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Thursday Morning Open Thread

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Blog Related
Posted on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 09:18:31 AM EST
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I'll be on Daily Kos Radio with Jesse LaGreca today at 11 Eastern. Listen here.

Open Thread.

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    Thursday Morning Open Thread | 59 comments (59 topical)

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    Ryan: The Intellectual (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by Stellaaa on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 10:01:31 AM EST
    I thought that this discussion would be great for a place filled with lawyers.  Excuse the source, but here he is explaining  his philosophy:  
     regarding the source of our rights.  Wow, what about the Constitution?  

    Then when Ryan abandoned Rand, he claimed to be an Aquinas man.  Here is a Catholic writer telling us how he got Aquinas wrong. Distributive justice, now there is something to talk about.  

    The crowned intellectual of the right wing is rather a light weight.  He based his entire philosophy on a novelist, Ayn Rand.  Fantasy like his budget.  

    I think he's stupider than Palin. (5.00 / 3) (#5)
    by observed on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 10:28:36 AM EST


    Parent
    Well, I wouldn't go that far, but ... (none / 0) (#41)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 03:02:27 PM EST
    ... since you're talking about Sarah Palin, it's really not all that much farther to go, is it?

    Parent
    I Am So Tired... (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 10:42:36 AM EST
    ...of six figure government employees talking about the welfare state.  

    I wish they would say what they mean, poor black folks getting help to eat welfare, not the no-bid government contractor welfare, or the politician welfare, like Ryan, that ensure that the only welfare every discussed is below their pay grade.

    Parent

    He may not give a flying (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by jondee on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:05:52 PM EST
    fruit bat's as* about the philosophy and theology of Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinus, but he knows a dog whistle to "pro-life", "pro-traditional marriage" conservative christian crowd when he sees one..

    And of course, talking (publicly) about his intellectual debt to Rand's Object-fetishism would be right out, considering that Rand was a militant atheist..    

    Parent

    Not to mention that ... (5.00 / 1) (#42)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 03:10:20 PM EST
    ... Ms. Rand was also pro-choice, a sexual libertine and a professed admirer of a notorious homicidal sociopath.

    So apparently, Ryan likes his Ayn Rand served up cafeteria-style -- he gets to pick and choose what he wants.

    Parent

    Cafeteria style is also how many on the right (5.00 / 3) (#45)
    by Farmboy on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 03:35:38 PM EST
    like their religion: an order of "woe unto them", a big helping of "thou shalt not", along with a side of "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth"... and sliding right on past that "love thy neighbor" and "whatever thou doest unto the least of them" stuff - gotta watch the old waistline, you know!

    Parent
    Exactly (5.00 / 1) (#48)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 04:28:12 PM EST
    They pick the parts that fit their agenda, no one gives a F about Rand or God, if they did they won't disregard most of the 10 commandments.  The actual commandments from god to people and overlooked for that one insignificant Leviticus quote.

    They hate gay people, so they searched the bible to find the validation.  If they took it seriously, the 10 commandments would trump all.  Especially that one coveting the neighbors junk, which of course is the basis for capitalism and the basis for the entire party.  Ditto with Rand, neglect all that other stuff and focus in on the only on the parts that validate their agenda.

    And although I quit reading Crooks and Liars, I absolutely loved Republican Jesus.  He never seemed to speak of Loving his fellow man/woman or feeding the hungry, or any of that stuff they taught be in Sunday School.  Neither do his believers strangely enough, they all talk of the welfare state, and they never shy of showing their love of violence to resolve disputes.

    But then again, a Wisconsin Methodist Jesus was nothing like a Texan Baptist Jesus.  He was a tree hugging liberal, while the Texas one hates Mexicans, likes putting folks to death, taking woman back into the 15th century, and of course Texas jesus is absolutely crazy about money.  Not for the poor, but for the people who already have more than there fair share.

    Parent

    The living Jesus can be found ... (5.00 / 1) (#50)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 05:08:50 PM EST
    ... in the Gospel According to Matthew, Chaptrer 5, othewise known as "The Beatitudes" or "The Sermon on the Mount":

    "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
    Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
    Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
    Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
    Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
    Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
    Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

    But the Christianistas on the GOP right don't really much care for the living Jesus who's found in the Bible. They like their Jesus dead, nailed to and hanging from the cross with head bowed, as symbolic of what will happen to you if you don't do exactly as the Christianistas want.

