Thursday Afternoon Open Thread

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Blog Related
Posted on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:04:17 PM EST
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Sorry to have been AWOL from the blog the past few days, but J and TChris have been filling the page with great stuff.

I should be back tomorrow blogging on things politics and SCOTUS.

This is an Open Thread.

< Supreme Court Rules Defendant Has Right to Live Testimony of Lab Chemist | R.I.P. Farrah Fawcett >

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Thursday Afternoon Open Thread | 92 comments (92 topical)

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these will both make (5.00 / 1) (#23)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:48:55 PM EST

your eyes burn. for completely different reasons.

: Nice one. (none / 0) (#57)
by Fabian on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:10:23 PM EST

I'm learning a little about colors and contrasts. It's sneaky stuff.

Parent

Obama's takeover of ABC (5.00 / 1) (#24)
by jbindc on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:50:15 PM EST

Apparently did not do so well in the ratings last night (but helped Nightline beat The Late Show and The Tonight Show, which shouldn't have been that hard - an exercise equipment infomercial would beat those two shows).

Could it be that people may be a weency bit sick of seeing Obama on their TV's all the time?

President Obama's town hall meeting on health care delivered a sickly rating Wednesday evening.
The one-hour ABC News special "Primetime: Questions for the President: Prescription for America" (4.7 million viewers, 1.1 preliminary adults 18-49 rating) had the fewest viewers in the 10 p.m. hour (against NBC's "The Philanthropist" debut and a repeat of "CSI: NY" on CBS). The special tied some 8 p.m. comedy repeats as the lowest-rated program on a major broadcast network.
The special was shot at the White House and featured the president answering questions about his health care plan. The president's primary message was that those who like their current insurance will be able to keep it and that taking no action will result in higher health care costs.
The special drew fire from Republican leadership after refusing to allow an official opposition response, or even a paid ad. ABC also interviewed Obama on "Good Morning America" to help promote the special.
UPDATE: ABC points out that "Questions for the President" continued into late night during "Nightline" (4.3 million) and helped boost the news program to pull more viewers than CBS' "Late Show" and NBC's "Tonight Show."

Anybody see (none / 0) (#34)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:01:54 PM EST

The Philanthropist? Was it any good? I forgot it was even on.

Parent

I started watching this (none / 0) (#36)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:06:01 PM EST

and fell asleep. not sure what that says about anything but I was interested to see how he would do.

Parent

I got so bored with it (none / 0) (#72)
by shoephone on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 07:22:23 PM EST

I went into the kitchen and finished washing up all the dinner dishes.

Parent

: Was referring to "The Philanthropist" (none / 0) (#73)
by shoephone on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 07:24:03 PM EST

not the Barry Show, which I didn't waste my time with at all.

Parent

no need to go to Iran (5.00 / 1) (#41)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:15:58 PM EST

to find fanatics

Shocking footage of church elders carrying out a exorcism to cast a 'homosexual demon' from a teenage boy have been posted online.

The video shows the 16-year-old lying on the floor, his body convulsing, while members of a small Connecticut church stand over him.

'Rip it from his throat!' a woman yells. 'Come on, you homosexual demon! You homosexual spirit, we call you out right now! Loose your grip, Lucifer!'

----

this is like a horrific life imitates Monty Python.

Since we are talking $ex scandals... (none / 0) (#1)
by jbindc on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:10:37 PM EST

Apparently there's a new book coming out next month that details 1) how Jackie Onassis seduced Marlon Brando for a 2-night affair and that 2)Jackie and Bobby Kennedy had an affair, post-JFK.

The way I heard it (5.00 / 3) (#10)
by jondee on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:34:03 PM EST

they all got together and had a six way with Truman Capote, Princess Margeret and Northern Dancer.

Parent

: ha! (none / 0) (#13)
by lilburro on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:36:01 PM EST

Parent
: Not True (none / 0) (#75)
by CoralGables on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 08:28:08 PM EST

Northern Dancer's stud fee was too high for their budget.

Parent

As Jackie would say (none / 0) (#3)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:15:43 PM EST

You have linked to the New York Post and something to do with their assessment of possible upcoming literature.

