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Saturday Night Open Thread

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 06:34:10 PM EST
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    Saturday Night Open Thread | 49 comments (49 topical)

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    Does anyone know of (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Zorba on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 06:40:04 PM EST
    a charity that is helping in Brazil?  I mean one that doesn't pay it's CEO hundreds of thousands of dollars, and  a charity most of whose money goes to actual help, rather than "overhead."  It seems as if the flooding in Brazil is not getting much publicity, but many people have been killed and many more are suffering.

    I haven't heard of any specific one, (none / 0) (#2)
    by jeffinalabama on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 06:45:04 PM EST
    but check the Brazilian Embassy web page... there may be links.

    Parent
    The disaster page (none / 0) (#3)
    by Zorba on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 06:52:33 PM EST
    (I think it's the disaster page) is in Portuguese.  Anyone read Portuguese?  Link

    Parent
    I looked, then googled (none / 0) (#4)
    by jeffinalabama on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 07:12:57 PM EST
    some of the listings... to send money, call Banco do Brasil in Miami, 877-813-4612 between 9 and 5 eastern, M-F. Might even be open this monday.

    I don't know enough about the Brazilian banking system to be of much more help.

    SOS Teresopolis was asking for food donations, 70 percent or higher alcohol, blood donations, clothes, shoes, personal hygene items...

    I wish I could offer more, but I haven't used Portuguese in 37 years.

    There was no mailing address for items, but maybe the bank will have some further information.

    Parent

    Thanks, jeff (none / 0) (#5)
    by Zorba on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 07:31:13 PM EST


    Parent
    Please post what you find out. (none / 0) (#6)
    by jeffinalabama on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 07:35:38 PM EST
    The disaster in Brazil is at least as bad as Australia. And it's in our hemisphere.

    Parent
    And check Doctors w/o (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by oculus on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 07:41:24 PM EST
    Borders.

    On a lighter note, (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by jeffinalabama on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 07:51:40 PM EST
    I have a date tomorrow, with the same person from last Sunday.

    Last week I gave her a condiment. A good first date gift.

    This week, I'm pulling out the stops. A Mexican-made piggy bank, A Matchbox 2008 Prius, a too-large black sateen long sleeved button down shirt, dragon stickers, and a ladle.

    If we make it to a third date, I'm thinking a lava lamp.

    Even if it doesn't last, at least my run will be remembered.

    A ladle? (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by kdog on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 06:59:10 AM EST
    Eccentric is one thing...the ladle has superfreak written all over it.

    Good to lay them cards on the table out the gate though...I like your style dude.

    Parent

    Not just any ladle... (none / 0) (#25)
    by jeffinalabama on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 09:08:13 AM EST
    the spoon part is nylon.

    Parent
    Those certainly sound like... (none / 0) (#15)
    by desertswine on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 10:54:57 PM EST
    swell gifts. I would venture that your success is assured.

    Parent
    Going for the eccentric approach. (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by jeffinalabama on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 11:03:44 PM EST
    Years of practice. Besides, acting non-eccentric would be hiding the truth.

    Parent
    Fourth date: gift to go with lava lamp (5.00 / 3) (#17)
    by Towanda on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 11:13:04 PM EST
    has to be a shag rug.  An orange or avocado shag rug.

    Parent
    Excellent idea! (none / 0) (#18)
    by jeffinalabama on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 11:59:42 PM EST
    It doesn't even have to be large. It's the symbolism.

    Parent
    Have you thought (none / 0) (#23)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 08:28:36 AM EST
    about giving her disco dancing lessons for No 5?

    Parent
    We learned those in high school and college, Jim, (none / 0) (#24)
    by jeffinalabama on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 09:07:01 AM EST
    and we're both at the age where disco dancing means potential heart attack.

    I'd bet she never learned the Polka though. But a good brisk Polka is asking for trouble, too!

    Maybe a bottle of home-made hot sauce. I don't want to keep escalating these gifts!

    Parent

    I do have a six-CD set called (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by jeffinalabama on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 09:12:30 AM EST
    "The best of the Big Joe Polka Show: Happy Music for Happy People." Might need to burn copies of these.

    Parent
    Polkas (none / 0) (#29)
    by jbindc on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 10:57:29 AM EST
    are extremely fun (and extremely good workouts).  The benefit?  You have to hold her close, jus to hold on!