    They also like their Jesus nearly dead, beaten and bludegeoned and bloodied and thrown from a footbridge, a sort of hapless fop for our sins, as he was portrayed in Mel Gibson's ritually sado-masochistic gorefest, The Passion of the Christ.

    It's quite telling that the Rt. Rev. Mel chose to fade to black in his film as Jesus stood on the Mount as described in the gospels by St. Matthew, ready to address the multitudes.

    Thus, St. Gibson's rabid audience of Christianistas never got to hear those terribly inconvenient words which truly define the mission of Jesus of Nazareth to those who choose to carry their faith quietly in their hearts, rather than wear their religion so prominently on their sleeves.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Yes, because Jesus (none / 0) (#56)
    by Slayersrezo on Fri Aug 17, 2012 at 12:36:57 AM EST
    Never drove the moneychangers from the temple or even as as he forgave someone told them to go and SIN (that terrible judgmental word!) no more. Nope, Jesus was all about peace, love, and chastising rich folk.

    I'm no Christian as I don't believe the mythology any longer. But I used to be one and took the Bible seriously enough that I read it all the way through. Jesus was here to save people from eternal hellfire, or at least that is the traditional Catholic and Protestant interpretation. Jesus wasn't very "progressive" in many ways anymore than he was Conservative in many ways.

    I know people who believe women shouldn't vote for religious reasons. These same Catholics, however, believe the "distributionist" system would better serve this country that our current crony capitalist model. This is because they take their religion seriously and no more try to "explain away" St. Paul's admonitions concerning women obeying their husbands than they do the part about it being hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

    If only the left and right would learn from their example, or better yet just shut up about a religion they no longer really believe.

    Parent

    ah... the Beatitudes (none / 0) (#59)
    by sj on Fri Aug 17, 2012 at 10:37:36 AM EST
    The most wonderful commentary I've ever read was "Sermon on the Mount According to Vedanta".  I once happened on a second hand hard cover edition that is still somewhere in Colorado.  I think I'll reorder on Kindle...

    Parent
    The "Right's" answer to all (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by NYShooter on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 06:14:45 PM EST
    of Jesus's teachings is:

    Jesus meant individuals should show charity....Not Government.

    because we all know Government is not "us," it's "them," or, better yet, "it."

    So, the next time you need a series of dialysis treatments, and are destitute/homeless go see your neighbor. No doubt they'd show you how Christians take care of their own.


    Parent

    Oh please (none / 0) (#55)
    by Slayersrezo on Fri Aug 17, 2012 at 12:28:36 AM EST
    "Cafeteria Catholics" are often very socially liberal. "Cafeteria style" is not a phenomena that only applies to the right.

    Parent
    Well, if by sexual libertine... (none / 0) (#44)
    by shoephone on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 03:25:11 PM EST
    you mean cheating on her husband, Frank, with her best friend's husband, Nathaniel Brandon. Okay. I call that something else. Anyway, the woman was a bundle of psychological contradictions.

    Parent
    I know what you call it. (none / 0) (#52)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 05:12:07 PM EST
    But this is a family site, and I for one would never stoop to call Ayn Rand a selfish slut-D'OH!! Now look at what you made me do!

    ;-D

    Parent

    Maybe 20 percent of her philosophy had some merit (none / 0) (#57)
    by Slayersrezo on Fri Aug 17, 2012 at 12:47:09 AM EST
    But that leaves a good 80 percent without. "Virtue of selfishness" indeed.

    She also ran her organization exactly like a Cult of Personality, rather than as an association of free-thinking, rational, independent people. The slightest deviation of thought -sometimes even asking questions - would get you expelled. And she viewed emotion as useless.

    Her sexuality was of the sexually submissive woman type. Nothing wrong with that but she took it to extremes what with her worship of that murderers "dark triad" traits. She was one of those who would write admiring letters to murderers , thus spitting in the faces of decent men everywhere.

    Her writing style was more turgid and wooden in most ways than even that of Issac Asimov (check out the Foundation series as an example. Great ideas, terrible characterization with the small exception of a teen girl in the final book). But whereas he had some humanistic inclinations that come through in his writings, and the courage and talent to come up with several big ideas and follow them, she came up with maybe one or two (arguably none) and wrote about them over and over and over again.

