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Monday Open Thread

Here's an open thread for all topics except Zimmerman.

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    Words to live by (5.00 / 4) (#1)
    by jbindc on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 01:51:01 PM EST
    Hahahahahaha! (none / 0) (#4)
    by Zorba on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 02:38:30 PM EST
    Love it!

    Parent
    I read (none / 0) (#29)
    by Mikado Cat on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:19:49 PM EST
    that all the trees on the island were cut down to use as rollers to move the stones. Wrecked the island ecostructure and the people starved to death.

    Parent
    The foreign-owned sheep industry (none / 0) (#48)
    by oculus on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:49:19 PM EST
    destroyed the forests.

    Parent
    Or maybe (probably) not: (none / 0) (#65)
    by oculus on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 09:58:30 PM EST
    AN AXE LENGTH AWAY, vol. 89 (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Dadler on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 02:06:38 PM EST
    This is funny! But what isn't funny is that I (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by Angel on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 03:45:35 PM EST
    know people just like this.  

    Parent
    Yikes (none / 0) (#24)
    by Dadler on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:00:41 PM EST
    You have my simpatico condolences. I had my share of experience with with type in Hollywood (exponentially weirder, however, since it IS Hollywood), and my wife has dealt with them in banking industry.

    Parent
    Interesting book (5.00 / 2) (#30)
    by Mikado Cat on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:21:24 PM EST
    Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. Makes a good argument that corporate structures are a good fit to a psychopath.

    Parent
    NSA [redacted]... (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Edger on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 02:42:49 PM EST
    When the feds claimed that information such as who the US is at war with is classified, Josh in CharlotteNC provided something quite rare: a fresh and original Orwell joke:

    Even Orwell didn't go so far as to write:

    "We've always been at war with [REDACTED]."

    To balance the short and sweet, we've got the long and impassioned. Second place on the insightful side goes to Jay for his response to Obama's claim that the Boston bombings reinforce the need for NSA surveillance:

    Let me get this [f'in redacted] straight...

    I'm supposed to believe that the surveillance would help we, the people?

    The security theater is ridiculous

    It didn't stop the Boston Bomber. It didn't stop the Ft Hood bombing. It didn't even stop the Washington shooter. We shut down a city for Gods' sake and that wasn't what got the Tsarnaev. As soon as the police stopped their search a private citizen found the guy an hour later!

    So now, our president, who supports these programs, wants to tell me that they needed these programs? NEEDED?!

    No, you need a swift kick in the [redacted] for lying to the American people. You need a better strategy than taking away the freedoms of the Constitution and only giving it to your financial backers. You need to learn from history and quit repeating it. You need to fire the people that have you wrapped around your finger as a public figure while you support their policies (looking at YOU Keith Alexander!). Finally, you need to grow a pair and face the music that the American public DOES. NOT. LIKE. BEING. SPIED. ON. BY. OUR. GOVERNMENT.

    More & [redacted] here...
    Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
    from the progressing-conservative-liberal-values-in-a-republican-democratic-republic dept

    Amazon's Jeff Bezos buying the WaPo... (5.00 / 2) (#17)
    by Anne on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 03:49:39 PM EST
    Link

    Seattle-based Amazon will have no role in the purchase; Bezos himself will buy the news organization and become its sole owner when the sale is completed, probably within 60 days. The Post Co. will change to a new, still-undecided name and continue as a publicly traded company without The Post thereafter.

    The deal represents a sudden and stunning turn of events for The Post, Washington's leading newspaper for decades and a powerful force in shaping the nation's politics and policy. Few people were aware that a sale was in the works for the paper, whose reporters have broken such stories as the Pentagon Papers, the Watergate scandals and disclosures about the National Security Administration's surveillance program in May.

    Is this better than selling to the Koch brothers?


    For Obama it Is (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 04:11:11 PM EST
    He can hold  low paying Amazon jobs up as the gold standard and Bezos can continue the degradation of the media and give Obama a talking point dispersal system under the guise of news.

    The Koch brothers already have a major network news station to disperse their talking points disguised as news.

    Parent

    Exactamundo (5.00 / 1) (#53)
    by shoephone on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 07:15:09 PM EST
    This is all about Bezos controlling media. It's stunning to me that reporters today -- including on the increasingly dumb and right-leaning NPR -- are claiming that Bezos is doing this for "altruistic" reasons! I kid you not. Bezos, the greedy monopolist whose company gets million$ in WA State high-tech tax breaks, owns huge parcels of real estate of Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood, and gives next to nothing back to this community...is buying the WAPO for "altruistic" reasons.

    It's cocktail hour here on the west coast. I'm breaking out the vodka.

    Parent

    Marcy Wheeler's take: (5.00 / 2) (#92)
    by Anne on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 11:47:30 AM EST
    You've no doubt heard that Jeff Bezos just bought WaPo.

    Which means the same guy who owns WaPo also provides the CIA with its new cloud storage (unless IBM succeeds in their bid to challenge it).

    I'm sure this will have an utterly salutary effect on the news business.

    Link

    Parent

    you will be able (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by TeresaInPa on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:09:23 PM EST
    to read the post every day for free if you have a Kindle HD and for 99 cents otherwise.  Fabulous!

    Parent
    Be afraid... (none / 0) (#25)
    by Dadler on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:05:29 PM EST
    ...be very afraid. Bezos would love nothing more than to be the WalMart of the internet, if they already aren't.

    Parent
    And Scott's point is noted as well (none / 0) (#26)
    by Dadler on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:06:07 PM EST
    And is certainly on point.

    Parent
    Katherine Weymouth just became publisher: (none / 0) (#62)
    by oculus on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 09:30:21 PM EST
    And that article is, well, stupid. (5.00 / 1) (#69)
    by caseyOR on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 11:48:52 PM EST
    Weymouth is a major player in American media, publisher of one of the country's significant newspapers, and that reporter decides to tell us about Weymouth's wardrobe choices and what a hands-on mom she is.

    Geez. I do believe journalism is dead.

    Parent

    Is that part of the Bezos deal, that Weymouth (none / 0) (#68)
    by caseyOR on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 11:46:09 PM EST
    stay on?  I'd have thought Bezos would bring in his own person.

    Parent
    Article in Denver Post this am (none / 0) (#91)
    by christinep on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 11:44:41 AM EST
    says that Weymouth will remain in place (and that she has asked her senior staff to stay as well.)

