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Thursday Morning Open Thread

I'm going to a conference on Constitutional law the next two days. I'll probably write about it over the next few days.

Open Thread.

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    Georgia couple held at gunpoint ... (5.00 / 2) (#16)
    by Yman on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:07:28 PM EST
    ... for trying to move into their new home.

    Jean-Joseph and Angelica Kalonji said they were told by their real estate agent to go to their new home in Newton County and change the locks. Their son had just purchased the home, and the entire family was slated to move in.

    But when they arrived and tried to enter, two neighbors, Robert Canoles and his 18-year-old son, Branden, snuck up behind the Kalonjis with semiautomatic weapons.

    "He [said] to put the hands up and get out from the house, otherwise he would shoot us," Jean Kalonji, who hails from the Congo, told a local television station.

    The Kalonjis said they were held by the gunmen for 10 minutes with their hands above heir heads, and that they thought they were being robbed.

    Believe it or not, the deputies initially arrested and jailed the new homeowners for loitering and prowling.  They congratulated the neighbors who held them at gunpoint.

    Now, the homeowners have since been released and the gun-wielding neighbors charged with aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal trespassing.

    just two more.. (5.00 / 4) (#18)
    by jondee on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:13:47 PM EST
    citizens in this country considered 'qualified' to wield firearms..

    Two more fools WITH "tools"..

    Parent

    They are just keeping a close eye (5.00 / 3) (#21)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:31:10 PM EST
    on strangers in the neighborhood. [snk.]

    Parent
    Au contraire, mon frère. Not only were the (5.00 / 3) (#23)
    by Farmboy on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:34:17 PM EST
    neighbors bearing and keeping arms, they constituted a well-regulated militia. Can't get much more citizen-like than that.

    Seems like some folks don't recognize real patriots, even when they're waving semiautomatic weapons in their faces. Heck.

    Parent

    yes, plus two other perfectly innocent citizens (5.00 / 0) (#63)
    by Dr Molly on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 07:52:39 PM EST
    deprived of their rights to peace, liberty, privacy on their own property, safety, etc etc because of the batshlt crazy gun rights crowd who think their rights to psychologically compensating firearms supercede everyone else's rights.

    Parent
    claims the guns were not loaded (natch), the parents were knocking the locks out of the front door at 9:30PM, and the home had been burglarized previously during it's 7 month foreclosure process.

    Parent
    Good for the dad (5.00 / 2) (#59)
    by Yman on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 07:15:36 PM EST
    Problem is, it's their house, and I'm sure the couple held at gunpoint and told to shut up or they will be shot will be comforted by the fact that their lawyer claims the guns weren't loaded.

    911 is pretty easy to dial.

    BTW - Link?

    Parent

    Sure, (none / 0) (#79)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 12:07:41 AM EST
    Maybe I should give Jim the benefit of the doubt (5.00 / 2) (#45)
    by Addison on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:42:27 PM EST
    ...maybe he only meant the initial decision to check in on the neighboring house was the "good deed"? Surely he can't mean anything that occurred the first few seconds of the encounter. Surely he can recognize that there was a glaring and large "bad deed" right after the "good deed", and that it was this "bad deed" that warranted the punishment...

    Don't confuse people with pesky facts! (5.00 / 1) (#48)
    by shoephone on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:51:55 PM EST
    And maybe some people, shoephone for (1.00 / 1) (#67)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 08:25:42 PM EST
    example and Yman too just always want to misunderstand.  And are you telling me that there are no old criminals??? Or are you telling me that the new folks were in wheelchairs with grey hair??

    My point remains. They were trying to do good.

    A few more like this and Zimmerman and the bad guys will be able to come and go as they please.

    And isn't that... the hesitation of inner city residents to even "drop a dime" when the see, or think they see, a crime.... a very real problem??

    We will never have enough police to give us 100% protection. Sooner or later we have to be willing to help.

    Parent

    "Always want to misunderstand" (5.00 / 2) (#68)
    by Yman on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 08:48:24 PM EST
    That is a problem.

    And are you telling me that there are no old criminals??? Or are you telling me that the new folks were in wheelchairs with grey hair??

    Of course not, but you don't see many older couples burglarizing together, now, do you?

    A few more like this and Zimmerman and the bad guys will be able to come and go as they please.

    You mean the "bad guys" will be able to walk to their homes or even enter them without being threatened/shot?

    And isn't that... the hesitation of inner city residents to even "drop a dime" when the see, or think they see, a crime.... a very real problem??

    "Dropping a dime" (love the attempt at "urban" lingo) isn't the problem.  Assuming people are criminals and threatening/shooting them is the problem.

    "Dropping a dime" doesn't kill people.  People playing cops kills people.

    We will never have enough police to give us 100% protection. Sooner or later we have to be willing to help.

    "Helping" also isn't an issue.  How about calling the police and, before you point a gun at someone's head, find out what the situation really is, not what you think it is from watching too many episodes of CSI.

    Parent

    Sounds to me like the neighbors (1.00 / 3) (#29)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:03:20 PM EST
    were just trying to protect someone else's property....

    Of course no good deed goes unpunished.

    And can someone tell me why this is important to the story??

    Kalonji, who hails from the Congo

    Does anyone actually believe if the Kajonlis had come from....say...Nashville the sentence would have been

    "Kalonji, who hails from the city of Nashville.."

    I just get so flipping tired of the media playing the race card...


    "Good deed"...? You've lost your mind... (5.00 / 2) (#33)
    by Addison on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:13:50 PM EST
    The Kalonjis said they were held by the gunmen for 10 minutes with their hands above their heads, and that they thought they were being robbed.


    Parent
    Some people have commented on TL ... (5.00 / 2) (#58)
    by Yman on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 07:10:49 PM EST
    ... very recently, attempting to justify the use of racial profiling.

    Hard to believe, huh?

    Parent

    Tired (5.00 / 0) (#62)
    by vicndabx on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 07:30:33 PM EST
    Here's the problem Jim, as a nation we will never get past the issue of race in this country until we all are able to empathize with the various sides of a story. The media "plays the race card" because there are people that can relate to, and understand that aspect of a story. The path forward for us is not to minimize the opinions that we don't immediately agree with. Rather ask yourself, were I in their shoes how would I feel?  We can never know what a particular thing feels like unless we experience it for ourselves. Remembering that, imo helps temper one's response to life experiences we have little knowledge of. We've (almost) beat Fl. vs. Zimmerman to death but haven't been able to get past people's preconceptions.  Specifically, there were accused criminals of a particular race, how should one treat other members of that same group? Does the behavior of a few justify vigilance against the entire group? Think of how you feel when you are often branded as a "right-wingnut" because at times you identify with the GOP. I often feel you get a raw deal, and should be treated as an individual. Issues involving race are similar in that we often castigate entire groups because of a few "bad apples." We've had plenty of opportunity; islamic terrorists, women who are deemed "slutty" because of their dress, and yes, racial profiling of various races and nationalities, yet we've been unable to put aside our own prejudices and find a way to move forward together. We will never get there if we constantly shrug and roll our eyes at that which we cannot relate to.