Parent

I stand admonished (5.00 / 1) (#6)
by jbindc on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:29:23 PM EST

However, it would still be an interestig book to read. :)

And it wouldn't be completely out of the realm - there have been rumors for decades about Jackie and Bobby having an affair.

Parent

: But nobody can be (none / 0) (#9)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:33:49 PM EST

stalked until they have to call a press conference.

Parent
: Oh, gosh (none / 0) (#38)
by gyrfalcon on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:09:04 PM EST

then it must be true!

Parent

Guy Rundle is funny as hell (none / 0) (#2)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:10:52 PM EST

if you have a morbid sense of humor like mine. And he even has certain truths bleeding through all over the place, just the way I like it. After this I swear I'm going to try to leave Mark Sanford alone.....at least until he really puts up some fight and his wife is forced to release more emails to contain him. Crikey how disturbingly pathetic the whole MIA governor while in a foreign is!

"MIA governor while in a foreign." (5.00 / 2) (#4)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:20:34 PM EST

Interesting turn of phrase, considering.

Parent

I'm starting to... (none / 0) (#5)
by kdog on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:27:11 PM EST

feel bad for Sanford...obviously what he is putting his family through is so wrong and inexcusable, and if he used state money to see his lady that too is inexcusable. (The "disappearance" doesn't bother me.)

I feel bad because cupid bit me in the arse recently, and I can attest it really throughs you for a loop and turns your life upside down like a bat out of hell...what if he truly fell madly in love with this woman? And it is impossible for them to be together due to circumstances? That's sad.

Ah the ways of love, and that Cupid...what a practical joker!

Parent

The "disappearance" (5.00 / 3) (#7)
by jbindc on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:32:06 PM EST

is actually the real problem. At the risk of being pillored, Charles Krauthammer said it best:

The governor of the state is chief executive, and if there is a disaster in the state, and this guy is incommunicado, he is nowhere to be seen and he doesn't transfer authority to his lieutenant governor who calls out the National Guard, you cannot recover from that. I think he doesn't last a week in the office of governor.

Parent

And I do like that Guy reminds (5.00 / 1) (#15)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:38:12 PM EST

us that SC is a coastal state and it is hurricane season.

Parent

That just vindicates (5.00 / 1) (#32)
by jondee on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:00:18 PM EST

my theory that if Krauthammer spoke long enough, eventually he'd say something relatively cogent.

Kinda like the monkeys playing with typewriters for thousands of years hypothesis.

Parent

: There's an old (none / 0) (#52)
by Zorba on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:06:10 PM EST

down-home saying: "Even a blind pig finds an acorn once in awhile." I guess Krauthead would be that pig.

Parent

I doubt the choice of "incommunicado" (none / 0) (#11)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:34:48 PM EST

was unintentional.

Parent

: He went bilingual in a few places (5.00 / 1) (#17)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:41:46 PM EST

but I think he is from the second America, and he could be bilingually challenged and winging it via babblefish.

Parent
: Perhaps (none / 0) (#76)
by CoralGables on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 08:34:21 PM EST

he's just a closet Parrothead letting a song title slip out in print.

Parent

He had choices, (5.00 / 5) (#8)
by Anne on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:33:24 PM EST

which did not have to include cheating on his wife.

If he was that madly in love, he could have asked for a divorce before he took his relationship with this woman to the next level.

But, gosh, that might have hurt his political career...

Parent

They were separated (5.00 / 1) (#18)
by Inspector Gadget on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:41:48 PM EST

I don't condone what the guy did, or that he was a member of that ultra-creepy organization Promise Keepers (what a convenient cover), but it's really between him and his wife.

As for his mistakes with his position as Governor. That's for the people of SC to deal with.

I read something this morning that indicated he's under term limits and this is his final term, so he doesn't have to worry about losing the next election.

Parent

Yes (none / 0) (#21)
by jbindc on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:44:34 PM EST

He has a year left in his term, which is one of the reasons he was seen as a potentially attractive candidate for POTUS in 2012.

And yes, they were separated - for something like 2 weeks. The affair has been going on much longer than that.