    Parent
    More re sale of Washington Post: (none / 0) (#70)
    by oculus on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 01:24:19 AM EST
    Republicans want NBC-CNN to pull Clinton (5.00 / 2) (#22)
    by Angel on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 04:46:10 PM EST
    I'm not sure Mr, Priebus understands (5.00 / 2) (#23)
    by Anne on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 04:57:24 PM EST
    that there are quite a number of people who would be eternally grateful not to end up being tortured by GOP primary debates featuring the cavalcade of crazies.

    Charlie Pierce weighs in:

    In other words, if you don't kill a major project involving the biography of the most famous woman in the world and starring a very bankable movie star, we will refuse to let you participate in Wingnutnado, the ratings blockbuster featuring Chris Christie, Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, Peter King, Scott Walker, and Tara Reid. Wait. Maybe not Tara Reid. Anyway, Reince is never more adorable than when he pretends he is an Important Person Of Influence. Really. It's like watching a toddler in a Mark Hanna suit.

    "Wingnutnado" indeed...[snort]


    Parent

    Too bad they won't keep their word. (none / 0) (#27)
    by Angel on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:13:11 PM EST
    On another note, I read in WaPo the other day that Mitt's strategist literally threw up when he saw Clint Eastwood talking to the empty chair at the national convention.

    Parent
    That made me laugh out loud... (5.00 / 2) (#28)
    by Anne on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:18:02 PM EST
    thanks, I needed the chuckle!

    He probably felt a lot like the McCain campaign folks responsible for Sarah Palin.

    I also read that when Dan Balz was interviewing Romney for the book he was writing, Romney kept insisting he had never made those "47%" comments, and went into some lengthy explanation to prove it.  It was clear that Romney just didn't get it, but that was a conclusion a lot of us reached long before Dan Balz did.

    Parent

    Yes, I read that too. Mitt just didn't get it, (5.00 / 2) (#34)
    by Angel on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:32:36 PM EST
    doesn't get it now, and will never get it.  

    Oh, and Mitt said Hurricane Sandy was responsible in a large way for his loss. Excuses, excuses, excuses.  

    Parent

    Or they (none / 0) (#32)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:22:26 PM EST
    could hold all their primary debates on Fox and come out full on crazy from being in an echo chamber for months. I can just see another comment about rape because in the echo chamber that kind of comment would bring applause.

    Parent
    Actually (none / 0) (#63)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 09:53:47 PM EST
    wouldn't be better to wait until she has won the office, solved the world's problems and served an additional 3 terms at the demand of the people???

    Face it. This is just a unpaid political ad.

    The Repubs are right. We ain't gonna play with you if you are that crooked.

    Parent

    Please take your bat and your ball and (5.00 / 3) (#66)
    by Anne on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 10:19:53 PM EST
    go home. Or wherever.  Just, please, go.

    You all deserve to have each other all to yourselves.

    Parent

    the "media" (5.00 / 2) (#72)
    by TeresaInPa on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 06:35:51 AM EST
    has always considered the Clinton's southern trash and interlopers who cut in line.  The snobby northeast media elites have never given the Clinton's a free ride or a favorable story.  The "liberal media" also trashed Al Gore for the same reason.  It didn't matter that he went to Harvard.  What the liberal media held against all three of them was the feeling of inferiority they felt when faced with Clinton, Clinton and Gore, all of whom were smarter, more driven, more hard working, more dedicated and less dissolute than the various bitterly cleaver and mostly useless members of the northeast media elite.  So they always treated them as if they were nothing but pork rind eating trailer trash. "Not really our sort of people darling".
    NBC, MSNBC, NYTimes..... there are no valentines coming to Hillary from any of those sources.  
    Now don't argue with me.  I have always been straight with you.

    Parent
    The Clintons and the Carters too (5.00 / 1) (#93)
    by christinep on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 11:52:24 AM EST
    were not considered to be among the elite blue-bloods or whatever-you-call-em.  Not quite so with Gore, tho, since Gore matured in DC in the midst of elite prep schooling.  

    Frankly, I still get chuckle when remembering how the brilliant Clintons outmaneuvered them ultimately. Just last night my husband & I recalled how the Clintons (President Bill, especially) excelled at the masterful "Hold your friends close, and your enemies closer."

    Parent

    At the time Gore lived there (5.00 / 1) (#95)
    by TeresaInPa on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 03:58:05 PM EST
    the hotel they lived in was not much more than seedy.  They spent their summers at the farm and Gore worked.  Prep school yes and Harvard yes, but have you forgotten how the media treated him in 2000?  Their story on him was that he was ruined by a too ambitious southern father trying to improve the family.

    Parent
    Good points, Teresa (none / 0) (#99)
    by christinep on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 05:58:45 PM EST
    Somehow I had pushed back the memory of that horrible 2000 treatment of Gore ... that he was more like the prissy preacher's son and not like that common-man-with-whom-you-want-to-have-a-beer Bush.  (How could I have forgotten so soon?!?)

    I've been meaning to ask, Teresa: Whereabouts in PA?  My family hails from the coal country in Northumberland County's Shamokin.  A host of cousins live in various parts of northeast & eastern PA still ... and, I go back to my favorite place whenever I can.

    Parent

    north east Pa (none / 0) (#102)
    by TeresaInPa on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 09:19:18 PM EST
    I have live variously in Scranton, Clarks Summit and now in Wyoming County outside of Tunkhannock.  I grew up in New York State, but except for 11 years in south Florida I have lived most of my adult life in Pa.
    So yes, I know exactly where you are talking about.  

    Parent
    The defining word about Gore (none / 0) (#121)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Aug 09, 2013 at 11:19:17 AM EST
    is that he didn't carry his home state in 2000...

    We knew him.

    Parent

    the defining word about his home state (5.00 / 1) (#122)
    by jondee on Fri Aug 09, 2013 at 11:33:57 AM EST
    overrun by snake-handling faith healers and people still holding a grudge about the Civil and Voting Rights Acts.

    Sorry to say.

    Parent

    Hello jondee and thanks (1.00 / 1) (#126)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Aug 10, 2013 at 06:00:21 PM EST
    for dropping by and proving what an ass you really are.

    Parent
    I forgot to mention: (none / 0) (#127)
    by jondee on Mon Aug 12, 2013 at 12:59:35 PM EST
    "we" knew him so well that we voted him into the Congress and Senate half a dozen times..

    In effect, "we" made his political career.

    Parent

    Christinep (none / 0) (#100)
    by Politalkix on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 07:53:17 PM EST
    The post to which you replied did not make any sense to me. I would like to point out the following.

    HRC was not a southerner. She grew up in Chicago and went to elite schools in the north east. Al Gore's dad was a Senator, he went to prep and Ivy League schools also.