    Parent
    You know, I was raised a share cropper's son (5.00 / 1) (#70)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 09:04:57 PM EST
    son so I have a very up close and personal understanding of poverty and being at the bottom of the social order. Probably more than any other regular commentator.

    I was raised in a home in which the N word was not tolerated and in which I saw my father toss a person out of our home because of his vulgar comments re race. I watched a plant become unionized and saw the violence and threats management used.

    I learned that people are people and should be identified by what they do. Not race or what they say.

    My family struggled and succeeded beyond our expectations despite our beginnings and because of our efforts and a lot of help from others.

    In the Navy I saw civilians we were protecting treat us as second class citizens while claiming to be the cream of society. I learned to smile and be better than them.

    In the civilian world my first important promotion resulted in a transfer to Chicago. I learned that when I explained I was being moved by my company the real estate agent on the phone would move suggested locations from inside the city to the 'burbs.

    At work I heard the term "hillbilly" used behind my back and heard the snickers that there was no way a hick from the sticks could do the job. I just ignored them, built my team and two years later promoted my replacement from my team and I was promoted and transferred to a warmer climate.

    Empathy? I think I have it in spades. It is one thing to complain about discrimination. It is another to actually experience it. But I do not claim to even be close to what blacks and other minorities have experienced. But while I haven't been burned I have been close enough to smell the smoke and feel the heat.

    So, should we be aware of the sins of the past?

    Yes. But making each and every thing about race doesn't help. And I think that some blacks and some whites are doing exactly that aided and abetted by the media on both sides. You can't forgive and forget when someone is constantly reminding you of the ills that have been done to you.

    I learned that lesson early on. Hate ultimately destroys the hater.

    Now, do I sometimes agree with the Repubs? Yes. Do I sometimes agree with the Demos? Yes.

    But the problem here is that some of you demand absolute agreement. And that ain't gonna happen.

    So when I see a social program, such as student loans, become an instrument of harm to some people, I'm gonna say so and try to say why.

    If you disagree, fine. But I ain't gonna take BS from shoephone, jondee and some others quietly.

    Sorry to be long winded.

    Parent

    Jim, thanks for your comment (5.00 / 1) (#72)
    by SuzieTampa on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 09:45:11 PM EST
    I didn't have it as hard as you, but I get angry when liberals make fun of "hicks," "white trash" and "trailer trash." What happened to the Left's analysis of class? It also irritates me when people use "Southerner" as a synonym for racist, white, uneducated and low class.


    Parent
    Suzie, I just try and ignore them. (none / 0) (#74)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 10:06:00 PM EST
    Which should be easy to do (none / 0) (#76)
    by NYShooter on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 11:36:47 PM EST
    inasmuch as they exist in your mind only.

    O.k, maybe Hannity's mind(?) also.

    how many times do I have to tell you, Fox News destroys the cerebrum.

    Anyway, where do these Librul name callers have the time to think up such effete, clever names as "trailer trash" when they spend all their time waging "The War on Christianity?"

    Btw, we call'm Teetees down here.

    Parent

    Are you really saying (5.00 / 1) (#78)
    by SuzieTampa on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 11:59:57 PM EST
    that you don't think liberals ever make fun of poor whites? You must have missed the 2008 election. I've been a lifelong liberal/progressive/radical/whatever and that sort of name-calling comes up all the time.

    Parent
    Please (5.00 / 1) (#84)
    by NYShooter on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 04:23:09 AM EST
     acquaint me with a group, any group, that has millions of adherents, but no addle brained nincompoops that say and do some stupid, inappropriate, and embarrassing things.

    I have mingled, associated with, and/or befriended hundreds if not thousands of Liberals for over 40 years. Did I hear a few dopes during that time making comments like the ones you mentioned? Of course. But just like the "N" word has been relegated to an ever smaller number of knot-heads, the terms you featured are used by a very, very small number of "pseudo-Liberals," not by the overwhelming number of true Liberals.

    My problem with your statement, ".....when liberals make fun of "hicks," "white trash" and "trailer trash," you didn't say, when "some, or a "few," mouth breathers claiming to be Liberals make fun........."

    But to your point, if one of my acquaintances were to say something like that in my presence my response would be something like, "are you an idiot? Don't say that, you're embarrassing yourself."

    Anyway, nice chatting with you....

    Parent

    They may, but not because ... (none / 0) (#86)
    by Yman on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 08:37:21 AM EST
    ... they're poor or white.

    Parent
    Yes they obviously missed all (none / 0) (#91)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 09:37:31 AM EST
    the nasties re Palin and have never ever heard the vulgarities about the Tea Party.. or Clarnece Thomas or the current WI governor or Reagan.

    Parent
    Hmmmm (none / 0) (#88)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 09:22:43 AM EST
    I guess you missed this.

    ;-)

    Parent

    See here's the thing (none / 0) (#93)
    by sj on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 09:52:32 AM EST
    As NYShooter mentioned above, every large group has their share of nincompoops.  I'm not going to look at your link.  I'm going to assume that you've found one.  To which I say, "So what?"

    By the same token, I have to assume that some right-wingers have listening and retention skills and are just misguided (in my view).  I can't judge all "conservatives" by our interactions with you.  

    It seems fair to me.

    Parent

    I must be overreacting (none / 0) (#104)
    by SuzieTampa on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 04:13:34 PM EST
    Hmm, where have I heard this before ... People in one group telling those in another that their complaints are imagined or overblown. Have y'all* never heard a liberal adopt a "hick" accent to say something stupid?

    English needs a plural you.

    Parent

    "yuse guys" (5.00 / 1) (#107)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 07:48:38 PM EST
    is a plural you.

    ;-)

    Parent

    One branch of my family (none / 0) (#112)
    by sj on Sat Apr 28, 2012 at 02:44:20 AM EST
    is partial to "youse".  That is fingernails on a chalkboard to my branch.  My mother intended to be an English teacher, and I don't think I ever split an infinitive between 2nd and 12th grades.  She didn't object to y'all, though.

    Parent
    My least favorite (none / 0) (#118)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 28, 2012 at 10:58:38 PM EST
    is "you'ns." Which is used in Appalachia...as in

    "You'ns gonna go to the theater?"

    Parent

    Ouch (none / 0) (#122)
    by sj on Sun Apr 29, 2012 at 12:25:41 PM EST
    You're right.  That's doesn't fall below "youse" for me, though.  Mostly 'cause I don't hear it much.