Parent

They had been separated for (none / 0) (#28)
by Anne on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:53:21 PM EST

two weeks - the affair - at least the physical component - had been going on for a year. The emotional component had been going on for a lot longer than that.

If you can bear to read any of the e-mails, it's pretty clear he was having his cake and eating it, too, which is classic.

Sure, a person can be struck by the love bug like a lightning bolt, but when one is married, that's no excuse.

He knew it was wrong - he just couldn't figure out how to have both relationships.

Parent

: Eight years is what I heard for how long (none / 0) (#31)
by Inspector Gadget on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:59:36 PM EST

they knew each other.
I just don't care about his personal life since I have no intentions of pursuing a relationship with him myself. It's nice to know he's a lying cheat before he climbs any higher in politics, though.

Parent

They didn't separate (none / 0) (#40)
by gyrfalcon on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:11:02 PM EST

until after his wife found out about the ongoing affair.

Parent

That still doesn't make it anyone's (5.00 / 1) (#43)
by Inspector Gadget on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:34:00 PM EST

business but theirs.

Just who is a walking Saint in this country?

Parent

no one (5.00 / 3) (#44)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:43:00 PM EST

but if you are going to beat others, like Clinton, Craig, Livingston and many others with your halo as well as waxing all holier than thou and everything from marriage to taking stimulus money, you deserve the residue of the chickens coming home to roost.

Parent

It has to stop somewhere (none / 0) (#53)
by Inspector Gadget on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:06:31 PM EST

Now the media is racing as fast as they can to be the first to expose who Maria really is....apparently, we need this information more than we need updates on the stimulus money, unemployment, Iran, rising unrest in Iraq, UHC, etc., etc., etc.

Parent

: like (none / 0) (#55)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:08:54 PM EST

they would cover those things anyway.

Parent

"...starting to feel bad for Sanford.." (5.00 / 4) (#26)
by KeysDan on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:51:06 PM EST

My recommendation is lie down for a while and hope it passes. His private life is, for me, not the issue other than, as noted, he has publicly humiliated his wife and children in the way he decided to respond to cupid's arrow. The Sanford scandal is the hypocrisy of his public policies and positions: Judgmental family values guy to protect the sanctity of marriage, advocate for displaying the ten commandments in public places, opposition to same sex marriage, civil unions, and gay adoptions.

Parent

: I "hope it passes" (none / 0) (#47)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:55:56 PM EST

like a really big ole kidney stone.

Parent

Did you know the woman for several years? (none / 0) (#20)
by nycstray on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:43:22 PM EST

He was prob emotionally cheating on his wife before he ever acted on it. Yes, cupid can bite you on the arse, but Mr Promise Keeper should have really handled himself a tad better ;)

Parent

: This is total gossip (none / 0) (#22)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:46:32 PM EST

but csendrick says there are rumors that this has been going on for years. Exactly what I don't know. I don't know if he's cheated for years, or only cheated with this other person for years. And this information is as reliable and as vetted as anything you will find at Redstate.

Parent

I hear all you guys... (none / 0) (#77)
by kdog on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 08:36:49 PM EST

thats why I said it is so wrong what he did to his family, I'm just thinking the guy musta had some kinda love crazed nervous breakdown to pull a stunt like this. It could be oddly romantic, with a sad eneding.

No matter how much of a piece of sh*t he is as a politician, he's still a human being....heartache s*cks. But none of us are in his head, who knows.

Parent

: well (none / 0) (#80)
by Capt Howdy on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 08:36:47 AM EST

I do think its probably likely this is not something he has done before.
other wise he would have had a better "plan".
karma is a b!tch aint it?

Parent

I'm going to proofread soon (none / 0) (#12)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:35:50 PM EST

before something bad happens. I always think faster than I type too. It's a very bad habit.

Parent

I never (none / 0) (#14)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:38:04 PM EST

do that

Parent

Proofread, have something bad happen, (none / 0) (#16)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:39:29 PM EST

think faster than you type, have a bad habit, all of the above?