    Gore got rough treatment from the media in 2000 and the media never liked the Carters. However, the Clintons got preferential treatment from the media during 1992 and 1996 election cycle. Even John Edwards got very positive coverage from the media in 2004 during the primaries because he was the Southerner with the sunshine smile. The media has nothing against Southerners.

    The media always looks for the bottom line. They will support any candidate who will help them rake big bucks and provide them advertisement revenue. In 1996, the media never forgot to remind us how much the soccer moms were swooning over Bill while Bob Dole was scaring children and was a mean person (something that Sen Dole had said 20 years ago was constantly brought up).

    Now, ofcourse, the media always likes a salacious story because that too helps them with their ratings. This is the only reason why they spent so much time covering the Lewinsky scandal. But they liked Bill Clinton in 1992 for appearing in the Arseneo Hall show and having very hip Hollywood friends. There was nothing personal about it. It is just the way the media works in a hyper capitalist society.

    Parent

    ummm, no (none / 0) (#103)
    by TeresaInPa on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 09:57:35 PM EST
    when Bill and Hillary Clinton came from Arkansas she had a southern accent and the NORTH EASTERN media elite had a very definite prejudice against her and Bill particularly when it became clear that they were not interested in kissing the a$$es of the Sally Quinns of DC and the self important NY "intellectuals".  
    Hillary went to Ivy league schools because she earned her way there.  Her father went to Penn State on a football scholarship, having grown up in Scranton Pa......West Side Scranton Pa.  Want to have a conversation about that back ground?  These are my people.  This is where my children's family is from.  Don't try to convince me about Hillary Clinton's privileged background.  I have sung in the little Methodist church where her family still has their children baptized and my father in law is buried not far from her father in the same cemetery.  
    And you can not seriously be saying the northeast media elite doesn't look down on southerners.  John Edwards simply was never important enough to get the full treatment.  Had he become the nominee (God forbid) he would have been shredded too.  
    Clinton was simply never forgiven for beating Bush senior.  That was not supposed to happen and he won not because he was given a pass, but because he was so much more attractive and compelling than Bush.  The media in NY and DC could not trash him enough.

    Parent
    John Edwards (5.00 / 2) (#104)
    by Politalkix on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 11:54:26 PM EST
    got better coverage than John Kerry and Howard Dean (the two north easterners) by the media during the 2004 primaries. Howard Dean received particularly shabby treatment. Dukakis (another north eastern Presidential candidate) also received very unfair treatment. I completely reject the notion that the media is biased against Southern politicians.

    You have very strong opinions about a lot of things. I disagree with most of your opinions. I will pass on discussing any more on this subject.

    Parent

    Howard Dean (5.00 / 1) (#112)
    by TeresaInPa on Thu Aug 08, 2013 at 05:29:12 AM EST
    Announced on Msnbc, to Mathews,  that he was going to break up the giant media conglomerates. That was when the media trashing of Dean began in earnest.  Up until that point most of the heat Dean took was from Kerry and various other campaigns ganging up on him to knock him off the top spot.


    Parent
    Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh (none / 0) (#105)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 11:58:20 PM EST
    oh my god I'm giving this a fiver

    Parent
    Cuz it's the fecking truth (none / 0) (#106)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Aug 07, 2013 at 12:00:05 AM EST
    It's the Northern liberal elitists (none / 0) (#118)
    by jondee on Thu Aug 08, 2013 at 12:54:13 PM EST
    are-out-to-get-us complex..

    Flaring up more recently because the NRA has been putting the word out that Obama wants to confiscate their duck hunting shotguns, antique muzzle loaders and Red Ryder BB guns.

    Parent

    Ross Perot (none / 0) (#107)
    by ragebot on Wed Aug 07, 2013 at 06:41:18 AM EST
    Had a lot more to do with Clinton winning his first term than you seem to realize.

    Parent
    Actually (5.00 / 1) (#110)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Aug 07, 2013 at 09:15:43 AM EST
    no but the myth persists. Exit polls showed that Perot's vote would have been split 50/50 between Bush and Clinton had Perot not been in the race. Bush Sr. had a host of problems too.

    Parent
    No, he didn't (none / 0) (#109)
    by Yman on Wed Aug 07, 2013 at 09:03:27 AM EST
    This silly claim arises whenever Republicans/conservatives are looking for an excuse for Clinton winning in '92.

    Perot drew 20% of his votes coming from liberals, 27% from conservatives, and 53% from moderates.  Exit polls also showed that Ross Perot drew 38% of his vote from Bush, and 38% of his vote from Clinton, and the rest from voters who would have stayed home if he wasn't on the ballot.

    Parent

    "These are my people" (none / 0) (#113)
    by MKS on Thu Aug 08, 2013 at 09:17:06 AM EST
    Hillary did not grow up in the South.

    Scranton, Pennsylvania is not the South.

    Hillary spent her Summers in Pennsylvania but grew up in Illinois.....She went to Wellesley and Yale Law School.  She supported Gene McCarthy and campaigned for George McGovern.

    There is no evidence that Hillary's background was distasteful to the "liberal" elite press or D.C. whoevers that you say are biased against her.  It wasn't some D.C. liberal elite that was against her.  It was the Scaifes--who are from your state of Pennsylvania--and other conservatives who muckraked against her.  Let Hillary speak for herself--it was the "vast right wing conspiracy."

    I like Hillary and hope she runs.  Will work for her time permitting.  But you are way over the top on this.  You are grafting on to Hillary issues that are not hers.

    No, I do not really think Clinton detractor Scaife was a liberal.  You are really turning history on its head.

    Parent

    Could you both be correct ... in degree? (none / 0) (#114)
    by christinep on Thu Aug 08, 2013 at 09:48:22 AM EST
    Granted that Hillary's background was quite a bit different than her husband's Arkansas one-parent background ....  And, you are right on about the rightwing conspiracy Mellon-Scaife group & their media reach (and their conspiracy theory special prosecutor reach)....  But, I do think that the take on Bill Clinton--early on anyway--was that he was just a southern pol, distinct from the northeast (whether Kennebunkport or not) bred-for-the-job group.  While that early perception might have conveniently ignored the Oxford scholar and Fullbright insider reality, there was more than a hint of earlier response of a regional nature.

    Parent
    Which was hilarious (5.00 / 2) (#96)
    by jbindc on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 04:05:41 PM EST
    Since Hillary grew up in a middle class family from Chicago and was actually a "Goldwater Girl" at one time.

    It amazed me that they always tried to portray her as "poor Southern".