    Parent
    And I have found that (none / 0) (#128)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 29, 2012 at 08:39:53 PM EST
    "yaall" appears to be used more in the upper mid and western mid south whereas "youall" as one word  appears to be used more in the eastern and coastal south... with Atlanta being the dividing point.

    In western TN and northern AL and MS people add a T as in onct and twict and people have "sides" instead of "side orders" with the main course of a meal.

    One expression used in Appalachia that I do like is instead of saying a simple "thanks" it is "Thanks, we 'ppreciate ya."

    And the heathens in NC chop their BBQ and use vinegar and cayenne pepper. I mean some things are just tooooooo far.

    Parent

    That would be (none / 0) (#111)
    by sj on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 10:03:38 PM EST
    y'all.  
    English needs a plural you

    And if there are more then three it would be all y'all. :)

    Parent
    I just reread this comment (none / 0) (#113)
    by sj on Sat Apr 28, 2012 at 02:59:00 AM EST
    and thinking about my Mom's short teaching career got me thinking about where I grew up.  I'm sure you're right that some "liberals" adopt a hick accent.  But I heard lots of people (mostly kids, because I was a kid) adopt "hick" accents to say something stupid.  And they surely weren't "liberal".  Those accents came out in the presence of a couple of families that were of recent Appalachian origin.

    In fact, those hick-accent-adopting kids were the same ones who would adopt a "Mexican" accent to say something stupid.  As the sole Hispanic family in that redneck farming community, do you want to guess for whose benefit that accent was adopted?  

    There is no ideology that has cornered the market on stupid.

    Parent

    Spare us the I've-had-it-harder (5.00 / 0) (#102)
    by jondee on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 04:03:52 PM EST
    and served-my-country-more-than-anyone-else-here tired schtick, pops. The fact is that you don't know jack sh*t about what anyone else here has been through in their lives, and it's absolute height of arrogant presumption for you to assume that you do..

    And yes, I'm sorry for that stream of stale flatulence you emitted as well..

    Btw, You "sometimes agree with the Demos"? When would that be exactly?

    Parent

    Well, let me see (none / 0) (#108)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 07:55:25 PM EST
    As I have commented numerous times....

    I'm for a single payer health care system..

    I'm for gay marriage

    I believe our drug laws should be revised..

    Now. You spare me the BS you always pass out because we both know that none of the above are supported by a majority of Repubs.

    jondee, your insults have done nothing but display who you are. Please continue.

    BTW - I am a "Pops." I'm also a Grand Pops and a Coach Pops.

    I don't think you are any one of those three.

    Parent

    And you've been doggedly (5.00 / 1) (#110)
    by jondee on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 10:00:01 PM EST
    singlemindedly stumping for the folks MOST opposed to all those things for going on 8 years here..
    Someone says something critical about "the Big Guy" or Clarence Thomas and you get more defensive than one of P. Diddy's attack dogs..

    In other words, I unreservedly call b.s.

    Btw, I'm most definately a pops; just not one who thinks intelligent, beautiful, strong young men are raised to be thrown in the fire by E.D-afflicted chickenhawks.  

    Parent

    Your problem is simple (none / 0) (#114)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 28, 2012 at 08:04:30 AM EST
    you see life in black and white.

    Most of the rest of us see things in shades of black and white.

    Being a reasonable person I weigh what I think is best for the country and go from there. For example.

    I think it is best that we change our drug laws.

    I oppose war but I think that sometimes we have to fight.

    If I have to choose between a "leader" who I think will protect the country and who disagrees with my position on drug laws then I will vote for the one I think will protect the country. It should be simple. You can change what you have. Lose the country and you can change nothing.

    The above is simplistic and void of details. Example. About a month ago I called up my state rep and argued against a new law which supposedly was going to fix the "legal drug addiction" problem when all it was going to do was spend money, cause the doctors problems and expand the police's power.

    Another. I have called my US Representative/Senators at least three times urging them to oppose any DOMA type law for the simple reason that marriage is a stabilizing influence on society and government should promote stabilizing influences plus it is no one's business who marries who as long as they are consenting adults. Government's role is to keep records and enforce the civil contract, both written and non-written, that marriage is.

    Another. Recently we had an instance where an 18 year old high school girl decided to wear a dress to her senior prom that was the Confederacy's "Stars and Bars" battle flag. The school blocked her attendance and an up roar started. Some politicians floated a new "law" that supposedly gave her the right to attend. I have called my state rep and disagreed, noting that she had the right to wear it but the school had the right to bar her because the dress was insulting to blacks and would likely cause problems.

    Now, for some I disagree on.

    SF tried to pass a law baring circumcision of male children. I opposed that because it let's government stick its nose into religion in a matter that is thousands of years old.

    SF tried to pass a law, maybe they did, that said no toys in MacD's Happy Meals. What? We need government for that?

    I support the right of the Catholic church to not provide contraception coverage in their employee health care insurance because it violates the First Amendment. I disagree with the church's doctrine but I believe that if you want to be a Catholic and/or work for the church in any way you have to follow their rules. Am I right about the First? Lawyers here say I am not. Doesn't matter to me. I oppose it and will reflect that view.

    I oppose the NYC 9/11 mosque. I think religion has the right to offend me but I see the mosque as an extension of the cultural warfare that some, not all, Muslims are engaged in. I also believe government has the right to establish zoning laws and restrict what can be built were based on the common good.

    I have made similar points to you for the past 9 years or so. Yet you deny it and persist in attacking and insulting.

    I have come to believe that you are one of those people who must have someone they can attack with the knowledge that nothing bad will come of it because it makes them feel superior.

    Parent

    One of those days? (5.00 / 0) (#115)
    by Yman on Sat Apr 28, 2012 at 08:39:02 AM EST
    I have to admit, it's kinda fun to hear from "reasonable Jim".

    ... but then I'm reminded of the real Jim.

    Parent

    Thanks for sharing that link. I'll never read (5.00 / 1) (#116)
    by Angel on Sat Apr 28, 2012 at 09:23:48 AM EST
    another of Jim's posts without first thinking of that garbage.

    Parent
    Total garbage... read it again (none / 0) (#117)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 28, 2012 at 10:55:56 PM EST
    and catch the snark against Left and Right.

    Or just pretend, or perhaps you actually can't, catch the sarcastic humor.

    In the meantime, ignore the points I made to jondee. Just keep fighting with everyone who might become an allie because they don't toe the line.

    It is always soooooooooo nice to be pure.

    ;-)


    Parent

    yes..that oh so subtle, (5.00 / 1) (#119)
    by jondee on Sun Apr 29, 2012 at 12:00:28 AM EST
    nuanced sarcasm..It's easy to miss.

    just like that cartoon at your site of the Statue of Liberty holding a gun to her head marked "liberalism": another obvious, even-handed, unambiguous criticism of the Right and the Left both..