Parent

: all of the above (5.00 / 1) (#19)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:42:50 PM EST

although I was thinking about the dangers of not proofreading

Parent

Hey, where's BTD been? (none / 0) (#25)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:50:21 PM EST

He's been AWOL.

Incommunicado (5.00 / 1) (#30)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:59:23 PM EST

and nobody knows his whereabouts? Must have gone to Argentina....

Parent

I heard (5.00 / 1) (#33)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:00:26 PM EST

he went hiking on the Appalachian trail.

Parent

Must be cheating (5.00 / 3) (#35)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:04:17 PM EST

on Talkleft with a different blog.

Parent

: Sounds exotic. (none / 0) (#42)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:16:58 PM EST

Parent

I was (none / 0) (#27)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:52:59 PM EST

wondering that too.

Parent

I'm not concerned :) (5.00 / 1) (#29)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 03:54:44 PM EST

Parent

Just so he remembers to give us the (5.00 / 1) (#45)
by oculus on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:43:57 PM EST

background on Bill Clinton/blogger mtg.

Parent

OK, I've done my homework. Here is a (none / 0) (#88)
by oculus on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 05:19:54 PM EST

first hand account of the Bill Clinton/blogger mtg.: link

P.S. I am done begging. (Please note one Mr. Armando Llorens commented at the link.)

Parent

Here's Daily Kos' account: (none / 0) (#89)
by oculus on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 05:30:16 PM EST

link

Parent

And from Feministing: (none / 0) (#90)
by oculus on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 05:34:03 PM EST

link

Parent

Also from majikthise: (none / 0) (#91)
by oculus on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 05:37:19 PM EST

link

Parent

LOL... (none / 0) (#92)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 06:41:10 PM EST

...that's some dogged determination there, oculus!

Maybe BTD wasn't really there--but rather in Buenos Aires?

Parent

: He claims he was there, as do others, and (none / 0) (#93)
by oculus on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 06:45:25 PM EST

there is a confirming photo, although maybe Armstrong on the moon never happened either.
Oh, and the invite was from Peter Daou.

Parent

thrilla (none / 0) (#37)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:08:44 PM EST

We've just learned Michael Jackson was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Los Angeles ... and we're told it was cardiac arrest and that paramedics administered CPR in the ambulance.

updatz (none / 0) (#39)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:09:36 PM EST

He was picked up at his home around 20 minutes ago -- we're told his mother is on the way to visit him.

UPDATE: The 911 call came in at 12:21PM at his Holmby Hills home in L.A.

UPDATE: A Jackson family member
tells TMZ Michael is in "really bad shape" and the brothers are headed to UCLA.

Parent

Sorry to hear that. (5.00 / 1) (#48)
by Fabian on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:00:42 PM EST

I used to envy him his family. They seemed so happy on television when I was living with my own large, dysfunctional, family. Later on, I found out that the Jackson family was possibly as dysfunctional as my own had been.

Parent

from what Ive read (5.00 / 1) (#50)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:04:49 PM EST

I hope it was more dysfunctional than yours.
yeah. he is like the passing of an era all by himself.
I remember him as a cute as a button little brown boy. but the world will remember him as the bizarre white woman he grew up to be.
somehow he symbolizes the 80s and all its depraved exhilarating excess.

Parent

Horrible (5.00 / 1) (#58)
by Inspector Gadget on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:10:56 PM EST

Unless I forgot an earlier death, a large family losing the youngest child first (no matter how old) is a horrible experience. It took my family more than a year to come to terms with that happening, and I've heard the same from other families who have lost the youngest first.

My heart really goes out to the family, and his children.

Parent

he was the (none / 0) (#59)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:13:11 PM EST

best of them. and the worst possibly.

Parent

actually he was not the youngest (none / 0) (#64)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:17:43 PM EST

Jackson was the seventh of nine children in a well-known musical family.

Parent

Just read that.... (none / 0) (#66)
by Inspector Gadget on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:31:45 PM EST

I forgot about the girls...

He was the youngest boy, though, right?