    Parent

    The Repubs (5.00 / 2) (#74)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 07:02:44 AM EST
    need a diaper. The specter of Hillary running apparently sends them into conniption fits.

    Privately they will admit that they don't think they can win against her but I guess it's okay for the GOP to shop false conspiracy theories but don't dare do a miniseries. Thanks for reminding us how wacko the GOP has become.

    Parent

    Right... (none / 0) (#78)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 09:28:59 AM EST
    ...what is the theory exactly, they would sew-up 2016, but some how, a movie about one of the candidates is going to guarantee a loss ?

    Why not have Fox run a mini-series about Paul or Santorum.  "I know, I know...."  Because the US now longer engages in torture.

    Parent

    So, if this is your reaction, I guess you (5.00 / 3) (#86)
    by Anne on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 10:24:46 AM EST
    must have been a vociferous opponent to the planned October, 2004, broadcast by Sinclair-owned stations of "Stolen Honor: John Kerry's Record of Batrayal."

    I'm trying to remember what else was happening at that time...thinking, thinking...oh, wait - wasn't there a presidential election going on and wasn't Kerry the Democratic candidate?

    Why, yes...yes, there was, and yes, Kerry was the Democratic candidate for president.

    Can't wait to find out how that was "different."

    Parent

    Careful, Anne, (5.00 / 5) (#94)
    by NYShooter on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 01:36:06 PM EST
    You're coming dangerously close to being placed on Jim's, "do not respond," list. Hasn't Jim's constant complaint that he's the only one here at TL who knows how to conduct an intelligent "debate" sunk in with you yet? Just re-read his opening post and learn what "intelligent debate" looks like.

    "We ain't gonna play with you if you are that crooked."

    Pure poetry........

    Parent

    the day I believe either CNN or NBC (5.00 / 4) (#43)
    by TeresaInPa on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:25:22 PM EST
    are doing anything to promote Hillary Clinton will be the day I voluntarily watch a movie about Shark bearing tornadoes.
    I think it is much more likely that NBC conned actors in to making a movie they believed would be flattering or helpful to Clinton while really meant to sabotage her.

    Parent
    Would like your popcorn with our without (none / 0) (#64)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 09:56:24 PM EST
    butter???

    Parent
    To be fair (none / 0) (#35)
    by jbindc on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:34:50 PM EST
    I think this is supposed to air just a few weeks before the election, and even though I love Hillary Clinton, it really does look like favoritism and that the network is promoting one candidate.

    Now, I don't care about the Republican debates, but since the networks are sponsoring the debates, they may think they are more important than anyone here does. (All they will do is potentially lose audience to Fox, which neither of them can afford).

    If they really want to air the movie and not look like they are playing favorites - why not air it in May 2016 - before the conventions?

    Parent

    The CNN (5.00 / 4) (#41)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:15:37 PM EST
    documentary is set to air in 2014. I guess it was okay for the RNC to air an unflattering documentary about Hillary done by citizens united by Katie Bar The Door should anything that might show Hillary even in a somewhat positive light.

    The real problem is that the RNC is terrified of her. They themselves are making false films based on conspiracy theories but no, no, no, we can't have anything based on facts.

    Parent

    Media Matters (none / 0) (#108)
    by jbindc on Wed Aug 07, 2013 at 07:42:33 AM EST
    now joins the RNC in fighting CNN and MSNBC re: the Hillary miniseries:

    The founder of Media Matters, a left-leaning media watchdog group, is joining the Republican National Committee's call for CNN and NBC to halt their plans to produce programming about former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the organization announced Tuesday.

    "Given that this project could coincide with a potential Clinton presidential campaign, the timing raises too many questions about fairness and conflicts of interest ahead of of the 2016 election," writes Media Matters founder David Brock in letters sent Tuesday to the heads of CNN and NBC.



    Parent
    I know Brock is supposedly a reformed (5.00 / 1) (#111)
    by caseyOR on Wed Aug 07, 2013 at 09:36:42 AM EST
    former rightwing hitman, but I find it hard to give much credence to anything he says with respect to either of the Clintons.

    Parent
    Chuck Todd weighs in as well (none / 0) (#115)
    by jbindc on Thu Aug 08, 2013 at 10:17:47 AM EST
    Link

    "This mini-series is a total nightmare for NBC News," Todd said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "We know there's this giant firewall, we know we have nothing to do with it, we know that we'd love probably to be as critical or whatever ... if it comes out, but there's nothing we can do about it and we're going to only own the negative."

    NBC has a four-hour television movie in the works starring Diane Lane as Clinton. NBC News argued that it is completely independent from the Clinton film, which is being produced by NBC Entertainment, after Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus threatened to pull his group's partnership with NBC for 2016 GOP presidential debates if they moved ahead with the project.

    Todd argued Wednesday that even though the NBC divisions are separate, the public wouldn't make the distinction between the two.

    "People are going to see the peacock, and they see NBC, and they see NBC News, and they think, `Well, they can't be that separate,'" Todd said.

    "The two entities are sometimes at war with each other," he added. "I can't tell you how many fights we've had internally about whether to cover ... some live news event and those, you know, guys on the West Coast, they want to, you know, run some rerun of `Parks and Recreation' or whatever because they'll make money."



    Parent
    Saw this earlier and wouldn't (5.00 / 1) (#116)
    by Anne on Thu Aug 08, 2013 at 10:35:33 AM EST
    you know it, Charlie Pierce did, too.

    Here's some of what he said about Chuckie's comments:

    My man Chuck is doing his agnostic Villager fan-dance here. He knows full well that the movie could depict Hillary Clinton with horns and a tail and devouring Vince Foster's liver with fava beans and a nice key-antie and the Republicans would still have a screaming fit over this because Having Screaming Fits is all the party's really good at these days. (Hell, Priebus is already in the middle of a screaming fit and the thing hasn't even started production yet.) The sooner Chuck realizes this, and stops caring about every hissy-fit they throw, the better we'll all be. He also knows that any meeping complaints from Democrats will be drowned out to the point where he can ignore them. And I realize that Maureen Dowd gave all the Cool Kidz permission to take Priebus's idiocy seriously over the weekend, largely because the very prospect of having the Clintons to re-litigate energizes the aging colleen to a point that the Good Sisters likely would have referred to as "a near occasion of sin." But you're being trolled here, Chuck. Honestly, you are. Return to the pack, son.