    And that frequently posted 'report' at your site about the NYC mosque being scheduled to open on the anniversery of 9/11 -- how on earth could anyone ever use "the lie word" in reference to anything you post?

    Parent

    How could anyone every see you as (none / 0) (#120)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 29, 2012 at 08:52:02 AM EST
    anyone but a stalker who deliberately misunderstands and attacks attacks attacks anyone who doesn't totally agree with you.

    If the country turns hard right it will be because of you and those like you who do things like this:

    link

    I have never heard you say a single word against  such yet you rant against some snarky humor and  sarcasm that shows people kissing. Perhaps lynching is more your style.

    Try debating the issue of how the Right has turned liberalism into a word of derision to the point that now you want to use the word Progressive. How did that happen? Could it be that liberals didn't reject what is in the link? Is it because they let people lie about Palin?

    You can complain that all groups have nitwits and nut jobs but when national TV hosts "joke" about a child being raped and another host uses the B and C word on Repub women and there is no national uprising over it the discourse is so smeared that all we have are people lobbying nasties at each other.

    Think about it.

    Parent

    Was Jondee actually on that video? (5.00 / 0) (#124)
    by Yman on Sun Apr 29, 2012 at 12:56:02 PM EST
    Because you were the one posting the garbage about Obama and Pelosi.

    Parent
    Calling people on the other side (5.00 / 0) (#125)
    by jondee on Sun Apr 29, 2012 at 04:16:46 PM EST
    of the political aisle pigs and secret muslims isn't the way to establish credibility for yourself and initiate a respectful debate, Jim.

    And I'm still waiting on that correction, or more appropriately apology, for those lurid, bald-faced LIES at your site about the NYC mosque..

    Or were those nothing but a little more innocent snarky sarcasm too?

     

    Parent

    Hmmm, sounds to me jondee has the old Shep (none / 0) (#126)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 29, 2012 at 08:22:12 PM EST
    syndrome. He can pass it out but he can't take it.

    Which was my point all along.

    And if you don't like the comments, or can prove them wrong, you are invited to go to the blog and provide some proof.

    Oh, BTW, if you do, watch your language. I have been known to censor personal attacks.

    Parent

    Hmmm (none / 0) (#129)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 03:01:37 AM EST
    go to your blog, where you post information that, for some as-yet unexplained reason, you're afraid to post at THIS site -- even on the open thread..And where you censor not only "language", but also poster commentary that may call into question the lurid, talk-radio-level content of your blog..

    Parent
    I never advertise on TL (none / 0) (#131)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:33:59 AM EST
    or any other blog.

    And I won't discuss it further here.

    If you have the cajones, come over and we'll have a discussion using my bandwidth, not TL's.

    ;-)

    Parent

    "Any cojones" - Heh (5.00 / 1) (#132)
    by Yman on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 12:31:12 PM EST
    Where he can delete anything you say and follow it up with some BS, John Wayne-esque line that he thinks makes him sound like a tough guy... or more distractions, distortions, misstatements, etc., etc., etc.

    Parent
    Exactly.. (5.00 / 1) (#134)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 03:20:13 PM EST
    Jim has the old fashioned kind of chutzpah: like the story about the kid who killed both his parents and then threw himself on the mercy of the court because he was an orphan..

    I think he thinks he'll eventually wear people down with his relentless disengenuousness.

    Parent

    jondee, if you don't have (none / 0) (#135)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 04:18:13 PM EST
    the cajones, then you just don't. No excuses.

    ;-)

    All I ask is no vulgarities and no personal attacks.

    Parent

    You seem to have a bit (none / 0) (#137)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 05:30:14 PM EST
    of a preoccupation with "cajones" these days. You know there are performance enhancers out there..

    Btw, I though you had some concern about bandwidth?

    Parent

    Well, to get technical about it (none / 0) (#139)
    by Zorba on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 05:48:40 PM EST
    "Cajones" means "drawers" (such as would be found in furniture such as a dresser, and can also refer to the plural for a box-shaped Afro-Peruvian musical instrument).  I think he means "cojones" (which I'm not going to define, for fear of violating this blog's policies).  The two words are often confused in English.   ;-)

    Parent
    When you get to be 74 years old you (none / 0) (#143)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:01:41 PM EST
    are not concerned about "performance."

    ;-)

    And I note that you won't come out and have a discussion. You just want to stay home and accuse.

    That's not unusual from you.

    Parent

    I note that thats what we're already doing (none / 0) (#145)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:47:27 PM EST
    what are you so afraid of saying at this site, big fella?

    Parent
    What we have here is a two way conversation (none / 0) (#146)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue May 01, 2012 at 09:49:40 AM EST
    I see no reason to burn TL's bandwidth for our back and forths.

    Plus, if you insult me over there, I'll fire back. I won't here because Jeralyn doesn't want that.

    Of course you know that and that is the reason why you won't come and debate whatever you want to debate.

    So I'm done with this conversation. The invitation stands.


    Parent

    You're the one pretending that what you have (5.00 / 1) (#121)
    by Angel on Sun Apr 29, 2012 at 09:00:35 AM EST
    posted is 'sarcastic humor.'  The problem with your posts is that they live on a lot longer than your memory of them...they're there for all of us to see and judge.  

    Parent
    Actually Angel I can delete any post I want at (none / 0) (#127)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 29, 2012 at 08:28:51 PM EST
    at any time. It is my site.

    There's nothing there besides some snarky sarcastic humor about both sides. Of course your bias prevents you from seeing and understanding.

    And that's the reason I posted it.

    Okay, okay! It's a snark in terrible taste.... Come on now, didn't you grin a little? Besides, some will argue that half of this post's title is incorrect.

    Question is, which half?

    May I suggest that you not read it if you don't like it???


    Parent

    Both sides..lol (none / 0) (#130)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 03:19:44 AM EST
    Sure, that site is nothing if not the epitome of sober, evenhanded commentary.

    For every comment concerning Presidents refusing to appear on stage with the flag, bowing down to mullahs and the opinion that "there are no moderate Democrats" there's... alot more in the same vein.

    Parent

    If you have your own site whey are you spending (none / 0) (#133)
    by Angel on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 12:47:52 PM EST
    so much time here at TL?  Not enough action over at your place?  heh

    Parent
    I'm retired... My site is a personal blog, (none / 0) (#136)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 04:35:24 PM EST
    isn't meant to be anything else... generates some conversations with old friends and attracts a few trolls from the Left.