Parent

: I guess (none / 0) (#67)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:34:03 PM EST

I actually thought he as the youngest

Parent
: No Randy was the youngest boy (none / 0) (#70)
by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:52:49 PM EST

Parent

Jackson (none / 0) (#46)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:50:55 PM EST

dead

Parent

Sigh. May he find peace. (5.00 / 1) (#49)
by Fabian on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:02:45 PM EST

He never seemed at peace with either himself or the world while he was in it.

Parent

: amen (5.00 / 1) (#51)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:06:09 PM EST

whatever he was he was a product of his family and his times.

Parent

LAT says coma (none / 0) (#60)
by nycstray on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:13:54 PM EST

local news just switched to that right now (from rushed to hospital).

It sounded bad when they first reported earlier as they already had a reporter on his was out there

Parent

tmz (none / 0) (#63)
by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:16:12 PM EST

is still saying he is dead. but I dont see that anywhere else.

Parent

: They are now saying died (none / 0) (#65)
by nycstray on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:22:05 PM EST

correcting that he was in a coma while family was arriving
wow. r.i.p.

Parent

John Kerry opens mouth; inserts foot: (none / 0) (#54)
by oculus on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:07:55 PM EST

link

More disgusting, and embarrassing (5.00 / 0) (#68)
by Inspector Gadget on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:34:05 PM EST

crass behavior by democratic politicians. There's a big difference in expected outcomes when men v. women are missing.

I'm so glad I turned Independent last year. It would be nice to have my D party back, but it appears that won't be happening.

Parent

: I, too (none / 0) (#69)
by Zorba on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:48:02 PM EST

would like my party back, Inspector, for so many reasons. The Dems left us, we didn't leave them. And I don't think the Dems need to stoop to the level of many of the Republicans, either. It's not appropriate when Repubs (or talk show hosts) do it, and it's also not appropriate when Dems do it. (I never did think that Kerry had much of a sense of humor, and this just confirms it.)

Parent

Palin got him back (5.00 / 1) (#85)
by jbindc on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 09:52:17 AM EST

and hers was funnier

Speaking to a group of servicemen in Kosovo, Gov. Sarah Palin responded to a crack made by Sen. John Kerry earlier this week. Sen. Kerry joked he wished Palin went missing along with Sanford. "He looked quite frustrated and he looked so sad," she said. "I just wanted to reach out to the TV and say 'John Kerry, why the long face?'," she concluded.

Parent

ostracizing her (none / 0) (#56)
by AlkalineDave on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:09:30 PM EST

is the wrong answer.

Parent

Ouch. (none / 0) (#61)
by Fabian on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:15:13 PM EST

Tacky and tasteless - a twofer.

OTOH - I expect the other 49 governors probably reviewed their emergency protocols as a result of Sanford's folly. Nothing like watching a fellow governor step in it to make you wonder if you are likely to make a similar mistake.

Parent

Well . . . (none / 0) (#62)
by nycstray on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 05:15:55 PM EST

at least it wasn't Biden . . . this time.

Parent

: Hardly (none / 0) (#71)
by Inspector Gadget on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 06:09:04 PM EST

comforting.
Maybe MSNBC will start putting an R beside the names of the D idiots who make these kinds of remarks the way FOX puts a D beside the Republicans who are caught in extra-marital affairs.

Parent

Too much death lately (none / 0) (#74)
by Dadler on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 08:09:07 PM EST

Makes me angry. Time for some ANGRY CHICK ROCK, courtesy, of course, of one Polly Jean (PJ) Harvey, and some of the new sh*t she and John Parish are touring with.

Another clip, from her last Letterman appearance.

CNN (none / 0) (#78)
by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 10:36:00 PM EST

CNN gets the news out.

: things are nuts all over (none / 0) (#84)
by Capt Howdy on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 09:35:58 AM EST

Holding Firm Against Plots by Evildoers

The John Birch Society.
For some, that name means nothing.
Yet for others, the John Birch Society is urgently relevant to the matters of today, in its support of secure borders and limited government, its distrust of the Federal Reserve and the United Nations, and its belief in a conspiracy to merge Mexico, Canada and the United States.
...his father, a longtime Bircher, re-educated him about American history; for example, he now understood that the United Nations was founded by President Harry S. Truman "and other communists."
"At the highest levels there are controls in place," Mr. Tisch said.
"The Rockefellers, the Morgans, the Rothschilds," said Mr. Nowak.
"Ssssssssss," said the sausage cooking on a nearby grill.

