Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine, RIP (none / 0) (#41)
    by scribe on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 08:50:46 PM EST
    Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine, one of the stars of The Gong Show, has passed away at age 82 from complications of diabetes.

    Watch the video.  Classic.

    While, according to the obituary, he lost both legs to diabetes over the years, I do not believe it affected his dancing a bit.

    Netanyahu losing (none / 0) (#50)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:10:09 AM EST
    So he doubled down, and has issued a statement that he completely rules out a two state solution.

    Part 1... (none / 0) (#58)
    by CoralGables on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:05:44 AM EST
    we have no idea. Polls don't close for another 5 hours and most knowleadgeable people rate it a tossup. Part 2 is correct.

    Parent
    Which would be a more knowledgeable comment (5.00 / 1) (#59)
    by CoralGables on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:07:12 AM EST
    had I spelled knowledgeable correctly.

    Parent
    Last allowable polling he was losing (none / 0) (#60)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:16:46 AM EST


    Parent
    Lets hope the polls... (none / 0) (#61)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:18:51 AM EST
    are right, and the people of Israel are as tired of this war-monger sh*t as we are.

    Parent
    Oh my (5.00 / 2) (#64)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:30:01 AM EST
    Bibi pleading now for his voters to turnout because the other guys are bringing bus loads of Arabs to the polls :). Israel...the new Alabama

    Parent
    or the new Iowa & Texas Democratic caucuses? (1.00 / 1) (#141)
    by The Addams Family on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 07:40:51 PM EST
    ;)

    it's tempting, certainly, but perhaps inaccurate to map the state of Alabama (or the 2008 Democratic caucuses) onto Israel & the Israeli election

    Bibi warned his supporters that he would lose if they were to be outnumbered at the polls by his opponents - his opponents immediately branded his comments "racist," but that does not make them so

    Parent

    Nice analogy... (none / 0) (#65)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:40:10 AM EST
    on a couple levels.  Well played Trace!

    Parent
    He's also the first Jewish leader (none / 0) (#112)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:28:47 PM EST
    in more than 2,000 years,to be the victim of a Jewish conspiracy.

    Parent
    Herzog has leaked who his new (none / 0) (#62)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:27:41 AM EST
    Defense minister would be.  The guy has the chops, Air Force, intelligence....but a very different way of getting to peace resolutions.  Labor has no intention of allowing Israel to be anyone's victim, but bringing a different mindset.

    Israel is having some sort of housing problems that I haven't investigated thoroughly.  If Labor is able to cobble together their government though, it looks like right now that expansion into Palestinian territory will end.

    Parent

    Call Me Crazy... (none / 0) (#63)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 10:29:04 AM EST
    ...but reading about the election has me stymied:
    Israel election

    • Nearly six million Israelis voting for a new parliament (Knesset)
    • Votes are cast for a party, rather than individual candidates
    • 120 seats up for grabs, though electoral system means no single party will achieve a majority
    • Blocs of parties must command at least 61 seats to form a government
    • President has seven days in which to appoint an MP with best chance of forming a government
    • Candidate has initial 28 days to put workable coalition together
     LINK

    And this:

    No party has ever won an outright majority under Israel's proportional representation voting system, and neither side is expected to get more than a quarter of the votes in Tuesday's election.

    Mr Netanyahu, 65, called early elections late last year, in an attempt to form a more stable coalition.

    Opinion polls published before the weekend suggested that the Zionist Union was likely to win the most seats, though it may still be possible for Mr Netanyahu to form a coalition government even if his Likud party fails to top the poll.

    I think a lot of people are hoping the war monger is ousted, but reading through the election material, I am not sure that is how it happens.  Sounds like he will be integral no matter the results.

    Parent

    The newspaper Haaretz (5.00 / 1) (#71)
    by christinep on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:34:43 AM EST
    --Israeli English edition-- has almost wall-to-wall info yesterday & earlier today. Looking at one of the graphs the other day, it appears that there are about 10 or 11 parties involved at the start ... a number will drop out for not meeting the threshold to enter the Knesset (parliament.)  From there it seems complicated by the extended process--beginning with the President who names usually (practice or requirement) an individual from the largest vote-getting bloc ... e.g., if Isaac Herzog from the Zionist Union/Labor bloc is tapped to form a government via coalition agreements, he has the stated amount of time to be successful in doing so; if not, the next attempt goes to the runner-up bloc's representative which, let's say, is Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu to try again.

