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Thursday Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Thu Nov 03, 2005 at 10:50:55 AM EST
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Work beckons for me, so here's an open thread for you.

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    Thursday Open Thread | 42 comments (42 topical)
    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#1)
    by peacrevol on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:42 PM EST
    What's going on in Paris? Crazy.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:42 PM EST
    Check out this blog for my political commentary: The Agenda Gap

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#3)
    by Slado on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:42 PM EST
    While you are correct Charley we will never have this much of a problem with immigration because even though we don't regulate it like we should we are far better then Europeans at assimilating immigrats into our culture and also appreciating different cultures inside our own. Because ulimately everything American came from somewhere else originally. Except for gambling Casinos. Those are native. Europeans have long been involved in a delicate dance between allowing unfettered immigration, not assimilating these people, allowing rapant radical Islam and not procreating. Hence Europe as we now it might not exist in 50 years. Because there won't be any Europeans there. Add all this together and you get angry mobs. And when you don't have secret police (like they do in the MIddle East) to keep them quite they make a lot of noise. It's bad

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#4)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:42 PM EST
    Minister of Social Cohesion
    That's a disturbing title... How about that California special election?

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    The World Can't Wait* "staged rallies at sites across the United States yesterday, calling for radical change in Washington" marking "the one-year anniversary of President's Bush's reelection" Wednesday, November 2nd (e.g., news coverage, Scott Conroy, "Anti-Bush Protests Mark Reelection" (CBSNews.com). *If you want to skip the rap music introduction, click "skip intro" or here, where one can find a list of American and international individual and group endorsers. (One can add one own's name via after viewing "next" and "more" links on that page.)

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#6)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Susan, Do you also support the use of molotov cocktails during those "Rallies"? LIke they did in S.F.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#7)
    by roy on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    The civilian Taser TL worried about a while back is now available for purchase.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Patrick--no. I do not support violence. I support non-violent peaceful protests and non-violent peaceful dissent. (Unlike the Bush Administration.)

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#9)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Patrick writes: Do you also support the use of molotov cocktails Sounds like you might have had a few too many cocktails yourself, Patrick. Tell us, what degree of mean hearted bitterness would prompt such a question?

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    A pathetic fielding of troll points today. Shame on you all ('cept SHM). Bye, bye, Judge...we hardly knew ye.
    Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. ruled in a 2002 case in favor of the Vanguard mutual fund company at a time when he owned more than $390,000 in Vanguard funds and later complained about an effort to remove him from the case, court records show -- despite an earlier promise to recuse himself from cases involving the company.


    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#11)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Sigh... charley appears to have provided the answer to my question to Patrick...

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#12)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Slado writes:
    Except for gambling Casinos. Those are native.
    And deeply appreciated by us poker players all across the fruited plains. Who knew Crazy Horse was a card shark??

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    For a news report about what Patrick is referring to, click here. Two people were appropriately arrested for the Molotov cocktails throwing incident. I don't condone or advocate violence, as I said. That's in part why I am against the War in Iraq (and other wars). I advocate peaceful and honest diplomacy and the bringing to account government leaders' claims prior to their starting preemptive wars "in our name." But, again, let's make sure we know the specific context of Patrick's baiting me. It's Bushlike rhetoric, of the kind leading to Plamegate.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#14)
    by peacrevol on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    we are far better then Europeans at assimilating immigrats into our culture and also appreciating different cultures inside our own.
    unless you're black, Latino, Jewish, or Asian...Accepting those cultures only took us something around 200 years or so (that is assuming that we've even done it yet at all). or unless you're gay...Most people dont even want to mention that their culture even exists. or unless you're Native American...sure accepted their way of life didnt we? (sarcasm)

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#15)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    edgey - Big boys don't sigh.... PIL - You wish. Molly - You mean like this? Or this? Slado - Indeed. The French are getting what they they have wanted. The question is, are they wanting what they are getting?

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#16)
    by roger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Jim, Reminds me of the "truth" anti-smoking campaign. Have you ever seen a cause, on either side, that some jerks don't try to channel?

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    When the Bush forces dropped incendiary bombs on Fallujah, charlie, that was a lot more than two kids with a couple of coke bottles full of gasoline. Glad to see you can keep your white supremacist perspective straight. Blowing away tens of thousands of sand n*ggers is all you stand for. Your whining about ONE case of minor violence at GIGANTIC peace rallies, while ignoring the MASS MURDER going on under false pretenses -- that's you throwing a trillion Molotov coctails, you terrorist.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#18)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Susan: let's make sure we know the specific context of Patrick's baiting me. It's Bushlike rhetoric, of the kind leading to Plamegate. I think the context and the reasons behind the baiting, and behind the support of the baiter by the other trolls here today, can be summed up quite easily:
    For those of you who bailed on Psych 101, Freudian Projection is, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a defense mechanism in which “the individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by falsely attributing to another his or her own unacceptable feelings, impulses or thoughts.” In layman’s terms, it’s the soot-stained pot calling the kettle “black.” ... GOP talking points 1 through 100...