---
I have been babbling about the surge in right wing groups. its not just the Minute Men or The Covenant The Sword And The Arm Of The Lord.

The society, which was established in 1958, says its membership has doubled in recent years, thanks to rising interest in these beliefs and, lately, to the policies of the Obama administration. But it will not provide firm numbers, other than to say it has tens of thousands of members.

Parent

Shoving In The House (none / 0) (#81)
by daring grace on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 08:40:23 AM EST

Via Roll Call via TPM Congress folk Obey and Waters got into a shoving match over his refusal to approve funding for an employment center in her district because it's named after her and he is on a mission to ban any more congressional funding for members' 'monuments to me'.

Aside from all my other reactions to this incident, I wondered why, if Waters really wants to see this funded she doesn't just get the name changed.

Believe me, as a NY citizen, what I've been witnessing with my state's current malpracticing state senate nonsense exceeds even a shoving match in the well of the House.

But I was just wondering if the issue is getting a great resource funded in your district and the only apparent impediment is that your own name is attached to it, why not simply change that?

I'm cynical enough to believe that down the road a piece the 'community' can rally once the thing is there and rename it...

FOX News even more on the rise (none / 0) (#82)
by jbindc on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 09:23:45 AM EST

Link

Fox News is on track to have its most-watched year ever, showing significant ratings growth despite having just come off a highflying election year.
With the second quarter coming to a close, Fox News averaged about the same number of viewers as the top three other cable news networks combined. And while rivals including CNN (-22%) and MSNBC (-18%) took hits following last quarter's inauguration-fueled boost, Fox News (-3%) remained nearly steady.
Compared with last year, the Fox News (averaging 2.1 million viewers, 509,000 adults 25-54 quarter-to-date) is up 35% over last year in primetime viewers and 48% in the demo. CNN (805,000 viewers, 210,000 in demo) fell 16% in viewers and 29% in the demo. MSNBC (787,000 viewers, 259,000 in demo) climbed 15% in viewers and about on par, -3%, in the demo. And CNN Headline News (553,000, 201,000) showed very strong growth, up 39% and 37%, respectively, and is on track for its best second quarter.
The new standings are strong enough to rank Fox News third behind USA and TNT among all ad-supported cable networks for the quarter among primetime total viewers. In its core demo, Fox News had eight of the top 10 cable news shows. It had similarly sunny increases for total day, while CNN and MSNBC were roughly on par with last year.
Earning double-digit growth after an election year is quite a feat for a news network. With Fox News best known for such right-leaning personalities as Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly, one might assume having a Democrat in the White House somehow helps boost viewership.
A dominant political party indeed can fuel the popularity of opposing voices -- Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" and liberal online news hubs Huffington Post and Daily Kos came to prominence during George W. Bush's tenure, just as talk radio conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and news sites like Drudge Report rose during the Clinton years.
But it's important to note that when Fox News took the ratings lead during the Bush era, some pundits declared that the network was winning only because a Republican was in charge. Those at the network get weary of outsiders assuming their success must be due to some fortunate external factor rather than their own day-to-day work.

Holy Crap! (none / 0) (#83)
by Militarytracy on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 09:32:41 AM EST

I know that since the polar ice caps are melting and we are having cooler winters, a whole bunch of folks think that global warming is a myth. But do they notice that in the summer we are on fire?

: It's been unseasonably... (5.00 / 1) (#86)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 10:45:19 AM EST

...wet here on the high plains this Spring/early Summer. The monsoon has come early this year. Hasn't gotten ungawdly hot yet either.
More violent weather (twisters/hail) than normal it seems though.

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: They just argue (5.00 / 1) (#87)
by jbindc on Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 12:28:20 PM EST

during the really cold and snowy winters we've been having that "See - it's colder - can't be global warming."
Of course, these people don't understand, nor care to understand science.

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Thursday Afternoon Open Thread | 92 comments (92 topical)

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