    Add her cheating, and there's not much to recommend her as an individual. Though to her credit she believed and mostly tried to live her philosophy and she iconoclistic enough to piss off both the New Left and Old Right as well as good "patriots" everywhere. I give her credit for having the courage of her convictions and for pushing freedom - even though it was an extreme perverted version - at a time when many still clung to various forms of communism and maoism.

    Parent

    Moron is more like it (3.00 / 2) (#2)
    by Dadler on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 10:20:58 AM EST
    So we get our "rights" from places that have no ability to form the vocabulary from which the term "rights" even comes into existence?

    Halfwits have twice his intellectual ability.

    Parent

    Documentary by my mother (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Dadler on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 10:49:12 AM EST
    She started this well before the Arab Spring, and when the uprising occurred, her little film sort of faded away.  But it aired on Montana PBS, and remains a testament to our shared humanity, regime changes and temporal bullsh*t aside.  And I am proud of her for it.  Take it for what it is, one woman's quest to understand.  My little brother, her child, has been chewed up by these wars.  Her intentions are as pure as any, for whatever that word means these days.  (link)

    And I forgot I have a credit on the film (none / 0) (#13)
    by Dadler on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 11:38:51 AM EST
    Additional Writing by or something like that.

    How could I fail to remember?

    Early onset geezer.

    Parent

    Nah... (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by kdog on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 11:46:52 AM EST
    ya just didn't wanna steal any of your mom's thunder;)

    I'll get on the doc one night at home with sound...cheers mate.

    Johnnies in Cali 12/4....uber-longshot amigo, unless Mitt Romney wants to kick me ten large and write it off as a charitable contribution to the Church of LSD, he can always claim dyslexia if he loses in Nov. and Obama has the IRS audit his arse like Johnson did Karl Hess;)

    Parent

    Three cheers... (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by kdog on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 11:41:35 AM EST
    for Ecuador granting Assange asylum.  Between New Zealand and Ecuador, the US Injustice System is getting shat on left and right.  Lovin' it;)

    No time to say much right now (none / 0) (#19)
    by sj on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 12:21:13 PM EST
    except that I hope Ecuador finds a way to smuggle him out of the country.

    Parent
    Time for (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by NYShooter on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 12:37:54 PM EST
    Jason Bourne.

    Parent
    From That Earlier Link... (none / 0) (#23)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 01:06:12 PM EST
    ...it sounds like they have to let him go under the Vienna Conventions.

    Brittan is getting to be the right arm of the US law.  Sweden only wants to question him, it's so obvious why the care so much.  And disgraceful, good to see some Brits out there who understand just how transparent their stand it.

    Not sure if this is a possibility, but letting Sweden question him should be allowed, but in Ecuador or the Ecuadorian embassy.  They need to decide what they are going to do, either charge him or drop it.  It's painfully obvious this about much more.

    Did I mention how much I love Ecuador, went there earlier this year.  They pretty much kicked the US out in regards to narco para-military.  Which is so strange considering they are one the US Dollar.

    Parent

    I don't believe your characterization (none / 0) (#25)
    by observed on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 01:20:02 PM EST
    of Sweden's interests in the matter.
    Assange hasn't even been charged with a crime.
    The Swedes refused an offer to question Assange in the Ecuador embassy.
    They  also are acting as an arm of the US.

    Parent
    I think if Sweden really (none / 0) (#26)
    by sj on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 01:30:14 PM EST
    just wanted to question him that could have happened.  But they want him in custody to "question" him.  Roxette predisposed me to like Sweden, but in this instance I don't trust them for a single second.

    Thank you for mentioning how much you like Ecuador.  It reminded me that I have an Ecuadoran ex-uncle-by-marriage who is a Facebook friend.  I think I'll reach out to him and get his thoughts.  It's kind of hard to have a real conversation over Facebook, but it's a start, neh?

    Parent

    Naturally my iPhone has GPS (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by fishcamp on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 12:16:40 PM EST
    info and they could follow me around legally or illegally.  But I also have a Garmin GPS that has all my fishing locations in the waypoints section.  Of course those numbers could also be square grouper locations.  I wonder if the DEA can access those numbers since it is not a cell phone?  They can follow me all they like but can they catch fish?

    Don't know about their ability (none / 0) (#29)
    by Zorba on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 01:57:58 PM EST
    to catch fish, but  Mr. Zorba has a Garmin, too, with all of his fishing spots on it, as well.   He has an iPhone, too, but uses the Garmin for fishing.  I'll let him know that he has a kindred spirit out there on the Internet.    ;-)

    Parent
    Thad McCotter (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by jbindc on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 03:18:21 PM EST
    Some of his former staff are in bigger trouble than originally thought.

