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Tuesday Morning Open Thread

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Blog Related
Posted on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 08:36:40 AM EST
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Open Thread.

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    Tuesday Morning Open Thread | 63 comments (63 topical)

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    Seems to me the campaign (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by oculus on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 12:33:54 PM EST
    tactics of the Obama team must change drastically from the last go-round. Obama wasn't an "outsider" as to D.C. last time, although he audaciously proclaimed he was. Also, probably must drop the "what she said" phrase.

    I don't know (none / 0) (#40)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 12:47:39 PM EST
    That whole yammering about Washington worked for Bush Jr. so maybe people will buy that again but who knows.

    Parent
    I guess that depends on which (none / 0) (#57)
    by MO Blue on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:25:49 PM EST
    candidate wins the Republican nomination. He could still use the "what she said" phrase in the spirit of bipartisanship if Bachmann is his opponent. He does after all seem to support many of the Republican Party's great ideas.:-(

    Parent
    Tron Tape! (none / 0) (#1)
    by Robot Porter on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 09:00:55 AM EST
    Clever commercial for duct tape that pays tribute to the light cycle sequence from the original Tron. Watch it here.

    Tebow tumbling down the depth chart.... (none / 0) (#2)
    by magster on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 09:05:19 AM EST
    from likely starter to #3 QB with CBSsports throwing out that Tebow may be cut because Tebow has been so disastrous in practice. I doubt the Broncos would cut him, but it sounds like Tebow should have been studying his play book more than promoting his other book.

    I think you're right on both counts (none / 0) (#3)
    by ruffian on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 09:30:55 AM EST
    He seems to be quite popular in Denver, so I'm pretty sure they will keep him around at least this season. Selling lots of jerseys.

    Parent
    Didn't BTD say that he wasn't good (none / 0) (#4)
    by observed on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 09:40:34 AM EST
    enough for the pros?

    Parent
    BTD and many others (none / 0) (#7)
    by ruffian on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 09:55:34 AM EST
    But he is a popular guy and pro football is a business.

    Parent
    Is he still a virgin? (none / 0) (#11)
    by observed on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:00:42 AM EST


    Parent
    Maybe he'll do a TV show (none / 0) (#33)
    by ruffian on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 12:27:32 PM EST
    like LeBron James' 'The Choice'

    Parent
    Libyan Oil. (none / 0) (#5)
    by KeysDan on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 09:42:28 AM EST
    According to the NYT (Clifford Krauss, August 25), the fighting is not yet over in Tripoli, but the scramble to secure access to Libya's oil wealth has already begun.  NATO countries that provided support to the rebels want to make sure their companies are in a prime position to pump the coveted sweet crude.

    Colonel Qaddafi proved to be a problematic partner for international oil companies, frequently raising fees, taxes and making other demands. The "rebels" even before taking power, indicated that they would remember their friends. And, their friends seem to remember them. Sarkozy invited the head of the rebel's national transitional council to Paris for "consultation."  Italy's foreign minister said that the Italian oil company, Eni,  "will have a No. l role in the future." The US is contemplating that resumption and/or increase in Libyan oil production will, indirectly, help the economy.  

    Name that Speech contest (none / 0) (#6)
    by Slado on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 09:46:46 AM EST
    Good article on the Speech/Plan that Obama will give in a couple weeks.

    I think he is going to fall short on this "plan" as the article suggests.  Will he actually have a plan or will it be another speech that they call a plan with zero specifics?

    What should we start calling it?

    The Job Killing Speech/Plan (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by ruffian on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 09:56:25 AM EST
    Just getting ahead of the GOP.

    Parent
    How about (none / 0) (#9)
    by jbindc on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 09:57:19 AM EST
    "The Greatest Jobs Speech Evah"?

    Of course, Romney is outlining his jobs plan on Spetember 6th....

    Parent

    Gosh, isn't Romney himself unemployed? (none / 0) (#10)
    by observed on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 09:58:32 AM EST
    Brave of him to give a speech on this topic!

    Parent
    When you can (none / 0) (#12)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:04:06 AM EST
    get people to fund a campaign, you aren't unemployed.

    Parent
    He identified himself as unemployed (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by observed on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:20:56 AM EST
    when talking to other unemployed workers a few weeks ago. Poor guy.

    Parent
    such a fine line between independently wealthy (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by ruffian on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 12:29:16 PM EST
    and unemployed. Must be a real burden.