    Parent
    Well, to keep it in the (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 12:15:54 PM EST
    south....

    Buck Dancing lessons.

    Energetic but not as lengthy as disco..

    Parent

    I grew up in coal country in PA ... (3.00 / 1) (#31)
    by Yman on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 11:15:10 AM EST
    ... and saw many a senior citizen/relative get a great workout polka dancing at weddings, etc.  It is a lot of fun, but the homemade hot sauce sounds good, too..

    Parent
    That's where I learned to polka (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by jbindc on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 11:55:00 AM EST
    Western PA at family weddings.

    Maybe if he gave her the hot sauce, she could also then polka all night long?

    Parent

    That's an AC/DC song, (none / 0) (#50)
    by jeffinalabama on Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 12:37:09 PM EST
    isn't it?

    Parent
    Comments in the back (p.139) of (none / 0) (#9)
    by KeysDan on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 08:04:26 PM EST
    the official report of the President's Commission on the BP Oil Spill may inadvertently unearth findings that seemed headed for the elephant burial ground.

    In this section, Graham and Reilly set their sights on the media claiming that it actively sought out people that were upset at the government's response.  In so doing, it accused, by name, CNN's Anderson Cooper of canceling a booking after being told the guest may not be angry--Cooper "reportedly" asked a Parish President to bring an angry oil worker, and when told that anger could not be assured, both were disinvited.  Cooper says it is patently false.  

    While not knowing where the truth lies in this case, I do know that it would not be difficult to find a Gulf resident who was angry at Obama's response.  Perhaps, the exception being Haley Barbour, as with segregation and those White Councils in Yazoo City, he did not see anything and what he did see, it was not that bad.  

    Have a link to the report? (none / 0) (#10)
    by jeffinalabama on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 08:11:46 PM EST
    I didn't know it had been released yet. Finding an angry gulf resident, either governmental or not, didn't pose any problems.

    Finding angry residents today doesn't pose any problems.

    Parent

    Jeff, sorry for the delay, just back. (5.00 / 1) (#28)
    by KeysDan on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 10:12:03 AM EST
    The final report has been released, but I have not obtained a full copy--the government printing office has it listed @$39: Deep Water. The Gulf Oil Disaster and Future of Offshore Drilling Report to the President, Jan 2011, 392p.

    I will wait until I can find it on-line.  However, bits and pieces of the report are available at many sources, and I have tried to read as many as possible through Google and NYT.

    Separate drafts of the staff panel will be released in "the coming weeks" that will provide expansion of the details, but will not change the final report.  Overall, from what I can put together there are about 30 recommendations, all of which make a great deal of sense. The disaster that killed 11 workers and cost untold billions, known and  unknown damage to the environment with the spillage of 200 million gallons of oil and millions of gallons of dispersant was blamed on BP, Transocean, Haliburton,  inadequate regulations and captured regulators.  Lots of mishaps and oversights going on it says, in what seems to me, an understatement.

    Importantly, the report says that it could have been avoided and unless steps are taken it may be expected to happen again.  I liked one comment, reported last week in the NYT accounting, made by Senator Graham, that the new regulations proposed are not really on the oil industry but on the resources owned by the American people.  However, it  will be difficult to hear  this report with the din of oil people and their bidders in Congress wailing in the background.  

    Overall, from what I gather, it seems like a good report, especially given the Commission's handicap of being denied subpoena power.  The gratuitous comment on the media that was kept at arms length since embedding them was not feasible was surprising. In particular,  the unattributed  and un-vetted statement regarding Anderson Cooper

    Parent

    I went in the next room (none / 0) (#12)
    by nycstray on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 09:49:00 PM EST
    to do a few things, wasn't gone lone at all. Came back and the Pack had 42?!!!!! And now they be goin' fer more . . . oops, upright boink.

    Here's hoping the underdog Jets follow suit tomorrow ;) I'm glad their game is last. Makes watching these other games more fun as my team is still in it.

    Pack now at 45, tieing its record (none / 0) (#13)
    by Towanda on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 10:13:37 PM EST
    in a post-season game -- and the Pack just got the ball back.