    The complications come from the building blocs process--hope they are more sturdy than Legos--in that the trading and side agreements can be quite extensive in the "you-do-this-&-you-can-have-my-vote" reality. There are further right groups than Netanyahu; and, there are further left groups than Herzog. Leading up to the whole process, btw, is an interesting calculation that goes something like this: If voter Marian favors the group to the left of Herzog (but wouldn't be too upset if the larger group with Herzog wins overall), she has a choice--to vote for the more likely winning bloc with Herzog or to vote for her much smaller favorite party while hoping that Herzog can emerge victorious in any event and that her party will have a say in the formation of a coalition.

    The process of deal-cutting and necessary compromises has a certain appeal because it gives the players in the minor parties some opportunity to be at the table during the nitty-gritty of vote-trading.  I admit now to being mesmerized by the process as well as the substantial stakes of this election.

    Parent

    You explained it (none / 0) (#72)
    by Zorba on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:36:43 AM EST
    better than I did.  Thank you.

    Parent
    I liked your explanation as well, Zorba (none / 0) (#76)
    by christinep on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:58:59 AM EST
    On top of it all, the late maneuvers by Netanyahu could make Machiavelli blush.  Perhaps, tho, his brash pronouncements on behalf of the furthest right in recent days--his now open antagonism to a two-state resolution in the Palestinian conflict & yesterday's blatant fear-mongering against Arab Israelis--will not work any more than his ill-advised campaign to our Congress in recent days. From the direction turn of the Israeli campaign in general, I wonder if those who had never agreed with him or had come to consider his approach stale & not suited to the times are feeling emboldened to vote for his opponent(s) today.

     

    Parent

    One can (none / 0) (#88)
    by Zorba on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:41:32 PM EST
    only hope that Bibi has so totally turned off enough others that he will not become PM again.

    Parent
    Thanks... (none / 0) (#78)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:03:04 PM EST
    ...that helped.

    If I am reading this right, the election determines who gets the first crack at forming a majority coalition.  Which I assume would be with the parties most closely aligned with the 'winners' political views.

    Is the President elected as he seems to have a fair amount of influence over the process ?

    Parent

    Scott: Elected by the Knesset (none / 0) (#83)
    by christinep on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:31:12 PM EST
    I double-checked, and found that the President serves a seven-year term.  It is a figurehead position in reality.

    Parent
    Israel has a Parliamentary system (none / 0) (#69)
    by Zorba on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:33:16 AM EST
    of governance, like the UK and other nations.
    You don't vote for the individual, you vote for the Party.
    Unlike the UK, however, Israel has a whole bunch of Parties, so whoever will become the Prime Minister has to cobble together enough of the different Parties to get elected by the Knesset, their legislative branch.
    So it's true, even if Bibi's Party, the Likud, gets many fewer votes, he could still get enough other Parties on board to form a coalition government and get chosen by the Knesset.
    And the Likud will still have a number of seats in the Knesset, so Bibi will be a player in any case.


    Parent
    Jerusalem Post (none / 0) (#133)
    by The Addams Family on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 05:58:33 PM EST
    is reporting that Bibi has claimed victory & is now in the process of forming a coalition (but Herzog says the Likud celebration is premature)

    Parent
    Get ready for Hawk vs. Hawk in November '16 (none / 0) (#74)
    by Dadler on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 11:47:54 AM EST
    Or Co-dependency vs. Co-dependency. (LINK)

    Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! (none / 0) (#80)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:09:27 PM EST
    As is our tradition, we'll all be working tonight at Murphy's annual block party. However and wherever you choose to commemorate the day, please keep it safe and cool, okay?

    Aloha.

    Erin go bragh! (none / 0) (#82)
    by christinep on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:28:48 PM EST
    Donald ... and, there's green in Hawaii too ... and, no snakes also I'm told. A toast to you and yours--and, for the great Saint!