    Parent
    I'd love to find out. (none / 0) (#35)
    by jbindc on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 12:30:22 PM EST


    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#19)
    by jbindc on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:23:04 AM EST
    He doesn't have a job, so technically, that's true.  :)

    Parent
    That's just f*cking insulting (none / 0) (#20)
    by nycstray on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:48:48 AM EST
    for him to say. Was it supposed to be his "I feel your pain" moment?

    Parent
    when you have that much money (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by CST on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:22:50 AM EST
    you aren't unemployed, you're on vacation.

    Parent
    And (none / 0) (#13)
    by jbindc on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:08:52 AM EST
    He's going to expand his California home, excuse me, mansion, by 3 times the size.

    I don't think he personally is worried where the next paycheck is coming from.

    Parent

    It is Romney's personal job program (none / 0) (#58)
    by MO Blue on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:31:30 PM EST
    He is only doing it to help the building trades. :-)

    Parent
    Call it "Plan 10 from Outer Space" (none / 0) (#14)
    by Dadler on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:09:05 AM EST
    I hope not, I hope I am amazed at his "change," but I have an unpleasant hunch he'll propose things not DIFFERENT enough than Bush I, since he seems to believe in the magic free market just as much.

    We need to offer sacrifices and prayers, in the hope that money once again returns to the prairie.  

    We're lost.  

    Parent

    Obama's plan won't ... (none / 0) (#36)
    by Robot Porter on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 12:31:59 PM EST
    have a Hannibal Smith moment.

    Parent
    Latest Gallup (none / 0) (#15)
    by smott on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:20:39 AM EST
    Hmm

    http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/08/obama-in-dead-heat-with-romney-perry-paul-bachmann-i n-gallup-poll.html

    Obama is a horrible President, but (none / 0) (#17)
    by observed on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:21:47 AM EST
    he's  a good campaigner. 2012 will be interesting.


    Parent
    The advantage Obama has is that, as (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by Anne on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:49:20 AM EST
    president, whatever he says is going to get coverage, so whether it's a speech he gives wearing his "president" hat, or an event that is actually billed as a campaign event, the cameras and microphones will be there.

    I would think that those who attend campaign events are going to be people who already have some level of support for him, so what he says is going to be a lot of preaching-to-the-choir stuff; the question is, will what he says ring hollow in light of what he said he was going to do, what he did, and how much license he takes with actual events?  I mean, he can't say he's put people back to work.  He can talk about the passage of ACA, but there's very little of it that's in effect, and people who were led to believe a lot about it may have had very different experiences with it.  For example, I just talked to an old friend whose son is just 24, but who is being dropped from his parent's coverage.  When she inquired about why he wasn't being allowed to stay on until age 26, she was told that Wells Fargo - the employer - is only required to extend coverage to age 26 for children of active employees, and her husband had actually retired from his high-level position in Wells Fargo's brokerage division, so they have to get him his own policy.  Which they can afford to do, but there's an example of how the law really doesn't benefit people the way it was widely advertised to do.

    Ooh!  Bin Laden is dead!

    I guess the other question is, what will be the media's approach?  Will they roll a clip of Obama waxing all presidential and follow it by "fact-checking" what he's saying?  Or will they just roll it and let it stand?  That could depend on who emerges as the front-runner for the GOP and whether that person will claim the media darling status Obama enjoyed in the 2008 campaign.

    Obama is so much more of a known quantity - he has a record, and a long list of excuses for why he hasn't been able to do more of what he said he would, and for why he has done things he said he wouldn't.  Will people buy it to the extent they did in 2008?  Who knows?

    I'm thinking it's going to be an absolutely nauseating campaign season, from both sides, and will leave a lot of people wondering how on earth it's come down to a choice between bad and worse.


    Parent

    Yes (none / 0) (#22)
    by smott on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 10:59:50 AM EST
    Nauseating is right.
    Expect racism from both sides.

    I'll be ineterested to watch what happens should Perry get the nom.

    He has been dogged by rumors ranging from Is He Gay to Serial Philanderer (i.e. T-tty Bars all across Texas).

    And we know Obama's opponents have a history of imploding via unpleasant allegations...

    Mittens may be the more-vetted candidate.

    Parent

    We'll hear about (none / 0) (#24)
    by jbindc on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 11:13:58 AM EST
    How weird Mormons are.

    Bigotry will be alive and well on both sides.