    But they ought to pull Rogers.  The Pack cannot risk any more injuries.  How McCarthy got them this far with all the injuries is quite the coaching feat.

    Parent

    Go Bears! (none / 0) (#14)
    by Towanda on Sat Jan 15, 2011 at 10:15:17 PM EST
    and I rarely have been heard to say that, but I have to be in Chicago next week, and the prospect of a Packer-Bears playoff could make a fun town even more so.

    Bear down, Chicago Bearsssssss. . . .

    Did see Charles Woodson on (none / 0) (#19)
    by oculus on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 01:09:58 AM EST
    TV whilst eating pre-concert dinner. For which team does he play?

    He's a Pack Attack cornerback (none / 0) (#20)
    by Towanda on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 01:39:19 AM EST
    and did well tonight.  

    Parent
    If i weren't a Bears fan I would love these (none / 0) (#21)
    by ruffian on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 06:44:05 AM EST
    Packers. But I am genetically coded to want them to lose every game.

    go Bears today and bring on the Pack next week! I think the heads exploding with Jay Cutler in the Super Bowl would more than compensate for the heads exploding with the Seahawks there.

    Cutler is having his usual fun (none / 0) (#27)
    by Towanda on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 09:58:36 AM EST
    with Wisconsin in this pictorial display of Packer patriotism -- and pulchitrude.

    The only difference from Bears fans is team colors with which they paint their sizeable torsos, too.  And their headgear may not be as, um, cheesy, but outlandish Bears headgear also is almost de rigeur.  

    Or as dey say in Chitown, it's de rigger dere, too, dere.


    Parent

    And, more importantly (none / 0) (#30)
    by jbindc on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 11:03:30 AM EST
    The Steelers won!  Woo-Hoo!

    I'm awaiting my co-worker's arrival today - the one who wore his Ravens jersey to work yesterday and sent me trash talking emails about Steeler fans.

    Apparently, he isn't man enough to come in early and face me this morning!

    Parent

    Strange obsession (1.00 / 1) (#36)
    by Politalkix on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 12:54:17 PM EST
    among women GOPers to demand show of "manliness" from men they know. Bad enough that Sharon Angle, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman and others do that; now we have TLs doing the same thing!
    I wonder why a sentence such as "Apparently, he isn't brave enough to come in early and face me this morning" wouldn't have sufficed.

    Parent
    Wow - are you a buzz kill (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by jbindc on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 01:02:13 PM EST
    Seems someone is projecting their insecurities.....

    Parent
    Let me laugh at you again (1.00 / 1) (#38)
    by Politalkix on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 01:30:59 PM EST
    the way we do at the ruckus raising know nothings that light up your political world. It is not a class thing as some of you mistakenly believe, it is more of a "state of mind" thing.

    Parent
    Funny (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by jbindc on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 01:36:34 PM EST
    'cuz I'm laughing at you.  I showed your comment to the person in question - afer I told him I'm glad he "manned up" to come in and face me after his Ravens lost.  

    He just rolled his eyes and said that you need to get a life.

    Good day to you.

    Parent

    I am not surprised (1.00 / 1) (#40)
    by Politalkix on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 01:43:49 PM EST
    that in your circles, what you write and speak is not considered sexist. In many circles they would be. This is exactly the reason when you wail a river about "sexism", many of us find it hypocritical.
    Anyways good day to you!

    Parent
    I don't know what you think (none / 0) (#42)
    by jbindc on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 02:11:15 PM EST
    "My circles" are - do you mean the group of people I work with - all liberal attorneys?  Or one of the groups of people I hang out with who all work in the administration (including the WH)?  Or my family who almost all belong to unions?

    You'll have to be more specific of what you know of "my circles".

    Parent

    From Little Green Footballs (none / 0) (#32)
    by Harry Saxon on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 11:18:24 AM EST
    The Shrieking Harpy Rant Generator.


    Click or ignore Me

    Warning: May contain NSFW material.

    Barack Hussein's Christmas Tree - Festooned with Evil!!!!1
    CST - would love your opinion (none / 0) (#35)
    by jbindc on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 12:20:36 PM EST
    Gov. Patrick morphs into a tough-on-crime politician

    The Bay State's liberal governor yesterday morphed into a tough-on-crime high sheriff who axed the state's parole board, installed a hard-line prosecutor as the new executive director and vowed to file a tough anti-felons bill -- stunning Beacon Hill and winning immediate, unfamiliar praise from cops and victims advocates.