    Husband & I will go to where we usually go on St. Patrick's day for the corned beef & cabbage & carrots & boiled potatoes (being !/2 Polish, I love the cabbage and potatoes.)  And, Guinness.

    Parent

    Corned Beef... (none / 0) (#95)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:18:07 PM EST
    Irish food is so bad, we stole the signature Irish-American dish from the Jews;)

    The old wives tale goes that when the first waves of Micks came over to NYC fleeing the famine, they went to the butcher looking for brisket.  Most butchers back then were Jewish, and they gave the new arrivals corned beef.  A tradition was born.

    As for the other tradition of heavy drinking, I hear that stems from an exemption to lent for the Feast of St. Patrick, who supposedly died on March 17th.

    Parent

    Wearing my green Cubs shirt with shamrock (none / 0) (#96)
    by ruffian on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 01:23:29 PM EST
    Trying to harness the good luck for the cause of the Cubbies!!

    I don't have any special food planned, but there is beer in the fridge at home if I can make it through the work day.

    Parent

    Feel Good Story... (none / 0) (#85)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 12:38:10 PM EST
    ...from my home state.

    KENOSHA -- Three middle school basketball players have received recognition from the city of Kenosha for defending a cheerleader who has Down syndrome.

    Three players walked off the court after hearing mean-spirited comments directed at cheerleader Desiree Andrews coming from the crowd during a game last season at Lincoln Middle School. During a timeout, Chase Vazquez, Scooter Terrien and Miles Rodriguez approached the opposing team's fans to put an end to the bullying.

    LINK

    More stories like this please.

    Conservative Republican Congressman (none / 0) (#109)
    by KeysDan on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:24:29 PM EST
    Aaron Schock will resign in the face of allegations that he used taxpayer money for a high-flying personal life.  And, it may be that his office decorated to make the Dowager Countess comfortable,  did not play well in Peoria.   Wonder who will get Schock's office?  

    A gay (none / 0) (#111)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:26:45 PM EST
    friend of mine says he needs to come out of the closet. LOL.

    Parent
    Aaron Schock (5.00 / 1) (#114)
    by KeysDan on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:41:10 PM EST
    coming out of Congress is good enough.  But, he does seem to have a load off his mind.

    Parent
    Your link now (none / 0) (#132)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 05:51:13 PM EST
    goes to "page not found".  I hope you took a screen cap, and I'm sure that others had the foresight to do so.  Americablog has been following this, so it'll be interesting what they consider relevant to the story.

    Parent
    Thanks for saving me the google :) (none / 0) (#115)
    by nycstray on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:45:52 PM EST
    When I saw the headline float across my computer, I was wondering if it was the dude with the, ahem, fancy office . . . .

    Parent
    Yes, that is the right dude. (none / 0) (#116)
    by KeysDan on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 02:58:38 PM EST
    He is resigning to spend more time at the gym.  Although he will probably miss the dumbbells in Congress.  Maybe a modeling job is in his future at Dolce and Gabbana.

    Parent
    Does Ambercrombie and Finch (none / 0) (#138)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 06:43:54 PM EST
    have an outlet in Peoria?

    Parent
    I am in Schock's district (none / 0) (#117)
    by caseyOR on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 03:38:02 PM EST
    right now. No explaination of any substance for why he resigned. Just the usual babble about the investigations getting in the way of serving the district, blah, blah, blah.

    Today's Peoria Journal Star had a story detailing some of Schock's curious real estate business deals with campaign donors. In one instance he and some "friends" purchased a parcel of land for $300,000 and promptly got a $600,000 mortgage on it from a local bank. The bank manager is a Schock campaign contributor as are his "partners." None of it makes these local business people look good.

    So, it may be, and this is just a guess, that these partners of his were getting worried about what the ongoing investigations would reveal about them and their dealings with Schock. Perhaps, in an attempt to stop the investigations, they told Schock it was time for him to go.

    None of this means that this district, the IL-18, will get a Democratic representative. Schock got 75% of the vote last November. And this seat has been held by a Republican my whole life. The question is will the district be trading a possibly somewhat corrupt party-boy (Schock) for a rightwing nut job?