    I've been commenting on TL since March 2003. As a social liberal I find myself in agreement with many things posted here. Sometimes I don't. I have attracted several anti-war people who just want to attack me because I am very pro-defense and some others who attack because I don't buy into there various claims re the WOT and the fact that I support Israel..

    I consider Obama a huge disappointment. Even though I figured him out enough to not vote for him I had hopes he would do a single payer health care system... Instead he did a single profit health care system... the insurance companies.

    Also he has not been transparent and his energy policy is killing the economy. But I never watch the "man." I watch who he appoints and his appointments, starting with van Jones, are too far Left for me... perhaps not you... but that is why we have elections.

    jondee and I have about a 9 year history. He doesn't debate, he just attacks and snarks.

    So heh yourself. And I hope you will live long enough to have a nice retirement in which you have enough time and money to blog where and when you want.... In the meantime, I hope you have a job and are paying FICA and Medicare.... Us seasoned citizens are depending on ya!

    Parent

    A social liberal who (5.00 / 1) (#138)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 05:44:03 PM EST
    just happens to celebrate the presence of Thomas and Scalia on the Court. How does that happen, pray tell?

    And the feasability and sustainability of the Drill Baby Drill non-solution has been shredded by the experts so many times, that it's beginning to look more like some religious culture-warrior article of Faith impervious to reason than any sort of realistic strategy.    

     

    Parent

    I have celebrated Scalia and Thomas?? (none / 0) (#140)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 06:11:53 PM EST
    Well, I do like the fact that a black man is on the court. He brings a societal view that is quite different than the others.

    Do you have a problem with that??? Must all blacks stay on the Democratic Plantation???

    And all your experts aside, when Bush finally acted and started pushing "drill baby drill" the 2008 bubble burst and gasoline dropped to $1.81/gallon by the time Obama was sworn in. He immediately reversed course and gasoline has slowly climbed back to near $4.00 a gallon.

    Cause and effect, my dear jondee. Cause and effect.

    Parent

    you have any examples (5.00 / 0) (#141)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 09:17:01 PM EST
    of Thomas publicly expressing any societal views that are "quite different from the others"..??? Didn't think so.

    What I DO have a problem with is your repeated insistence on using this "Plantation" symbolism when talking about American blacks -- as if they's all too ignint to know who's REALLY looking out for their interests..

    Cause and effect..The problem is that yours and the rest of the infinite-exploitable-resources true believers approach isn't sustainable. And you know it    

    Parent

    What I have a problem with is (none / 0) (#142)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 10:56:11 PM EST
    some people's insistence that any black who disagrees with them should be lynched.

    Is that you??

    The problem with 99% of the so-called environmentalist green energy nonsense is that it doesn't work. And rather than trying to keep costs low by providing more oil and helping the poor you want to increase prices so that your "green" energy is competitive.

    That's just so wrong that anyone can see it.

    New energy supplies?? Yes. Keep on researching. But solar and wind don't work out.

    BTW - Read this.

    And this:  Four Dirty Secrets about Clean Energy

    Parent

    The cynicism of the Right.. (5.00 / 0) (#144)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:37:21 PM EST
    counting on the stupidity of the voters.. Nevermind the lack of any actual sustance, all that matters is the optics: Thomas's skin color..

    Nevermind the future of our children and their children, all people care about is the price of gas -- this week..

    Nevermind the blowback, we should attack any country that doesn't toe the line (it makes the yahoos and rednecks feel more manly..)

    Appeal to the gut; to people's fear; to the lowest common denominator. That's how the Right can win people over..Cuz winning is all that matters. Means the Good Lord's on our side..      

    Parent

    "Total garbage", indeed (none / 0) (#123)
    by Yman on Sun Apr 29, 2012 at 12:54:07 PM EST
    (Picture of Obama kissing Nancy Pelosi on the cheek - with the title, "Did You Ever See a Muslim Kiss a Pig?)

    Okay, okay! It's a snark in terrible taste.... Come on now, didn't you grin a little? Besides, some will argue that half of this post's title is incorrect.

    Question is, which half?

    An acknowledgment that it's "snark", followed a claim that it's funny and that "some" think the title is half-right.

    So the question is, ... which half, Jim?

    Parent

    Question. (none / 0) (#71)
    by Addison on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 09:12:16 PM EST
    This was actually a good comment. I think that you're a little too unwilling to see race-based issues as relevant in this or that issue (whereas you think you've got it properly calibrated, I guess), but this was a good comment by you. And I mean that truly.

    But what does this mean:

    So when I see a social program, such as student loans, become an instrument of harm to some people, I'm gonna say so and try to say why.

    Student loans as an instrument of harm?

    Parent

    Student loans as an instrument of harm? (none / 0) (#73)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 10:04:23 PM EST
    Yes. Too much sugar is also a bad thing.

    I realize that in a free society it is almost impossible to provide loans to others for "education" but the cost escalation shown,I think, by Farm Boy didn't happen because there was no "demand." And the demand was, to a large extent, for the "soft" subjects as opposed to the "hard" subjects. And pushed by government, and by HR groups demanding a degree for office cleaners..

    Actually I made the office cleaner bit up. But I saw a post somewhere last week where an Utility company was advertising a position for meter reader.... degree required..

    In the past I commented that we need vouchers for all students, 8 to 5 schools and a much longer school year... and government funded Freshman and Sophomore years... After that loans only for needed skills... and said skills would change over time.

    Do I have the race issue properly "calibrated?"

    I think so and I live in a fully integrated small town society were minorities are part of everyday life as doctors,lawyers, Indian chief, poor man, beggar man, rich man, thief.

    Parent

    Would the neighbors have (none / 0) (#32)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:11:30 PM EST
    have arrived bearing arms if the couple changing the locks were Caucasian?  

    Parent
    Pitch black at 9:30PM, 11 acre property, (none / 0) (#34)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:17:28 PM EST
    so I would assume the neighbor's home is some distance away, not like my suburban neighborhood. Did they even know the couple's race when they decided to intervene?

    Parent
    Choices. (5.00 / 4) (#35)
    by Addison on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:25:16 PM EST
    Whoa there, it's not just that they decided to intervene. There's a world of difference between checking up on a situation and arriving with weapons drawn and holding a middle-aged couple at gunpoint for 10 minutes. Let's not forget there were a variety of options to be taken once the decision to check up on the situation was made.

    Parent
    due to the race of the couple.

    9:30PM, fully dark, way out in the boonies, commotion at the front door of the neighbor's house that's been empty for 7 months and previously burgled.

    So neighboring Dad and son grab guns and head out the door to intervene/investigate.

    That part I understand.

    How you don't then have some question in your mind when you find out the "burglars" are in their 60's and have a kinda reasonable explanation for their being there and what they are doing, I can't explain...