    But, more important is the fact that NBC News has an awful lot of bad stuff to "own" just by itself without worrying about whether or not Chuck's stand-ups from Iowa will undermined by the work of Miss Diane Lane. The continued employment of the self-refuting Joe Scarborough comes immediately to mind. (Hint For Joe: your very presence on MSNBC every damn morning proves that MSNBC and Fox are not "exactly" the same, not even "at night." Where's the outright disinformation coming from Chris Matthews or Rachel Maddow? What precisely has Chris Hayes said that reminds you of something Sean Hannity said? C'mon, Squint. I'd like an offer of proof here. Man up.) Why not "own" the fact that the departed, saintly Tim Russert took a dive on the fakery surrounding the run-up to the Iraq War?

    Yeah...Tim "everything's off the record" Russert really hurts.  And I wish Charlie hadn't mentioned Chris Matthews, one of the worst of the Hillary-haters - that might be one reason people can't tell the difference between news and entertainment.  And you want to talk about disinformation?  How about the little gem Lester Holt gave us last night, referring to Edward Snowden as "alleged American spy."  Charlie calls him out on that in a separate post, but come on - no, NBC isn't "as bad" as Fox (God, I hate that metric), or even "exactly" like Fox, but they ain't good, either.  Plenty of disinformation, as well as disinterest in getting the information right, it seems to me.

    But, Chuck Todd having the vapors because he fears NBC putting its name on the Hillary movie will diminish his journalistic credibility is just laughable: one has to have some credibility before it can be diminished.

    Parent

    Yeah Todd... (5.00 / 1) (#117)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Aug 08, 2013 at 12:14:45 PM EST
    ...why don't you wake up and just state the obvious, news has morphed into entertainment, there is no firewall, they are one in the same.  I can turn on NBC news and be treated to the same BS stories on ET.

    Chuck Todd, like nearly all political reporters, is nothing more than gossip columnists who feels entitled because his beat is Washington DC.

    Chuck can stop whining/complaining when NBC news stops running stories like this in their 'top stories' section of their 'news' site:

    Love him? Hate him? 'Breaking Bad's Walter White is TV's best villain

    13-pound baby's mom: Didn't think she'd be 'that big'


    Actual headlines 08.08.2013

    Parent
    Doesn't mean Chuck Todd doesn't have a point (none / 0) (#119)
    by jbindc on Thu Aug 08, 2013 at 03:07:22 PM EST
    Not Sure if You Are Serious.... (none / 0) (#120)
    by ScottW714 on Fri Aug 09, 2013 at 10:44:52 AM EST
    Mean Chuck Todd ?

    Chuck Todd is a an idiot and you are probably the first person in history to refer to his as mean.

    My point is he is throwing a hissy fit over NBC 'news' blurring the line with NBC 'entertainment'.  My point is that his imaginary firewall separating the two is more like Less Nessman's office walls.

    His believe that NBC news isn't more entertainment than news is funny.  His believe that he's a journalist is just plain wrong.  And most importantly, his believe that NBC news does already tow the D line is just plain delusional.

    Seems to me like all the hubub is about a news network that tows the D line getting labeled as towing the D line because of a movie.  Not sure what it's called, but I call it hypersensitivity to the obvious because it's true.

    All of a sudden CT has got moral and professional concerns, yeah, now back to his never ending unanimous White House Official quotes claiming __ (insert wherever BS talking point the White House PR department has drafted.

    Parent

    Scott, jb wasn't calling Chuck "mean;" (none / 0) (#123)
    by Anne on Fri Aug 09, 2013 at 12:35:01 PM EST
    She was saying that "doesn't mean that Chuck Todd doesn't have a point."

    Parent
    When Fox quits being the propaganda arm of (none / 0) (#36)
    by Angel on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:44:32 PM EST
    the RNC then I'll give your thought some consideration.  Until then I'd say fair is fair.

    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#38)
    by jbindc on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:58:03 PM EST
    MSNBC is the propaganda arm of the DNC, so isn't that fair enough?

    Parent
    I don't agree that they are. (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by Angel on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:01:52 PM EST
    This is all speculative anyway, Hillary hasn't announced her candidacy.  

    Parent
    maybe not so much the DNC (5.00 / 2) (#44)
    by TeresaInPa on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:34:29 PM EST
    as a certain elitist arm of the democratic party (which includes the DNC when it suites them) which has never been a fan of Hillary. We will be able to judge what is going to happen by whether they have the usual suspects tied up and gagged, like Chris Mathews and that creep from Boston who is always on morning Joe.

    Parent
    One of the fun things about a Hillary candidacy (5.00 / 3) (#59)
    by ruffian on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 08:17:29 PM EST
    would be the rash of cases of whiplash in people convinced MSNBC is for all Dems all the time. No one seems to remember MSNBC earlier than 2008.

    Parent
    Chris Matthews (barf) (5.00 / 1) (#81)
    by jbindc on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 09:48:50 AM EST
    Has already started the sucking up gushing.

    Parent
    Tell us how you really feel. :)) (none / 0) (#82)
    by Angel on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 10:10:39 AM EST
    There aren't that many ways (none / 0) (#83)
    by jbindc on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 10:14:03 AM EST
    I know how to type the numerous retching sounds that come to mind.  :)

    Parent
    LOL (none / 0) (#85)
    by Angel on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 10:23:11 AM EST
    They Swing Left... (5.00 / 3) (#80)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 09:37:25 AM EST
    ...but certainly not the same relationship as Fox has with the GOP.

    But even if they did, so what, it's cool for R's to have a media wing, but the D's should show more integrity ?

    And how did CNN get into this, they lean right, yet the right is always putting them with NBC.

    I wish the great majority of Americans could put up candidates who are not related to either party in any sense.  People who would run on the issues and not be chained to the ridiculous platforms of either party.  And most importantly, people who are no beholden to Corporate America.

    I have had enough inept and corrupt R's and D's for 5 lifetimes.

    Parent

    Not until mad-late afternoon.... (5.00 / 1) (#98)
    by sallywally on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 04:24:22 PM EST
    Before that, Joe Scarborough, Mika, Mrs. Alan Greenspan, etc. Afternoon Toure leans center-right. If I want to stop yelling at the screen I don't turn it on until at least 4 pm for Martin Bashir. Then I have to be careful watching Tweety Matthews, and he's on two hours every day.

    Parent
    The NBC (none / 0) (#42)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:20:10 PM EST
    miniseries is supposed to air before she announces her candidacy so that would probably be 2014 too. There is nothing about it being near the presidential election.

    Parent
    History (5.00 / 2) (#45)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:37:02 PM EST
    backs up what you are saying. The press has not been on her side ever that I can remember.