    Parent

    Don't disagree (none / 0) (#25)
    by smott on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 11:23:16 AM EST
    ...and if our Famously Fair Free Press decides that Perry's underbelly need not be revealed, it won't be.
    A la the disappearance of Bush's coke-head/ drunk driving/ AWOL history which was virtually unmentioned, if the Press decides Perry's The New Kewl Kid, then he's in.

    Parent
    The press (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by jbindc on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 11:36:53 AM EST
    Didn't really look too hard at every aspect of Obama's background either. And I'm not saying there's anything bad there, but let's face it, angels don't become successful politicians - especially coming through Chicago. It would be interesting to see if the press decides to "god through Obama's garbage" (like they did with the Palins)if a new media darling emerges.

    Parent
    ..how weird the Mormons are. (none / 0) (#37)
    by KeysDan on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 12:32:08 PM EST
    yep, they'll throw the Book at him.

    Parent
    Very punny. (none / 0) (#41)
    by jbindc on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 12:49:11 PM EST


    Parent
    I can tell (none / 0) (#27)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 11:27:13 AM EST
    you from my experience Obama saying that the ACA is going to cover colonoscopies is a lie. After many phone calls and much angst, I found out that if the Internist takes a tissue sample while doing the colonoscopy, the procedure no longer goes under "screening" and you are stuck with the entire $1400 bill in my case. The billing office at the hospital yelled at me and said that if I had met my deductible the insurance would pay for it. H*ll, the insurance company would have paid for ANYTHING or a portion of it if I had met my deductible but my deductible is $5000 so unless somebody gets really sick, the odds of meeting that are slim to none. If I hear Obama say that the ACA made insurance companies pay for deductibles I will be throwing rotten tomatoes at the TV.

    Parent
    Exactly (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 11:41:26 AM EST
    The "Preventive care" part of the unACA is a huge misnomer. For any condition, if they find anything no matter how small, it's no longer called preventive.

    An abnormal pap that isn't cancer?  Paps are no longer considered "preventive".

    High cholesterol?  Cholesterol tests, not preventive.

    etc, etc.

    And you've already suffered the angst regarding the colonoscopy.

    "Preventive care" was a marketing ploy and an excellent excuse to raise premiums.

    Parent

    He (none / 0) (#26)
    by lentinel on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 11:27:10 AM EST
    seemed to be a good campaigner, but he was heavily dependent on the positive spin and aggressively positive interpretations of his utterances.

    Eg: Read his speech at the Democratic Convention in 2004.
    Tell me if you think it was "electrifying".

    What I heard was a timid collection of bromides seeking to appeal to every conceivable side - all wrapped up in patriotic clap-trap.

    I will find it curious and possibly amusing to see him confronted with some right-winger in a debate. On what fundamental issues will they disagree? The wars? The Bush tax cuts? The patriot act?

    What would be truly interesting to me would be to see him confronted with a progressive candidate - and watch him fumfer and fidget.

    But, with people on what is the tattered remnant of the "left" calling for Obama's reelection, we are not likely to see that.

    Parent

    Obama (none / 0) (#28)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 11:30:21 AM EST
    is a terrible campaigner when he is challenged. If everyone just lets him get away with saying stuff and isn't challenged then he will do okay but as you saw during the primaries, when he gets broadsided he collapses. He is also very thin skinned and if the GOP can needle him, it will show and hurt his reelection chances.

    Parent
    It's easy to be a good ... (none / 0) (#39)
    by Robot Porter on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 12:34:11 PM EST
    campaigner when the MSM never calls you on anything.

    Parent
    See Juan Cole re 10 incorrect (none / 0) (#23)
    by oculus on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 11:09:08 AM EST
    beliefs re Libya, including the one about Libya's oil.

    Peter G gets quoted in the Inky (none / 0) (#30)
    by andgarden on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 11:39:13 AM EST
    Sadly, it concerns an appellate loss for his client.

    Er, I should learn to tell my Phlly papers apart (none / 0) (#32)
    by andgarden on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 11:43:02 AM EST
    He's quoted in the Daily News.

    Parent
    That's a first (none / 0) (#42)
    by andgarden on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:03:42 PM EST
    I just felt an earthquake in Manhattan.