    Parent

    Okay, fair enough... (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by Addison on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:39:52 PM EST
    ...I would just say that the race of the couple may have transformed a misunderstanding into a newsworthy story by taking that initial intervention and making it into something that, as you say, we "can't explain". Though as with most of these things, we'll likely never know for sure if racial bias changed behavior -- history is stochastic and we can't re-run the situation with an all-white couple.

    Parent
    No argument, and great word: stochastic. (none / 0) (#47)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:48:21 PM EST
    Absolutely. The neighborly thing to do, (5.00 / 3) (#51)
    by Farmboy on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 06:05:12 PM EST
    when you think something's going on at the empty house down the road, is to drive by and see what's what. Then, if things look hanky, you call law enforcement. If things don't look hanky you introduce yourself to your new neighbors and offer to lend a hand. That's your moral, ethical, and legal choice.

    What you don't do is go all "Person of Interest" against the (suspected) evil doers. And IANAL, but I don't know of any "stand your ground" or "castle doctrine" or inherent constitutional right that allows you to go on someone else's property and threaten their lives.

    And from the article it seems the deputies lived up to the local stereotype. Wonder if they'll ever catch those Duke boys...

    Parent

    "hinky" no "hanky" (5.00 / 0) (#52)
    by Farmboy on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 06:05:58 PM EST
    stoopid auto correct.

    Parent
    btw, 11 acres and a home for $55K. (none / 0) (#36)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:25:54 PM EST
    Can't buy a mailbox for that around here.

    Parent
    Or as a lawyer in Chicago sd., (none / 0) (#49)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:53:38 PM EST
    you couldn't buy a parking place downtown for the price of that house.  

    Parent
    Yes, originally from (none / 0) (#109)
    by Zorba on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 08:00:47 PM EST
    Romania, in fact.

    Parent
    It's draft day (none / 0) (#1)
    by Makarov on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 02:30:12 PM EST
    today in the NFL. The 1st round will be broadcast live on ESPN and NFLN beginning at 8pm.

    Lots of last minute rumors are floating around. Some teams want to trade up for Bama RB Trent Richardson. The Eagles are rumored to be in the mix for A&M QB Ryan Tannehill. Even the Patriots are rumored to be investigating trades into the top 10.

    Most of these types of rumors never pan out, partly because many are based on pure supposition, and partly because many are also dependent on a certain player falling to a certain spot.

    2012 does not look to be a great draft. Some positions are fairly deep (DL and WR) and others (OL and Safety) are not. The overall level of talent is not impressive. There are some great prospects who should all go in the top 15, but after that the falloff is significant.

    Regardless how you rate this year's players, the first round looks to be an interesting one, especially through the first 15.

    I'm expecting (none / 0) (#2)
    by indy in sc on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 02:38:59 PM EST
    my Dolphins to continue to put their draft day ineptitude on display, but still hoping for the best . :)

    Parent
    So, am I right to think that Andrew Luck and (none / 0) (#4)
    by caseyOR on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 02:43:07 PM EST
    Robert Griffin III will be the #1 and #2 draft choices? And that the Colts will grab Luck, the Redskins Grifffin?

    Beyond that, I have no idea what will happen. I do know that some of the Oregon players who opted to enter the draft this year (LaMichael James) are very good. Sadly, for themselves, some who chose to enter the draft (I'm looking at you, Darron Thomas) have a very inflated view of their own talents and would have been better served by completing their college education.

    Parent

    OT Capt. Casey.... (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by kdog on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 03:41:13 PM EST
    no response to my email to 'Bama Jeff.

    Anybody heard from him recently?  PPJ? Dadler?

    I'm worried but hoping he's just shacked up with a lovely lady in the mountains of Colombia or something equally cool.

     

    Parent

    Thank you. I've been wondering how (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 03:50:04 PM EST
    and where he is.  

    Parent
    Thanks, kdog. (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by caseyOR on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 03:52:00 PM EST
    I'm worried, too. As you said, Jeff has taken breaks from TL before, but never this long. Also, he is usually good about responding to email.

    So, I join you in hoping he is happily shacked up somewhere great with someone great.

    Parent

    No news here, Dog (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by Dadler on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:40:10 PM EST
    Hope he's alright.

    Parent
    I haven't heard either (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:46:43 PM EST
    Hope for the best

    Parent
    I'm still around, folks, thanks for the concern. (5.00 / 5) (#50)
    by jeffinalabama on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:58:22 PM EST
    More surgery coming up. Not cancer this time, but a cyst on one of my gonads.

    Best way to describe it? Dunno for females... for males, take vise-grips. Tighten them around one of your... dangly bits. Tighten till you scream, then leave it for a few hours. Then loosen it until it just hurts like you've been kicked. then tighten again.

    Back and forth... sorry for not replying to emails.

    Trust me, you don't want me to reply to emails or any story on TL until i get some relief!

    But I love y'all... even if I'd bite you if you were here.

    Parent

    Jeez, Jeff. You've been through the mill! (5.00 / 4) (#54)
    by shoephone on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 06:16:10 PM EST
    And now this. You've got a lot of friends here pulling for you. We'll be around when you're ready to get back in the game here again.

    Parent
    Jeff, sweetie, we're (5.00 / 3) (#56)
    by Zorba on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 06:22:48 PM EST
    very concerned about you.  We wish only the best for you, my brother.  Please realize that we understand, and are worried about you.

    Parent
    And here we thought you were in Romania (5.00 / 2) (#57)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 06:32:03 PM EST
    or something.  This does not sound like robotic surgery!  Be well.  

    Parent
    Yeeeeeeeee .... (5.00 / 2) (#60)
    by Yman on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 07:18:31 PM EST
    .... owwwwwwwch!

    Parent
    Jeff, mi compadre, so good (5.00 / 2) (#75)
    by caseyOR on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 11:18:16 PM EST
    to hear from you. So bad to hear what you're going through.

    I don't need gonads to know that what you describe sounds horrendous. How soon before this is over for you? Soon, very soon I hope.

    I'm thinking of you and sending all good thoughts your way. Love you, guy. Hang in there.

    Parent

    Don't be sorry Brother... (5.00 / 1) (#89)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 09:31:02 AM EST
    you know how dedicated a pirate captain our Casey is...the well being of her crew is her first priority, she worries and got me to worrying.

    Hang tough man...the treatment sounds like a CIA interrogation technique, for f*cks sake:(  We're all here if you need us...much love and luck.  

    Parent

    Info needed. How the heck do the (none / 0) (#11)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 03:28:14 PM EST
    potential draftees afford designer duds?  Just saw an article about this.  

    Parent
    It's the NFL agent (none / 0) (#19)
    by CoralGables on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:25:19 PM EST
    Heinz Ketchup anticipation approach. They anticipate the contract, and loan accordingly.