    Parent
    hell no (5.00 / 4) (#97)
    by TeresaInPa on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 04:11:35 PM EST
    no one ever likes the smartest girl in class and the winner of the Sunday school yearly prize bible for most cans of food collected for the poor.   I mean, come on, during the Viet Nam war she didn't lead protests, she lead teach ins.  No, she has never gotten a break from the media, she is not cool enough for them.  Kind of makes me like her more since I can't stand the media.

    Parent
    Oh, the irony! (none / 0) (#101)
    by NYShooter on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 08:45:33 PM EST
    How far down They must dig.....

    Shhh...Did you know that a long time ago Hillary was an actual Lawww-yer, earning the big Lawww-yer bucks? So, much for the poor (spit..splat)......hypro-crat! That's whut she is. And, Lord strike me down, (the dirty laundry's really gonna come out now) talk about uppity! This two-faced wench took a man's job away from a man, Yes she did, Lord have mercy, and sat (I'll just bet she "sat") on the board of Directors for Walmart. And, you just know what they do behind those closed dy-rec-tor doors, dontcha? heh, heh.

    oooh she's a slippery eel, I tell ya.

    Parent

    NSA Backup And Data Recovery (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by Edger on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:21:58 PM EST
    INSIDE NSA
    Learn More About
    What We Do



    Brilliant (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by shoephone on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 07:19:37 PM EST
    Another lead for Jeralyn: (5.00 / 1) (#71)
    by oculus on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 01:32:50 AM EST
    There is a sign (5.00 / 3) (#73)
    by MO Blue on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 06:49:43 AM EST
    on Crooks and Liars advocating a position that I could get behind.

    Pay Congress Minimum Wage

    Based on their accomplishments, they still might be overpaid.

    I guess the FBI's tired of only being (5.00 / 4) (#75)
    by Anne on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 08:21:12 AM EST
    able to break up plots they create themselves...
    The FBI is pressuring internet service providers to install software inside their networks to allow real time government spying on users. The FBI claims real time collection of information is suddenly necessary for the agency to do its job. Any resistance to the FBI's demands for access is met with legal threats as the FBI claims the spying is authorized under the Patriot Act.

       The U.S. government is quietly pressuring telecommunications providers to install eavesdropping technology deep inside companies' internal networks to facilitate surveillance efforts.

        FBI officials have been sparring with carriers, a process that has on occasion included threats of contempt of court, in a bid to deploy government-provided software capable of intercepting and analyzing entire communications streams. The FBI's legal position during these discussions is that the software's real-time interception of metadata is authorized under the Patriot Act.

    Link

    What's next?  Implantable chips that stream our thoughts directly to the FBI/NSA?

    I'd say don't give them any ideas but they're (5.00 / 2) (#79)
    by Angel on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 09:34:10 AM EST
    probably already working on this.

    What's next?  Implantable chips that stream our thoughts directly to the FBI/NSA?



    Parent
    "Minority Report" (5.00 / 1) (#90)
    by shoephone on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 11:00:04 AM EST
    There is an old joke (5.00 / 2) (#76)
    by Edger on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 08:49:30 AM EST
    that the Toronto based Globe and Mail newspaper occasionally printed on their front page as their "Smile of the day" that went:

    "Did you hear about the Tap Dancer who broke his ankle when he fell in the sink?"

    On Saturday the New York Times published a story entitled "Other Agencies Clamor for Data N.S.A. Compiles" that said:

    "Intelligence officials say they have been careful to limit the use of the security agency's troves of data and eavesdropping spyware for fear they could be misused in ways that violate Americans' privacy rights."

    Bill Hicks once said:

    "There are essentially only two drugs that Western civilization tolerates: Caffeine from Monday to Friday to energize you enough to make you a productive member of society, and alcohol from Friday to Monday to keep you too stupid to figure out the prison that you are living in."

    There. You got three good laughs in a row this morning. Free. And it's only Tuesday. Happy hour on Friday is aeons away in web time. If you don't feel better now do what I do. Go whack your forehead against a doorjamb or a concrete wall for awhile. It'll help to clear your mind.

    Sorry. Four...

    And Joe Walsh (none / 0) (#77)
    by Edger on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 09:25:32 AM EST
    Biogenesis suspensions are official (none / 0) (#3)
    by CoralGables on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 02:27:05 PM EST
    12 more named today to receive 50 games with no appeal. They join Braun (65 games no appeal) and Arod (214 games, he is the only one appealing).

    Also:

    Melky Cabrera - Toronto
    Bartolo Colon - Oakland
    Yasmani Grandal - San Diego
    were named but since they served 50 game suspensions last year for effectively this same biogenesis investigation they are in the clear now.

    That makes a total of 17 tied to the storefront anti-aging clinic run by a shyster who just happened to attend the same high school that Arod attended his freshman year before transferring. The person that blew the lid on the operation also attended that same high school in Miami. (It shall remain nameless because it's also where I attended high school)

    Rumor is football and basketball are also tied in should those sports ever investigate.

    So there really are (none / 0) (#6)
    by Zorba on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 02:53:08 PM EST
    only a few degrees of separation between everyone!
    Very interesting factoid about your high school, Biogenesis, and, very briefly, ARod, CG.
    Kevin Bacon would be proud!    

    And, PS, although I will not name it either, it's pretty easy to find.  Nothing is private any more.  Absolutely nothing!   ;-)

    Parent

    Speaking of privacy Zorba (5.00 / 3) (#9)
    by CoralGables on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 03:10:13 PM EST
    I read an article recently from a small town newspaper that I won't link to (but as you know, with a little info it isn't hard to find.

    A young teen many many years ago killed his parents and sister and was found innocent due to insanity. After being institutionalized for six years he was set free. He changed his name, went to college, grad school, and earned his PhD and became a professor at a University.

    He is now probably nearing retirement. A reporter was able to track him down and printed the story along with his new name and where he teaches.

    I found it to be borderline immoral to resurrect something from so long ago when the person had totally turned his life around. Am I alone thinking this way?

    Parent

    "Immoral" is such a loaded word. (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 03:22:22 PM EST
    That said, given that this gentleman served his penance as ordered by the court, and has long since proven himself as posing no further threat to society, the media's present interest in his original crime so many decades ex post facto can best be characterized as both prurient and wholly unnecessary.