    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#19)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    That was from Arianna Online - George W. Bush: Presidential or Pathological?

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    you speak about the French as if there have never been riots in the US involving poor areas that have contempt for the police.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#21)
    by roy on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Those of us who passed Psych 101 learned not to throw technical terms around willy-nilly. If Patrick is projecting then that means, what, he supports people who start fires at liberal protests?

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#22)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Roger - Nope, I haven't. Edgey - You and Darkly love the psycho babble stuff. Tell me, do you have any qualifications beyond "I slept in a Holiday Inn Express last night?" Inquiring minds want to know.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#23)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Susan, I'm all for peaceful demonstrations as well, unfortunately I find it's more common to have violence as a part of dissent than peace. I also think organizers of these and other such "rallies" desire the publicity that the violence brings. It has nothing to do with my support or lack of support for the policies of the current administration, and your attempt to frame it in that context is unwarranted.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#24)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    unwarranted and innacurate...That is

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#25)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Here is a great quote from Iraq:
    "Soldiers are constantly surprising me," says Tom Lasseter, 29, the longtime Baghdad correspondent for Knight Ridder....Their mission was to hunt for insurgents on the back roads and in the palm groves of Muqdadiyah, a city in Diyala province. On the way out he passed a soldier reading a book by Noam Chomsky. "That's a little seditious, isn't it, reading Chomsky here?" Lasseter jokingly asked the soldier. "I'll tell you what's f---ing seditious," the soldier replied. "That I've been deployed here for three years."
    E&P

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#26)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Posted by charley: "I will make it simple for you-ANSWER is a Stalinist front group" I know where you got that talking point, and it is false. However, it is certainly true that ANSWER is a leftist group with some axes to grind that has alienated much of the activist community. "that supports such worthies as North Korea." Hey, Georgie supports KADAFI and Karamov. That a leftist group 'supports' Koreans against US policies and threats is not surprising. "ANSWER is the main organizer of many, if not all, of these large "peace" rallies." That's false. There are HUNDREDS of groups coming into coalition for the purpose of PEACEFUL protest. ANSWER-only rallies draw heavy police opposition, and we aren't into that. The September 27 (?) nationwide protests were hard to organize because most of the groups did not want to deal with ANSWER's rhetoric and militantism. That said, there have been a pitiful few cases of any kind of violence, including police violence, in five years of mass protest. A quarter of a milion peace marchers in NYC without incident (on Sunday, before the RNC-paid NYPD pulled their weekday stunts). Very large protests around the country last night -- besides two incidents in SF, neither particularly significant, no violence reported. KRON, author of that report in SF, is now (since the dreaded 1999, Year of Diebold) owned by Young Broadcasting, which also owns KCAL in Los Angeles. Besides KRON and KCAL, the group's biggest station is WKRN-TV in Nashville. On purchase of KCAL, they fired most of the employees, which is standard for these takeover moves by rightwing concerns. In SF, they have a new idea: letting reporters edit and produce their own reports. So these are very poor reports, full of bias.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#27)
    by desertswine on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    The first Godzilla film opened in Tokyo on this date in 1954, and the large lizard has been smashing up cities and towns ever since.
    On a lighter note, happy birthday to my favorite monster.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#28)
    by Slado on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    peacrevol I never said we were perfect but spend any time in Europe and you'll quickly realize that we accept differnt cultures far better then our European freinds. I don't count gays as immigrants. Correct me if I'm misguided. As for Blacks, Asians and Jews? did you mean to write Jews when comparing the US to Europe? Last time I checked Snoop, Ice Cube and fitty cent (correct pernunciation) had no problem getting out their message and being "accepted" Also native american are not immigrants and got bad deals in the 1800's that I'm not responsible for. Europeans have a immigrant problem for two reasons. A) their liberal elitists that don't practice what they preach (not even american liberals are as bad...not even close) b) they have so decimated the family structure in Europe that nobody has kids anymore (right or wrong) just a fact. I feel this is just a sign of things to come but I won't make some grandious prediciton only point out the realities of their situation.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#29)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    "Also native american are not immigrants and got bad deals in the 1800's that I'm not responsible for." Nevermind the SEVEN BILLION DOLLARS which the Interior Dept. owes to individual native americans and refuses to pay (saying the money is lost). Nevermind the grotesque undercharging for use of indian lands under federal contracts. Nevermind that indian reservations are the poorest parts of the country, and that most res's don't have ambulances or phones to call for them. Nevermind that their CURRENT life expectancy is around 40 years. It ain't the 1980s. And as for the claim that gays don't count when measuring bigotry because they aren't immigrants -- that's hilarious. School integration has FAILED. Last year's stolen presidential election was Jim Crow Redux on a scale not seen since the 1960s. Racism is on the rise, with "Kill them All" and anti-immigrant bashing trolls on TL just the tail-end of the ugly rat. FEMA's Katrina non-response was a racist operation from top to bottom. Are we better than Europeans? What a stupid comparison. Are we good enough for Americans?