    The staff of former U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter evidently had some practice dummying up petitions in order to get their boss on the ballot.

    A review of the nominating petitions turned in for McCotter's elections from 2002 through 2012 shows he did not have enough signatures to qualify to run in at least the 2008, 2010 and 2012 elections. The skullduggery wasn't detected until this year, when a part-time staffer for the Secretary of State found that of the more than 1,800 signatures turned in by the McCotter campaign for 2012, only 244 were valid.

    Oops.

    But then again, such shenanigans sadly, aren't new to my hometown.  In 2005, it was alleged that Detroit City Clerk Jackie Currie sent unsolicited absentee ballots - many already pre-filled with votes for then-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick who was running for re-election - out to Detroit residents.  There were also allegations that "ambassadors" from the Clerk's office were coaching nursing home residents to vote for Ms. Currie herself.  In fact, a judge took the allegations of voter fraud so seriously, she replaced Ms. Currie as head of the city's absentee voter program, and ordered that monitors be put in place to oversee the program.

    Do these people really think they won't be caught eventually?

    Now this sounds like (none / 0) (#49)
    by sj on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 04:34:22 PM EST
    some real fraud.  Voter ID would have prevented none of it.

    Parent
    I definitely need (5.00 / 1) (#46)
    by Zorba on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 03:41:43 PM EST
    to take a break from canning.  Canned whole tomatoes today, and as I'm putting them in boiling water and then removing them to slip the skins off, all I could think of was "Silence of the Lambs".  
    "It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again".
    Oy, vey!!!
    Really, really must take a break........

    When I was a kid (none / 0) (#47)
    by fishcamp on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 04:13:41 PM EST
    I really hated canned tomatoes.  My grandmother caught me dumping a bowl of them out the window and rubbed a cold wet dishrag down my back.

    Parent
    Oh, we don't eat them (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by Zorba on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 05:10:31 PM EST
    as canned tomatoes, alone.  I use them in cooking- in chili, soups, stews, to make pasta sauces, and in other recipes, all winter.  I don't like to just eat "canned tomatoes".
    I made a batch of pickled peppers today, too.  And, of course, I could not help but think of "Peter Piper" and his pickled peppers.  Better than thinking about "Silence of the Lambs," I guess.      ;-)

    Parent
    The link (none / 0) (#3)
    by CoralGables on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 10:26:11 AM EST
    never works for me but going through dkos radio site does. BTD's link always wants to open a pls file which makes my windows media player balk.

    Still pretty much like the first time I tried though. I get every other word. Probably my connection.

    Songbird (none / 0) (#4)
    by lilburro on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 10:28:14 AM EST
    plays pls files.  The sound quality at times can be higher (as opposed to flash).  I use it for online radio.  I don't know why Windows won't play files like that,  I have experienced that too...go figure.

    Parent
    Well continue to hear (none / 0) (#8)
    by brodie on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 11:14:57 AM EST
    serious and constant audio problems with the two hosts at my end.  Heard more continual audio drop off today.  

    Still sounds like a couple of guys with tin cans and a string.  Only today it sounded like they were broadcasting with the kids' equipment from the Moon -- and I mean the kind of dubious sound we got from astronauts circling the Moon circa 1968.  Only worse.

    Maybe someone with a radio engineering background in the sizable DK community can step up to help the situation out.  

    Meanwhile the outro music comes in clear and undisturbed, in stark contrast to the hosts.  Go figure.

    And I appreciate Jesse bringing up the GOP voter suppression conspiracy to hand the election to Romney.  That's the only reason I haven't withdrawn my early prediction that O would be denied a second term.  

    Parent

    The show that follows is pretty easy to (none / 0) (#9)
    by oculus on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 11:15:30 AM EST
    understand.  Wonder what's different?

    Parent
    Try the VLC media player (none / 0) (#53)
    by DFLer on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 05:38:23 PM EST
    It work's great. It's free. Search for it for free download.

    It plays everything, audio and video.

    Set it as your default player, if you like it.