    And by all rights, whoever thought to manufacture a public controversy out of whole cloth by resurrecting the more unsavory portions of this man's past ought to be ashamed of themselves.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    No, you're not alone in your thinking, CG (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by Zorba on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 03:32:53 PM EST
    This is scary, really.  The guy committed a truly horrendous crime, but was found insane, got help, and turned his life completely around, as you said.  
    I suppose that there are people who would argue that he should have been jailed or institutionalized for the rest of his life (or even executed).  But would this have served society better than his redemption?
    It's not just the NSA snooping that has me concerned (truly horrible as that is, especially given the fact that our country is supposed to be based upon the Constitution).  It's also every single other privacy violation.
    The older I get, and the more I see, the more I think that kdog and his desire to live off the grid, as much as possible, is correct.
    Although just being on the Internet and commenting on blogs isn't even safe.  You'd have to be living under a bridge and scavenging for your food to be really off the grid.  And even then, who knows.

    Parent
    The best thing about the story, IMO, is that the (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by Angel on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 04:07:00 PM EST
    school's administration said he was a fine professor and person and he will remain employed by them.

    This happened just north of where I live, and that town isn't quite so small anymore, it's one of the most rapidly growing in the state.  It has long been and continues to be a very conservative area.  The author of the article said she questioned whether or not to throw a wrench in his life and out him but if you read the entire article it's clear what her real opinion is of him - that she believes he has no remorse and essentially got away with multiple murders. I don't think she ever had any qualms with outing him, just the opposite.  She was proud she found him and could publish her piece.

    Parent

    the other side of the coin (none / 0) (#20)
    by nyjets on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 04:11:58 PM EST
    I would be very uncomfortable if my professor was a murder.

    Parent
    Me too. And the school (none / 0) (#49)
    by oculus on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:50:58 PM EST
    should probably consult their counsel.

    Parent
    So you also think that (none / 0) (#56)
    by Zorba on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 07:47:43 PM EST
    There is no redemption possible, ever?  No healing possible for those suffering from insanity, ever?
    That's a frightening world you live in, nyjets.  Nobody who ever suffered from severe mental illness can ever be redeemed,  apparently.

    Parent
    What was the diagnosis that supported (none / 0) (#61)
    by oculus on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 09:21:09 PM EST
    NGI?

    Parent
    No, not at all, from what you have stated... (none / 0) (#37)
    by Cashmere on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:55:33 PM EST
    I agree with you.

    Parent
    Slight error (none / 0) (#7)
    by CoralGables on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 02:58:24 PM EST
    only 211 games for Arod as he has 72 hours to officially appeal.

    Gotta wonder if Kevin Bacon hung out at the anti-aging clinic when he visited Miami.

    Parent

    So, is A-Rod in the lineup tonight? (none / 0) (#8)
    by Anne on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 02:59:26 PM EST
    Wonder what kind of reception he's going to get in Chicago...

    For that matter, if he's going to play while appealing the decision, it will be interesting to see what kind of reception he gets in all the cities the Yankees have on their schedule.

    Are Yanks fans going to cheer for him, or try to boo him out of the park?

    Parent

    He will probably play tonight (none / 0) (#11)
    by jbindc on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 03:12:27 PM EST
    in Chicago

    Recovering from hip surgery and a quadriceps strain, Rodriguez is likely to make his 2013 return to the Yankees' lineup Monday night in Chicago against the White Sox. He is eligible to play until his appeal is heard by an arbitrator.


    Parent
    From our "8 Men Out + 5" file: (none / 0) (#10)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 03:12:04 PM EST
    In BTD's stead, let us now bid aloha to New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodrigues, upon whose head the wrath of Major League Baseball has descended.

    While A-Rod's been suspended until Opening Day of the 2015 season for his part on the Biogenesis PED scandal, he has appealed the ruling, which under the terms of the present collective bargaining agreement allows him to continue playing for up to 45 more days while MLB considers his appeal.

    Further, at least 12 other players have been suspended for the Biogenesis scandal as well, making it the largest such mass sanction ever undertaken by the MLB Commissioner's office in its 91-year history.

    Oops, beaten to it. (none / 0) (#12)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 03:13:16 PM EST
    Carry on.

    Parent
    Don't forget Braun (none / 0) (#14)
    by CoralGables on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 03:27:50 PM EST
    so 14 total.

    Parent
    And the best part is (none / 0) (#21)
    by Edger on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 04:36:44 PM EST
    (insert drumroll here) not only do all you nice people pay the NSA to spy on you, now you will also subsidize the huge electricity bill they run up while doing it.

    By now, I assume many of you are quite familiar with the NSA's new data center in Bluffdale, Utah. Among other features, part of the site's claim to fame was the amount of electricity it would need -- leading local power company Rocky Mountain Power to build the NSA their very own substation -- just for the center. Lucky them. Of course, power doesn't come cheap, and James Bamford's article about the center estimated the energy costs to be around $40 million per year. However, that cost went up a bit due to a Utah state law that came into effect on April 1st (no, seriously) that would add a 6% tax on energy bills. That means, if the $40 million estimate was correct, it would be an additional $2.4 million per year for the NSA.

    And the NSA threw a complete hissy fit, sending a series of complaints to Utah Governor Gary Herbert's staff about the law...
    [...]
    So, not only do the NSA get to keep spying on us, but they get to do it for tax breaks.

    from the uh,-wait-a-second dept at TechDirt

    Kewl.

    Expect the iCone Portable Cone of Silence (made in china) to be on walmart shelves any day now....

    LOL. I love that. (5.00 / 1) (#57)
    by shoephone on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 07:49:44 PM EST
    If the NSA pays taxes... (none / 0) (#46)
    by unitron on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:40:16 PM EST
    ...it does it with money that comes from people's taxes.

    This is about the extent to which Utah taxpayers subsidize them versus the extent to which all US taxpayers do.

    Parent

    I am pretty sure (5.00 / 1) (#55)
    by Peter G on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 07:31:53 PM EST
    that federal agencies do not pay state and local taxes. I doubt that under the Constitution a state or local government can require any federal entity to pay a local tax, unless Congress passes a law authorizing it.  Anyone know if there is such a federal law?

    Parent
    Even if the tax is levied as part of the energy (none / 0) (#58)
    by ruffian on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 08:12:40 PM EST
    bill for the data center?  

    Parent
    Utah Set to Exempt NSA Datacenter (none / 0) (#60)
    by Edger on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 08:19:28 PM EST
    From Power Tax, After All

    Under a bill the 2013 Utah Legislature passed, the National Security Agency's new Bluffdale data center might be taxed on the millions of dollars of energy it is expected to consume, providing a potential windfall for an obscure state authority.