    Just saw it on TV (none / 0) (#43)
    by nycstray on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:06:36 PM EST
    was in the Was DC area. 5.8 mag

    Parent
    Felt it in NC too n/t (none / 0) (#45)
    by lilburro on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:07:50 PM EST


    Parent
    the entire east coast (none / 0) (#44)
    by CST on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:07:30 PM EST
    just shook

    Parent
    They've been talking about this for a while (none / 0) (#48)
    by andgarden on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:09:20 PM EST
    Glad to be in modern steel construction!

    Parent
    we are kind of due (5.00 / 1) (#49)
    by CST on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:12:39 PM EST
    for a not so small one.

    And in the event that that happens, Boston is seriously f*cked.  The entire back bay is built on landfill.  Not in the days of modern steel construction either.

    Parent

    So that's what I felt. (none / 0) (#54)
    by Zorba on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:17:56 PM EST
    Creepy that it was so widespread.  I hope nobody was hurt.

    Parent
    i've seen messages (none / 0) (#47)
    by CST on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:08:53 PM EST
    from my friends in Pitt, our office felt it, and apparently it all went down in Virginia.

    just got an email from our admin person from Cali calling us "rookies"

    Parent

    grin (none / 0) (#51)
    by nycstray on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:14:47 PM EST
    I decided not to go the "rookie" route  ;)

    I will say though, I would rather be on the west coast vs east when it comes to big earthquakes. I seriously would not want to be in Manhattan when that fault line goes and goes big . . .

    Parent

    It's a rock with lots of steel (none / 0) (#52)
    by andgarden on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:15:35 PM EST
    I'm feeling ok.

    I'm going to hold off on drinking the water for a little while, though.

    Parent

    lots of brick and stone also. (none / 0) (#56)
    by nycstray on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:22:23 PM EST
    not to mention all that glass. I'd like to know how many of those buildings would meet our earthquake standards . . . another prob is the condensed nature of the streets/buildings etc.

    Don't you have an e-water stash? You should always keep a few gallons on hand :) Another tip, if you fill your bathtub right after, that water should be fine as it hasn't had a chance to get contaminated yet (water already in the system/etc), so your tap water that's already in the pipes is prob fine right now.

    Parent

    Rookies. (none / 0) (#63)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 03:38:45 PM EST
    :-)

    Parent
    I felt it too ... (none / 0) (#55)
    by Robot Porter on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:18:18 PM EST
    and there's nothing like an earthquake.  It's that feeling that if the earth wants to do a shimmy, ain't a lot you can do about it.

    Just officially upgraded to a 5.9.

    Parent

    Huh (none / 0) (#46)
    by Zorba on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:08:38 PM EST
    I just felt what seemed to be a mild earthquake.  Not unknown in Maryland (we had a small one last year), but not altogether common.  (And, having lived near/on both the New Madrid Fault and the San Andreas Fault, I know what an earthquake feels like.)  Quickly over, no damage or anything, no time to even respond.

    We had (none / 0) (#50)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:12:54 PM EST
    an earthquake here in GA probably over 10 years ago and I didn't know what had happened. I was in the kitchen fixing breakfast and I heard the crystal in the china cabinet clinking. I thought a big truck had just rumbled by the front of my house because some loud cars had made it shake a little previously.

    Parent
    Yes, it can sound like/feel like (none / 0) (#53)
    by Zorba on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:16:49 PM EST
    someone is using/driving heavy equipment nearby.  In fact, that's what son Zorba thought it was.

    Parent
    {holds finger in front of lips} (none / 0) (#60)
    by MO Blue on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:36:39 PM EST
    Heavy equipment nearby? Secret plan to expand the living quarters at the Republic of Zorba. Did they forget to tell you? ;o)

    Parent
    Hahahaha! (none / 0) (#62)
    by Zorba on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 02:25:24 PM EST
    n/t

    Parent
    all this is just in time (none / 0) (#59)
    by CST on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:34:42 PM EST
    for hurricaine season.

    Suppossed to get the first one this weekend, Irene.

    Most likely all it means for me is "severe tropical storm".  Although we have had the occasional hurricaine make it this far north, it's pretty rare.

    But between all the "rare" weather events we've been getting lately, earthquakes, freaking tornadoes in central MA, a hurricaine right now would seem downright normal.

    In any event, the southern states will almost certainly be hit.

    i hear that it was felt in Ohio too (none / 0) (#61)
    by The Addams Family on Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 01:48:41 PM EST


    Tuesday Morning Open Thread | 63 comments (63 topical)

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