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#30)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:43 PM EST
    Oops, it ain't the 1880s, but for that matter, it ain't the 1980s either. Not much is different, unless you count mob-casinos as an improvement.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#31)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:44 PM EST
    Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas, gets my nomination for the "Imbecilic Bitter Nutbar of the the Year" award, an award that badly needs to be created if it doesn't already exist. Goodman wants to cut the thumbs off people who tag freeways with grafitti, and he wants to televise it. He's also advocating whipping and caning schoolchildren... --- "My wife hollers at me and my kids are all freaks, Every side I get up on is the wrong side of bed"---John Prine, Dear Abby

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#32)
    by jimcee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:44 PM EST
    ANSWER is not Stalinist but Trotskite, just different shades of pink. In the olden days most called them the Wobblies either way they are strict socialists. PinLA, time to adjust the meds there friend. What is with the recent rise of racism in the Democrat ranks? First it was Mafioso references (wink, wink, nod, nod) about Judge Alito and now it is defending the Uncle Tom shouting Oreo cookie tossing Dem operatives in the Maryland Senate race. Some would call that outright racism, I know I would, but yet the Dems are using outright Jim Crow tactics and the Left and the media are giving them a look-away pass. If the Left actually listened to themselves they would tone it down because they would finally understand how unhinged they are appearing at this time in history. The bigotry alone should be enough to humble anyone with half a brain. But alas.....

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#33)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:44 PM EST
    Posted by jimcee: "ANSWER is not Stalinist but Trotskite, just different shades of pink." Both statements are absurd. When you find the ANSWER secret police, be sure to let us know. "In the olden days most called them the Wobblies either way they are strict socialists." Socialists? Oh my.
    Sidney Blumenthal Thursday November 3, 2005 The Guardian One year after his re-election President Bush governs from a bunker... "Disunity, dissolution and vacillation" are hallmarks of "the path of conciliation", as Lenin wrote in What is to be Done. The vanguard on "the path of struggle" criticised for being "an exclusive group," must oppose any retreat proposed by the "opportunist rearguard". "We are surrounded on all sides by enemies, and we have to advance almost constantly under their fire." <.blockquote> Approval ratings in the twenties, coming right on up. Dickie is already there: NINETEEN PERCENT.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#34)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:44 PM EST
    Oops, the final paragraph is mine, not Blumenthal's.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#35)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:44 PM EST
    TWO THOUSAND THIRTY SEVEN officially-counted dead soldiers. Trolls, this is your chance to take back some votes. Remember: you won't always have Diebold to steal your elections for you. Send personal letters to the 2037 families, along with special notes for the OVER 1,000 ORPHANS, explaining to them as you do to us here, how NOBLE CAUSING is so much better than living. Don't forget to use words like 'flypaper.'

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#36)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:44 PM EST
    Desertswine, Gadzooks I'm as old as Godzilla! Thanks. Wasn't Raymond Burr in that one? He was, like, the only caucasian actor in the whole flick. I miss those old sci fi movies from that era. But this being Halloween, I always screen Young Frankenstein ("that's Fronkenshteen"). This years memorable line: "Okay, I think I've got it figured out. You put the candle back, and I'll BLOCK THE BOOKCASE WITH MY BODY". Thanks Des, this is one socialist (bite me charley) that appreciated your humorous detour.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#37)
    by jimcee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:44 PM EST
    Meds, Paul, meds... Che, My favorite of the Japanese low tech films was the one where there was the real King Kong vs the robotic King Kong, though in another film those singing nymphs taming Mothra was too surreal. Since when are giant moths scarey? What no moth balls in Japan? Giant apes? Fine. Robotic giant apes? OK. A big moth? Unbelievable.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#38)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:45 PM EST
    Posted by jimcee: "Meds, Paul, meds..." Going to take a lot more than meds to help those ORPHANS get through life -- even to get through the next few years of their RUINED childhoods. Why don't you get your fellow warhawks to put some cash into a fund for the orphans? Or you could just keep mocking them for their loss, like Georgie. 'Nope, no WMD under that couch. Now where could they be?'

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#39)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:45 PM EST
    Des, Yeah but I saw the original Mothra on the big screen in like 1965. Saturday matinee. Even at age 11 it was so fake. I made better stuff in art class. For you youngsters, art class was actually a class where we made things and used your imaginations.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#40)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:45 PM EST
    Sorry, OUR imaginations.

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#41)
    by desertswine on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:46 PM EST
    Wasn't Raymond Burr in that one? He was, like, the only caucasian actor in the whole flick.
    Burr was in the version released in the US but not in the original Japanese version (which was out in limited art house release last year).

    Re: Thursday Open Thread (none / 0) (#42)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:46 PM EST
    Des, Gracias for the trivia.

    Thursday Open Thread | 42 comments (42 topical)