    Parent

    Sounds like the thread that, when pulled, (none / 0) (#131)
    by scribe on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 05:44:31 PM EST
    totally unravelled the Duke Cunningham sweater round about 2005-6.

    You'll remember him - the Vietnam-era fighter ace who went to Congress, out wingnutted the wingnuts while representing San Diego and living on a houseboat in DC with an ambiguously gay sort of lifestyle thing going on.

    He got one of those mortgage-type deals on some SD property, the SD paper won some awards for digging and reporting, and Duke got something like 8 years in Club Fed.  Only recently got out.  

    This was back when corrupt Congresscritters actually went to prison.

    Parent

    Randy "Duke" was my rep., (none / 0) (#151)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 01:16:06 AM EST
    unfortunately.  B

    Parent
    Evangelicals (none / 0) (#135)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 06:17:20 PM EST
    to mobilize to make sure someone who meets their approval wins the GOP nomination link

    Likudization (none / 0) (#146)
    by Politalkix on Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 09:27:42 PM EST
    link

    From Krugman's article...
    "The answer, which I don't think is widely appreciated here, is that while Israel's economy has grown, this growth has been accompanied by a disturbing transformation in the country's income distribution and society. Once upon a time, Israel was a country of egalitarian ideals -- the kibbutz population was always a small minority, but it had a large impact on the nation's self-perception. And it was a fairly equal society in reality, too, right up to the early 1990s.

    Since then, however, Israel has experienced a dramatic widening of income disparities. Key measures of inequality have soared; Israel is now right up there with America as one of the most unequal societies in the advanced world. And Israel's experience shows that this matters, that extreme inequality has a corrosive effect on social and political life.

    Consider what has happened at either end of the spectrum -- the growth in poverty, on one side, and extreme wealth, on the other

    Meanwhile, Israel's oligarchs owe their position not to innovation and entrepreneurship but to their families' success in gaining control of businesses that the government privatized in the 1980s -- and they arguably retain that position partly by having undue influence over government policy, combined with control of major banks."

    I always enjoy those random lines (none / 0) (#155)
    by CoralGables on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 07:27:25 AM EST
    Israel is now right up there with America as one of the most unequal societies in the advanced world.

    As if we can just toss a large chunk of the world out as not advanced. And what metrics do we use to measure? In this case we just don't know.

    Using the UN numbers with recent available data, the US ranks 43 of 125 (Israel is 53) in inequality. Using the World Banks numbers the US ranks 59 of 156 (Israel is 72). Neither awful and neither good.

    Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq...they all rank much better on the income equality scale, but not sure anyone is standing in line to go be more equal there.

    Parent

    The operative words (5.00 / 1) (#192)
    by Politalkix on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 10:07:33 AM EST
    are "advanced world". I do not think that Krugman believes Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iraq are part of the "advanced world". So I do not know what blew your gasket.

    If you want to propose that the United States and Israel race to the bottom to compete with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, please say so openly. On social issues, ultra-orthodox Jews and socially conservative Christians that drive right wing politics in Israel and America are not very different from socially conservative Muslims in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq that they they look down upon. So Likudization of Israel and America is definitely extracting a price. It is taking both Israel and America down the road of economic inequality (with destruction of the middle class) and social conservatism to a place where we can possibly start getting bracketed with Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan within a few decades.  

    Parent

    The left in Israel mourns today (none / 0) (#153)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 06:42:34 AM EST
    Listening to Ari Shavit who is calling it hope vs. fear and fear won, because in the past the left did allow chaos and bloodshed to develop and though they would never allow that again they failed to convince the voters that people would remain safe.

    Bibi is the only leader Israel trusts to keep them safe and is also the least Conservative representative of his block.

    Does anyone know... (none / 0) (#154)
    by Palli on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 07:12:40 AM EST
    Does the Israeli election process use electronic voting machines?  

    Parent
    That I don't know (none / 0) (#156)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 07:32:22 AM EST


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    Frankly (none / 0) (#158)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 07:56:15 AM EST
    I'm surprised they didn't kick Bibi out on the economy alone.