    Parent
    In some circles (none / 0) (#20)
    by CoralGables on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:26:17 PM EST
    still known as the Carly Simon approach

    Parent
    Made me look! Such an education. (none / 0) (#22)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:32:53 PM EST
    The Arab Spring... (none / 0) (#3)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 02:40:26 PM EST
    Wow (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 02:43:10 PM EST
    now we know where the GOP is getting all their ideas from.

    Parent
    It all happened on your watch, Ga (2.00 / 1) (#27)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:49:36 PM EST
    Your President, who was supposedly The Smartest Man in the World...

    Your VP who was supposed to the worlds foremost foreign policy expert..

    Your Sec of State, who likewise was the one Obama would call at 3 AM...

    So don't try and reframe and refocus.

    Parent

    No surprises here. (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by Addison on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:10:19 PM EST
    When it's going well, we are treated to Condi Rice giving the credit to George W. Bush's "freedom agenda".

    When it's not going well, we are treated to jimakaPPJ's tirades about how "our" President, "our" Vice President, and "our" Secretary of State made everything bad turn out bad.

    To be expected, I guess.

    What we recently decided to call the "Arab Spring" as a branding device began decades ago when the United States decided that proactively supporting repressive but friendly regimes (through military support and/or covert action) was the way to go. Much of what has happened since then, in fits and starts and including during the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, has been a near-inevitable outgrowth of that ongoing foreign policy.


    Parent

    Well, he isn't my President, or VP or Sec State (1.00 / 2) (#42)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:37:52 PM EST
    I refer to him as The President, assuming I'm in a halfway decent mood. Otherwise I may resort to the juvenile level of Bushiter name calling I saw from the Left.

    ;-)

    And it was the start of abandonment of the support our friends policy by Carter that opened the door to all that has followed. He is truly the midwife of modern day terrorism.

    Parent

    "He isn't my president." (5.00 / 3) (#46)
    by shoephone on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:47:35 PM EST
    Yes, we know. Jefferson Davis is your president.

    Parent
    shoephone, your insults show that I was (none / 0) (#64)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 08:05:25 PM EST
    correct.

    Parent
    Guess again (none / 0) (#83)
    by shoephone on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 12:23:44 AM EST
    Then have another drink.

    Parent
    beat me to it.. (none / 0) (#103)
    by jondee on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 04:10:04 PM EST
    well played, shoe.

    Parent
    No. (5.00 / 2) (#53)
    by Addison on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 06:14:02 PM EST
    And it was the start of abandonment of the support our friends policy by Carter that opened the door to all that has followed. He is truly the midwife of modern day terrorism.

    What? There was a similar wave of "destablization" in the 1950's and 1960's -- the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the rise of the Baath Party in Syria and Iraq, the Algerian War of Independence, the Moroccan and Tunisian independence struggles, etc. These events were direct analogues of (and precursors to) what we're calling the "Arab Spring", including the "terrorism" involved. The common thread is that terrible people were in charge, against the will of the people, and supported by Western powers. And that is inherently unstable and creates international terrorism in its eddies.

    Presumably you don't view Eisenhower as the midwife to terrorism, though.

    Regarding "real-deal" modern international terrorism (though switching our sights from North Africa to Israel/Palestine), the Munich Olympic attack was in 1972. Here are some other things that Black September did.

    When did Jimmy Carter become president again?

    Parent

    The US was not the direct targets during the (none / 0) (#66)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 08:13:53 PM EST
    pre Carter years. And while I deplore/condemn etc. the attacks in Europe/ME prior to that, modern terrorism has embraced the US and all of the rest of the world.

    And if I remember we refused to join England and France when Egypt nationalized the Suez canal.

    To me the real question is this. What is it about the Muslim world that seems to reject democracy?

    Parent

    Reagan. (5.00 / 1) (#69)
    by Addison on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 08:54:29 PM EST
    The US was not the direct targets during the pre-Carter years.

    First of all, you're moving the goalposts. I take this as a sign that the information I provided had some effect on you, and I'm thankful for that.

    Second, yes, we WERE a direct target during the pre-Carter years. Black September attempted to set off car bombs in New York City in 1973 to protest our links with Meir's Israel.

    Third, the United States itself really wasn't a common direct target (of terrorists with jihad as a motivation) until around the middle of Reagan's two terms. Maybe that had something to do with Reagan cutting and running from Beirut (actually doing what you pretend Carter did, by the way). Maybe that had something to do with the downing of the Iranian passenger jet in 1988 by the US military. Maybe it had to do with the Reagan Administration's softness on Iran (they allowed an arms-for-hostages deal, for goodness sake!) which emboldened Hezbollah and inspired others to test us.  

    Or maybe it had to do with exactly what I said: foreign policy that oppressed people and made them angry and allowed radical elements to make violence seem like a viable option.

    It didn't have any more to do with Carter's supposed abandonment of tyrants than Reagan's constantly going soft-belly up to Iran and Iran's proxy terrorists.

    To me the real question is this. What is it about the Muslim world that seems to reject democracy?

    Another goalpost change, this time pre-emptively!

    Well, we (the "West") stunted democratic systems and civil society again and again by supporting oppressive puppet regimes. A majority (74%) of the countries that used administrative torture during the 1950-80 period were US client states. Obama supported Mubarak until the end, we made peace with Gaddafi under Bush, Saddam Hussein was George H. W. Bush's buddy until he wasn't. Reagan sold arms to the Ayatollah. Then we get upset when they can't figure it out democracy in a year. Democracy doesn't spring fully formed from the sand.

    Parent

    jimaka: Not your President? (5.00 / 0) (#87)
    by DFLer on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 08:50:05 AM EST
    I don't understand. I thought you were a US citizen. Who is the president where you live?


    Parent
    I'm with jim on this one (5.00 / 1) (#94)
    by sj on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 10:01:47 AM EST
    Doing the "My President" thing sounds creepily Dear Leader-ish.  I also push back when told that he is "Our" Commander in Chief.  S/he is the CiC of the armed forces (which I am choosing to refer to the actual, you know, military).  I'm not in the military.  I'm a civilian.  I'm under no legal obligation to follow his/her orders blindly.

    The President works for me.  Whoever sits in that office.

    Parent

    He started it! (none / 0) (#97)
    by Addison on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 11:38:09 AM EST
    Well, I have no problem with "the president", I don't think anyone does.

    Keep in mind that Jim was the very person who introduced possessive personal pronouns into the discussion of President Obama with his statement, "Your President, who was supposedly The Smartest Man in the World". That was what was being corrected. No one had any objection to the usage of "the president", and no one ever will.

    Parent

    He did :) (5.00 / 0) (#99)
    by sj on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 12:12:36 PM EST
    Jim was the very person who introduced possessive personal pronouns into the discussion
    .  And if Bush was still Pres he might be "My President"ing right and left.  Who knows?