    "This is a different Deval. It really is. I'm surprised, but it's a nice surprise," said victims advocate and Community Voices president Laurie Myers, who has criticized Patrick as soft on crime for years. "If you look at what he's doing now, it's tougher than any governor I've ever seen. I don't think Republican governors have gone this far."

    Patrick, who opposes the death penalty and pushed to limit public access to criminal records laws during his first term, made the sweeping changes in the wake of an investigation of the parole board's 2008 decision to spring Dominic Cinelli. Police said Cinelli, who was serving three life sentences before he was released, gunned down Woburn police officer John "Jack" Maguire during a robbery attempt at Kohl's on Dec. 26.
    Looks like today's (none / 0) (#41)
    by brodie on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 02:04:45 PM EST
    NFL games will turn out to be duds.

    Seattle already getting blown out in snowy freezing Chicago.  Later the Pats, in even more freezing Foxboro, will likely demolish the Jets, on their way inevitably to another SB title.

    Yesterday's games were entertaining for the most part.  Atlanta unexpectedly getting blown out at home by the Packers.  The brutal Ravens - Steelers game, with the Ravens' offense once again looking anemic.  

    A real shame, because imo they were the team most likely to upset the Pats.  

    Ha. Seahawks are wusses (none / 0) (#43)
    by Towanda on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 02:21:39 PM EST
    if they think that above 20 degrees and a few lake-effect flakes is "snowy, freezing Chicago."  It's perfect, balmy football weather here!

    But the next week is supposed to bring bitter cold, so by next Sunday, Soldier's Field could be the site of a game rivalling the infamous Green Bay Ice Bowl.

    Parent

    You were saying about the Jets? ;) (none / 0) (#45)
    by nycstray on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 06:46:48 PM EST


    Parent
    Well, it was more of (none / 0) (#46)
    by brodie on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 06:59:15 PM EST
    a naughty negative prediction -- favoring the underdog Jets as I did and not having a great track record lately on my predictions, I decided to try to jinx the Pats.

    Mission Accomplished, thank you very much.

    Parent

    No . . . . (none / 0) (#47)
    by nycstray on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 07:18:47 PM EST
    thank you very much :)

    Parent
    Yes.... (none / 0) (#48)
    by kdog on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 08:17:14 PM EST
    Thanks brodie,  I could kiss ya...promise you'll pick Pittsburgh next week:)

    Parent
    I think I'm in love . . . (none / 0) (#49)
    by nycstray on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 08:40:30 PM EST
    with da Jets D! And I have to give Ryan some props too, for the last 2 games (along with everything else!). Also, Sanchize today for pulling it together before the second half.

    Thankfully, next week's games are both on Sunday. My great nephew turns one next Sat and it wouldn't be too cool if I was in the other room watching the Jets during the B-day party, lol!~ Although, BabyDaddy would prob be in there with me ;)

    Brodie, take kdog's suggestion PLEASE! I wanna see another Braylon Backflip!!!

    Parent

    Booyah (none / 0) (#44)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 02:50:38 PM EST
    It is about to get Wikier-leaking crazy out there.  Per the Guardian

    The offshore bank account details of 2,000 "high net worth individuals" and corporations - detailing massive potential tax evasion - will be handed over to the WikiLeaks organisation in London tomorrow by the most important and boldest whistleblower in Swiss banking history, Rudolf Elmer, two days before he goes on trial in his native Switzerland.
    British and American individuals and companies are among the offshore clients whose details will be contained on CDs presented to WikiLeaks at the Frontline Club in London. Those involved include, Elmer tells the Observer, "approximately 40 politicians".

    The never disappointing Tyler Durden of Zerohedge writes

    According to the Guardian, tomorrow Elmer will hand over details of 2,000 "high net worth individuals and corporations" to WikiLeaks which will make him "the most important and boldest whistleblower in Swiss banking history." And since among those exposed will be "approximately 40 politicians" expect all hell to break loose as photos of Assange having a underage orgy with Al Qaeda members are suddenly made public



    Saturday Night Open Thread | 49 comments (49 topical)

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