    Parent

    For kdog: (none / 0) (#10)
    by oculus on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 11:20:03 AM EST
    Bukowski poem and bio

    Nice one my dear... (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by kdog on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 11:36:20 AM EST
    not sure if I ever read that one before...didn't ring a bell.  Love this genius line...

    to
    solve simple problems: that's
    the most
    satisfying thing, it
    gives you a chance and it
    gives everything else a chance
    too.


    Parent
    My old Macbook Pro (none / 0) (#11)
    by fishcamp on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 11:28:29 AM EST
    is playing BTD beautifully through my Denon stereo and big speakers.  Sounds like they are right here in the room.  Oh oh there's a little fade out but comes right back clear.  Kind of like walking into the other room and back.

    Appeals Court Says GPS Data Not Private (none / 0) (#15)
    by J Upchurch on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 11:42:08 AM EST
    http://goo.gl/oMl8d

    I don't quite follow this. You are carrying around a device that knows where you are, but it doesn't broadcast your location. How can police access the location information without violating your privacy?  The cell phone company keeps track of what cell you are in, so that information might be available with a court order, but the GPS information. That shouldn't even be on unless the customer turns it on and I'm not clear how police would access this information legally.

    It is true that it GPS is not on until (none / 0) (#24)
    by ruffian on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 01:09:34 PM EST
    the user turns it on, but once he does that, it is broadcasting signals to the GPS transmitters. And apparently this court thinks it is legal for the police to "sniff" the signals, like a dog sniffs a person's scent.  I don't know if they even need help from the cell company to do it - do they need to access the persons records? I think they just have to have the GPS signal tracking technology.

    As the last line of the article says, if you don't want people to find you, turn off your GPS.

    Parent

    As the majority said (none / 0) (#28)
    by jbindc on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 01:46:39 PM EST
    When criminals use modern technological devices to carry out criminal acts and to reduce the possibility of detection, they can hardly complain when the police take advantage of the inherent characteristics of those very devices to catch them. This is not a case in which the government secretly placed a tracking device in someone's car.  The drug runners in this case used pay-as-you-go (and thus presumably more difficult to trace) cell phones to communicate during the crosscountry shipment of drugs.  Unfortunately for the drug runners, the phones were trackable in a way they may not have suspected.  The Constitution, however, does not protect their erroneous expectations regarding the undetectability of their modern tools.

    And, don't forget, while the DEA didn't have a warrant, they did get two separate court orders, so this wasn't a case of the DEA playing cowboy.

    Although not necessary to find that there was no Fourth Amendment violation in this case, the Government's argument is strengthened by the fact that the authorities sought court orders to obtain information on Skinner's location from the GPS capabilities of his cell phone.  The government received authorization from the magistrate judge to receive location information from the cell phone company so that agents could locate and track Skinner's vehicle that was carrying the load of marijuana. When the first cell phone number turned out to be with West in North Carolina, authorities then sought and obtained a second order from the magistrate judge to "ping" the second cell phone number and locate the drugs while they were still en route.


    Parent
    The GPS "transmitters"... (none / 0) (#58)
    by unitron on Fri Aug 17, 2012 at 06:26:26 AM EST
    ...are those things thousands of miles up there in orbit, and your cellphone doesn't have the power to reach them.

    They also have no use for the information.

    Cell phone company equipment down here on earth, however, is a different story.

    It's already in 2-way communication with your cell phone, what's a little more data here or there?

    Parent

    The GPS circuits on dumb phones and smart phones (none / 0) (#31)
    by Farmboy on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:11:49 PM EST
    are both capable of sending out tracking signals, but it's my understanding that the GPS portion of a dumb cell phone is passive until you dial 911. Then it transmits a person's location to a Public Safety Answering Point so EMTs, police, firefighters, etc., can find the person in an emergency.

    The GPS on a smart phone has the PSAP functionality, but also is constantly "talking" to cell towers and wifi hotspots to help pinpoint your location (consumer grade GPS is usually only accurate to within 5-10 meters - triangulation with other signals improves that).

    So, if the person in question had a dumb phone, I don't know how the GPS signal was tracked without "help." If he had a smartphone, then finding him was as easy as using a bloodhound - he's giving off a electromagnetic trail everywhere he goes.

    That's why the courier for bin Laden took the battery out of his cell phone any time he was within so many miles from the compound - and that's how we eventually tracked the compound down: our folks looked in the GPS "dead zone."