    But I agree jim rarely enough that I chose to take this comment at face value :)

    Parent

    (personal possessive adjectives) (none / 0) (#98)
    by Addison on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 11:41:29 AM EST
    And can I add (none / 0) (#100)
    by sj on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 12:16:06 PM EST
    ... that I'm appreciating your comments more and more.  If you don't mind my asking, what part of the world are you hiding in?  (Feel free to say that you'd rather not say)

    Parent
    East Coast USA at the moment... (none / 0) (#101)
    by Addison on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 12:27:49 PM EST
    ...beyond that I'd rather not say!

    Parent
    baa waa waa (5.00 / 3) (#55)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 06:20:26 PM EST
    I was talking about the radical fundamentalism the GOP has embraced wholeheartedly. I will brook no lecture from silly conservatives about what is going on overseas when they want to the same agenda here in the US.

    Oh, but a few months ago people like you were saying it was because George W. Bush went into Iraq that all this "wonderful things" happened. I find this kind of thing typical of Republicans. They want to create mass hysteria

    Parent

    Ga... You'll brook no what?? (2.00 / 1) (#65)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 08:08:06 PM EST
    Look, the Repubs haven't been in power for the past four years. Your side has. Including two years with control of both houses and all you can do is try and talk about what the Repubs are??

    Pleaseeeee. Results count. Your side has struck out.

    Parent

    Nice try (none / 0) (#81)
    by gyrfalcon on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 12:17:39 AM EST
    Oh (none / 0) (#85)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 06:01:37 AM EST
    really? The GOP doesn't control the house? And you're forgetting all the radical legislation that has been introduced and passed by tea party fundamentalist radicals in the state houses all over the country.

    Parent
    Don't be ridiculous (none / 0) (#80)
    by gyrfalcon on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 12:14:37 AM EST
    You know perfectly well the U.S. had virtually no influence under any circumstances over what direction this would take, nor should we.

    Sounds like you long for the good old days when the CIA would just decide for other countries, particularly in Latin America, who their leaders should be and eliminate those they didn't like.


    Parent

    ....is taking a turn for the hearse. (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by KeysDan on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:09:14 PM EST
    might be more accurate. According to Al Arabiya News, the Moroccan Cleric, Abdul Bari, seems to be gender-blind in his necro-oddity, proclaiming that a woman also had the same right to engage in 'marital rights' with her dead husband.  

    Parent
    Equal rights to have sex with a dead husband (none / 0) (#61)
    by SuzieTampa on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 07:18:46 PM EST
    Good luck with that.

    Parent
    This story is false (5.00 / 1) (#95)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 10:02:44 AM EST
    And in other sports news, Padres (none / 0) (#6)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 02:49:15 PM EST
    mgt. will consider changing the dimensions of playing field at Petco Park after this season:  link

    Looking forward to first-hand reporting on (none / 0) (#7)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 02:53:41 PM EST
    Constitutional law seminar.  

    Aren't you still waiting... (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 03:25:12 PM EST
    on the first hand report of that blogger meeting with Bill?  

    Parent
    Thanks for reminding me! And (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 03:26:42 PM EST
    the post on why BTD supported U.S. military being in Afghanistan.  

    Parent
    I seem to remember (none / 0) (#25)
    by Rupe on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 04:46:37 PM EST
    recently BTD offered a mea culpa on his previous Afghanistan position.  Perhaps I'm wrong.

    Parent
    Yes. (none / 0) (#30)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:09:47 PM EST
    Yes, back in February of 2012. (none / 0) (#40)
    by KeysDan on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:35:27 PM EST
    The burning of the Koran at Bagram seemed to be the tipping point for him.

    Parent
    Scheduling suggestion. (none / 0) (#8)
    by Addison on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 03:13:24 PM EST
    I hope someone facilitates a panel presentation on the bench manner of Justice Clarence Thomas, and it's just an hour of silence.

    Accompanied by the music of John Cage. (5.00 / 2) (#12)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 03:28:49 PM EST
    Heh (none / 0) (#82)
    by gyrfalcon on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 12:18:35 AM EST
    nystray (none / 0) (#37)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:28:10 PM EST
    I don't know how long the pigs had been out. The police, who I had called about a week before, said that they thought they came from her. She has a collection of animals.

    TN has a fence law and theoretically I could have run the pigs off and then sued her for damages. Of course the pigs would have just kept coming back and she would have denied they were hers.

    BTW - How are you adapting to Music City?? I was at a Perkins the other day and thought of you when the waitress asked me what "sides" I wanted.

    oops, wrong NY (none / 0) (#77)
    by NYShooter on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 11:44:14 PM EST
    But, thank you for asking. I'm the good looking one, the one who's been ordered by the courts to register my face with the authorities in any community I travel in. lol. All in all, doing just fine. getting a little scared about the heat waves friends and neighbors are taunting me about.

    BTW, is using your directional signal a capital crime in Tennessee?


    Parent

    Excuse me, Nystray... Didn't mean to (5.00 / 1) (#90)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 09:31:16 AM EST
    insult you.

    But it's hard to tell you Yankees from one another, even if one of you is drop dead gorgeous.

    Nyshooter... Glad to know you are surviving life in the big city and I trust you have purchased your Titans season tickets....

    Turn signals??? You talking to me about turn signals?

    Us native born see'em just fine. You must have a vision deficiency. Try eating more sides!

    ;-)

    Parent

    Tracy (none / 0) (#38)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:30:36 PM EST
    It's a tough decision but if you don't at least make a report there will be no record if something happens.

    And if he is carrying, drunk or sober, without a permit, he will be arrested.

    Which is why I mentioned TRO. (none / 0) (#44)
    by oculus on Thu Apr 26, 2012 at 05:40:18 PM EST
    Here, law enforcement receives a certified copy directly from the court and is obligated by statute to respond upon notice of poss. violation.  Order explicitly instructs:  call 9-1-1.  

    Parent
    FYI to all the folks (none / 0) (#92)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 09:42:34 AM EST
    I never respond to Yman. Quit 1/1/12. I just grew weary of his insults, his use of the Lie word, etc.

    So he can say whatever he wants, and does, knowing that I won't respond with facts.

    like anyone cares.. (5.00 / 0) (#105)
    by jondee on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 04:49:09 PM EST
    meanwhile, you'll continue to passively-aggressively goad people till they reciprocate by doing things like "use the L-word.." etc  

    Parent
    And yet, you have replied (none / 0) (#96)
    by Yman on Fri Apr 27, 2012 at 10:33:58 AM EST
    ... since then, Jim.

    BTW - Why would anyone be worried that you'd reply with facts?

    Parent