    The NSA is protesting the possible tax, even though a Utah attorney said he informed the agency about HB325, and the top U.S. electronic spy agency voiced no opposition until an official emailed Gov. Gary Herbert's staff weeks after Herbert signed the measure.

    "We are quite concerned [about] this," Harvey Davis, NSA director of installations and logistics, wrote in the April 26 email, obtained through a Utah open records law request.

    In a follow-up email Davis sent 31 minutes later, he explained: "The long and short of it is: Long-term stability in the utility rates was a major factor in Utah being selected as our site for our $1.5 billion construction at Camp Williams. HB325 runs counter to what we expected."

    HB325, which Herbert signed into law April 1, benefits the Utah Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). It allows the entity, which was set up to put select military properties on the public tax rolls, to collect a tax of up to 6 percent on Rocky Mountain Power electricity used by the Utah Data Center.

    -- Salt Lake Tribune

    Parent
    Beautiful music (none / 0) (#33)
    by Dadler on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 05:28:40 PM EST
    "Nobody's Fool," by the Parov Stelar Band featuring Cleo Panther. (link)

    And one more newer one, "Sally's Dance (link)," and if you don't move your feet to this one, you ain't got a heartbeat.

    Florida will execute (none / 0) (#47)
    by NYShooter on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:40:53 PM EST
    a convicted murderer this coming Monday at 6 p.m. His crime was horrible beyond words, having killed eight people. This part is not in dispute. His name is John Errol Ferguson, and he has been on Death Row for 34 years.

    So, why so long? For 34 years he had been consistently diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. This "should categorically exclude him from the possibility of execution under established Supreme Court precedent."

    "In 1986, the Court held that to avoid execution, a prisoner had to be unaware of the fact of his impending punishment as well as the reason for it. In 2007, the Court expanded that standard to require that a prisoner must also have a "rational understanding" of the justification for his execution."

    However, the current Florida Supreme Court found that Mr. Ferguson, who saw himself as the "Prince of God," and believed he could "control the sun," was not sufficiently mentally ill to avoid execution. (bold mine)

    And, so, disregarding a consistent, unwavering diagnosis of severe mental illness by countless psychiatrists over 34 years, and two prior U.S. Supreme Court's rulings, Florida will have its lust for blood quenched one week from today.

    Oh, and the Scalia/Alito Supreme Court has declined to stay the execution. So much for precedent.

    Read the story, NYT, 8/5/12

    Personal ambition trumps all. (5.00 / 1) (#124)
    by lentinel on Fri Aug 09, 2013 at 02:26:00 PM EST
    "In 1986, the Court held that to avoid execution, a prisoner had to be unaware of the fact of his impending punishment as well as the reason for it. In 2007, the Court expanded that standard to require that a prisoner must also have a "rational understanding" of the justification for his execution."

    That brought to mind what Clinton did in 1992 in order to ingratiate himself with a more conservative body politic to go along with the liberals who were already in his corner.

    As Governor of Arkansas, he participated in the scheduling of the execution of a man with an IQ of 70 right before the New Hampshire primary in 1992 and made a point to be back in Arkansas to preside over it.

    The man, Ricky Rector, scheduled to be executed was so brain damaged that, ".., he was howling and barking like a dog, dancing, singing and laughing inappropriately, and saying that he was going to vote for Clinton."

    While having his last meal, he asked that his dessert be set aside so that he could eat it after the execution.

    So much for what the Supremes allegedly decided in 1986.

    Parent

    And (5.00 / 1) (#125)
    by lentinel on Fri Aug 09, 2013 at 02:28:45 PM EST
    this kind of behavior by Clinton, which was manifested in other ways during his presidency, set the table for folks like Obama - who captured the imagination of liberals while behaving as a conservative.

    Parent
    It was actually tonight (none / 0) (#50)
    by CoralGables on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:52:04 PM EST
    Really? Thanks for the correction (none / 0) (#51)
    by NYShooter on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 06:58:10 PM EST
    The article is dated today and stated that Ferguson is "scheduled to die at 6 p.m. Monday evening in Florida."

    I guess they should have said, "scheduled to die tonight."

    Parent

    Should have given you (none / 0) (#52)
    by CoralGables on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 07:00:48 PM EST
    Pepe Escobar today... (none / 0) (#67)
    by Edger on Mon Aug 05, 2013 at 10:27:23 PM EST
    ...as he often does, knocks another one out of the park.

    When the going gets tough, count on the Ministry of Truth to get going.
    [...snip...]
    Imagine a rushed crisis meeting at the highest levels of the Orwellian/Panopticon complex: "Gentlemen, we have a golden opportunity here. We are under siege by defector spy Edward Snowden - liberated by the Soviets - and that terrorist hack Greenwald. Snowden may be winning: even among US public opinion, there's a growing perception we may be more of a threat than al-Qaeda.

    So we must show we are vigilantly protecting our freedoms. Yes; we're gonna scream Terra, Terra, Terra!"

    Instantly, we have the closing, with much fanfare, of plenty of US embassies and consulates in the "Muslim world" and a State Department "worldwide" travel alert - soon expanded by Interpol.
    [...snip...]
    Instantly, we also have US and Western corporate media falling in love with the Terra Terra Terra meme all over again. And woe to those who think this has anything to do with Islamophobia. You thought that Terra was gone? No, Terra is omnipresent, omniscient, lurking everywhere. Terra Wants You. Trains and boats and planes - you're nowhere safe.

    Yet the fabulous specific intel unearthed by the Ministry of Truth amounts to some lowlife jihadi boasting on the net that he and his buddies will be doing something nasty someday somewhere in multiple, unspecified locations all across Middle East-Northern Africa (MENA).

    More and better at the link...
    -- Al-Qaeda to the rescue

    AN AXE LENGTH AWAY, vol. 90 (none / 0) (#84)
    by Dadler on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 10:17:33 AM EST
    Timmy plays Call of Duty in diapers, so he can keep playing when he's feeling the call of doody. (link)

    Vol. 89
    Vol. 88

    Have a sweet Tuesday, peeps. Cold and overcast here on the northern SF peninsula. So what else is new?

    AN AXE LENGTH AWAY (a comic a day)

    What does it say about me that I laugh out loud (5.00 / 1) (#87)
    by Angel on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 10:25:51 AM EST
    at your toons?

    Parent
    That you possess... (none / 0) (#88)
    by Dadler on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 10:31:52 AM EST
    ...an unparalleled sense of humor. Or you're kind of twisted, like me. Or both. ;-)

    Parent
    Twisted, definitely twisted. (none / 0) (#89)
    by Angel on Tue Aug 06, 2013 at 10:53:59 AM EST