    Parent

    Dreams? I need to see your papers! (none / 0) (#17)
    by kdog on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 12:13:59 PM EST
    Wicked Witch of the West, (R) Arizona, raining on the Dreamer parade...shocking, I know;)

    Well.... (5.00 / 2) (#21)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 12:37:27 PM EST
    ...It's hard to feel for someone who's not here legally to still be lving in AZ.  Maybe that's the wrong wording, but damn, they need to get out of that state.  Because like it or not, they are supporting this BS with every taxable purchase they make.

    Secondly, this to me is not very smart.  Getting on a list for a 2 year work permit seems risky at best.  As shown in AZ, there are plenty of republicans that still think of these human beings as second class citizens.  And can't wait to let them know they aren't worthy of any sort of dignity from 'real' Americans.

    Paul Ryan would not let that list collect dust.

    And Brewer, man do I hate her, claiming this is going to hurt AZ taxpayers.  Which is a straight up lie, the work permit will actuality allow them to legally income pay taxes.  And not to point out the obvious, the everyone pays sales, fuel, and property taxes.

    Parent

    Like I've said, you can't ... (1.00 / 1) (#35)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:38:18 PM EST
    ... spell CRAZY without the AZ. Personally, I've decided to not visit or do any business there until that wretched woman is no longer governor. And I won't fly US Airways, which is HQ'ed in Phoenix. I prefer to limit my interaction with bigots as much as possible, and that entire state has proven itself to be bigoted collectively.

    But odds are better than even that they'll just replace "Ma" Brewer with another walking rectal cavity. After all, this is a state that not all that long ago elected Evan Mecham as its governor, a man who called a class of African-American third-graders visiting the state capitol "pickaninnies" to their faces.

    Parent

    BTW the Yankees (none / 0) (#20)
    by fishcamp on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 12:33:16 PM EST
    and the Rangers are on TV live right here, right now.  That's it for Biden's unchained melody and Paul Ryan's nightmare ideas.  I'm rolling some MM for the pain since Texas is ahead.

    Dose up for me will ya? (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by kdog on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 01:44:20 PM EST
    Got a bad case of cubicle malaise;)

    To hell with the baseball Yankees though.  Not sure if you're a soccer buff, but how 'bout the soccer Yanks beating Mexico 1-0 in Mexico for the first time ever...en Estadio Azteca no less!  Orale!  

    Parent

    As a fan of the improbable Orioles, (none / 0) (#37)
    by Anne on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:42:21 PM EST
    it hurts my feelings not one whit that the Yankees are losing...

    Really can't explain how well the O's have done so far, but after 14 losing seasons, I'll take it.

    First time in what seems like forever that baseball has still been relevant here in August; usually, when the Ravens start training camp, all interest in the Orioles vanishes.

    Last two nights, the best part of seeing the O's beat the Red Sox is knowing that the Boston fans who travel here are spending their money in my town to see their team lose!

    Parent

    Well, I have to like ... (none / 0) (#39)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:57:55 PM EST
    ... my Dodgers' chances in the NL West a whole lot better, now that Melky Cabrera of the San Francisco Giants has been hit with a mandatory 50-game suspension for doping, after having tested positive for the use of testosterone, which means he's done for the season.

    That's too bad for the Giants -- Boo. Hoo. -- because Cabrera was really having an MVP season, batting .346 (second to Pittsburgh's Andrew McCuthceon, who's hitting .359) and leading the National League in the number of hits, runs scored and extra-base hits. And now we know why.

    Parent

    From our "Too Much Information" file: (none / 0) (#32)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:26:45 PM EST
    A headline from today's Los Angeles Times: "Israel sperm banks find quality is plummeting."

    More like "the Big Oy" file.. (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by jondee on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:37:59 PM EST
    Word is the better donors are now holding out for residuals..

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    "The Big Oy." Hah! (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:47:40 PM EST
    We have a popular Mexican restaurant up on Oahu's north shore that's co-owned by a Latino and a Jew, called Pancho Goldstein's. The owners advertise on local radio with the tag line, "Oy Caramba!"

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    Eeewwwww (none / 0) (#33)
    by jbindc on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:34:46 PM EST


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    Wonder what Paul Ryan (none / 0) (#36)
    by fishcamp on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:41:00 PM EST
    thinks of that article?

    He's probably trying to find a way to ... (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 02:59:31 PM EST
    ... blame Barack Obama.

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    Thursday Morning Open Thread | 59 comments (59 topical)

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