    Parent
    Too afraid of being open (none / 0) (#160)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:10:28 AM EST
    To attacks and bloodshed.  This is going to be a VERY RIGHT WING government.  Netanyahu must go to religious parties that are pro settlement now to form his block, the Zionist Union party has declared that it will be the opposition party.

    Parent
    Paul Waldman (none / 0) (#193)
    by Politalkix on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 10:23:48 AM EST
    link column on what it means. The right wing in America has made its bed with Netanyahu and Israel. Likud is Israel and Israel is Likud to them. Likud's right wing partisan politics is like oxygen to them.

    What will Democrats do now? Will they keep supporting Bibi or move to support progressive voices in America and Israel that abhor Likud politics?

    Parent

    Likud only makes up a quarter of (none / 0) (#196)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 10:50:04 AM EST
    Israeli parliament, no matter what the Sheldon Adelsons of the world believe.

    Democrats haven't supported Bibi for awhile.  It's an open secret that Obama dislikes the person who is Netanyahu.  Seldom do leaders allow such things to be known unless the disagreements are extreme and non negotiable.

    Parent

    Today's New CNN/Opinion Research Poll (none / 0) (#161)
    by CoralGables on Wed Mar 18, 2015 at 08:20:16 AM EST
    has the 2016 Presidential election as a horse race....a one horse race.

    Hillary is above 50% against every Republican.

    vs Paul...Clinton +11
    vs Rubio...Clinton +13
    va Huckabee...Clinton +14
    vs Bush...Clinton +15
    vs Walker...Clinton +15
    vs Christie...Clinton +15
    vs Carson...Clinton +16

    Here's the way it was figured out, Jim (none / 0) (#205)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Thu Mar 19, 2015 at 10:13:55 PM EST

    More than 14 million adults have health insurance either from the new exchanges or through expanded access to Medicaid, the Health and Human Services Department said.

    Another 2 million young adults aged under 26 got health insurance because of a provision that allows their parents to keep them on their health insurance plans, HHS said.

    "Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act almost five years ago, about 16.4 million uninsured people have gained health coverage -- the largest reduction in the uninsured in four decades," HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement.

    The administration says about 11 million people signed up for or renewed health insurance on the new exchanges for 2015. The law was designed in part to get more Americans covered by health insurance.

    "There are trade-offs in the ACA that reasonable people disagree about. But with 16.4 million covered, it is doing what it set out to do," Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks health insurance matters, said via Twitter.

    16.4 million since the ACA became law.  Not 16.4 million since last year, but still a significant amount of people.  Way more that didn't get their particular insurance cancelled because it didn't meet the standards imposed on insurance by the ACA.  Don't take my word for it, do some research on the BBC, Reuters, and other news sources.  Depending on Fox News for your information is like having arsenic with your morning coffee, information-wise.

    As for your pessimism, since your analysis of the political numbers Obama faced is incorrect, your conclusions are therefore flawed and not worth a plugged nickel. The large insurance companies weren't going to roll over and play dead, and they would've had plenty of allies on both sides of the aisle to help them remain important, especially the Republicans who already weren't willing to vote for the ACA on their side.  Your naïveté is remarkable when it comes this portion of the equation.

    As others have remarked here, other countries have had transition periods where they changed their health care system, and their is no reason the same can't be true of the country as well.

    The only Republican alternative as if now U.S. to go back, not forwards, while they hope people forget about their death panel lies.

    Paradoxically, desperate Republican states may be forced to turn to expansion of Medicaid funded by the Feds in light of other budget cuts because need finally overrides ideology.

    You can have NBC (none / 0) (#206)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Mar 20, 2015 at 09:17:23 AM EST
    I'll take the information from the government's website.

    And no. They have 11.7 million INCLUDING 4.5 million who re-enrolled from 2015. You can't count the people who didn't re-enroll.

    And there is no plan in place to transition anything.

    Just think. Telling millions of people who are now paying nothing, or very little, with a system that they will be paying for.

    Good luck with getting a politician to agree to do that.

    If you can't get the numbers right (none / 0) (#207)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Fri Mar 20, 2015 at 09:27:34 AM EST
    and distort what I wrote, why should I bother with you at all?

    Monday Open Thread | 207 comments (207 topical)