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Monday Morning Open Thread

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Blog Related
Posted on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 08:39:07 AM EST
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Today, ManU v. Man City for control of the Premier League race. It's at 3 EST on ESPN. Sadly, I won't get to watch it live. If you want to give soccer a try, this is not a bad one to start with. It should be bedlam.

Open Thread.

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    Monday Morning Open Thread | 61 comments (61 topical)

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    Everybody ready for May Day? (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 10:18:03 AM EST
    No work, no school, no shopping, no banking, no housework, no compliance.  Serving a system that doesn't serve you is insane.

    C'mon everybody take part, as much as you are able.

    Well, at least ya didn't say (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by nycstray on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 10:56:32 AM EST
    no dog training! I'm planning to take Roxy! to the occupy just a couple blocks from my place. Good chance to work on behavior around crowds/larger groups of people :)

    Parent
    Very cool... (none / 0) (#10)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:07:23 AM EST
    Roxy should be a big hit with the occupiers...might keep the jackboots from going overboard too.  

    Everybody loves dogs...humans excercising their right to dissent, not so much.

    Parent

    A Dal, right? (none / 0) (#46)
    by easilydistracted on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 08:48:47 PM EST
    If anything like my Charlie, a couple of valium probably wouldn't hurt either. What is it with Dals and behavioral issues?

    Parent
    Yup, a Dal (none / 0) (#47)
    by nycstray on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 09:10:28 PM EST
    Actually, it's not really a behavior issue. She's only 9mo and I'm working on her training in general (I've had her since x-mas). She tends to get a tad HAPPY!!!! when she see's a crowd of people, or a person :D  She's getting much better, and this is an area we go to almost daily, so she's comfortable there and listens pretty good. We can also start from a distance and work our way in, as I live up the hill from the site and will be able to see the crowd well enough etc. I want to put a CGC on this lil' gal (for starters), so I'm working the opportunities :)

    There are days I've wished for valium though, and questioned my sanity in bringing home another dal, lol!~


    Parent

    I say the same whenever I bring a new one (none / 0) (#59)
    by easilydistracted on Wed May 02, 2012 at 08:37:14 PM EST
    home. Charlie adopted us about 18 months ago. Darn I forgot how challenging the males. And he's 82 lbs. Huge for a Dal.

    My girl Dal, Haley, decided in March it was time to head off to the Rainbow Bridge -- where she can eat cheesburgers every meal. She was one year old when we rescued her from an abusive home 14 years ago. Man was it hard to let her go. I just didn't want to give her up. Selfish on my part but I just couldn't help it.  

    Parent

    Kdog (none / 0) (#41)
    by DFLer on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 05:17:49 PM EST
    re May 1st, check out this fine poster courtesy of the breese

    Parent
    With the upcoming wedding (none / 0) (#53)
    by Militarytracy on Tue May 01, 2012 at 09:05:48 AM EST
    It is impossible for me.  Sorry OWS, I am with you in spirit though

    Parent
    CNN said this morning that Al Qaeda (5.00 / 1) (#55)
    by Militarytracy on Tue May 01, 2012 at 11:14:45 AM EST
    seems to hope to use pornography to distract.  If they did think it was a good idea to hide something in porn and that because of that it wouldn't be discovered, my husband said that they had better hope that "their stuff" isn't initially discovered by the military.  Because soldiers are going to watch ALL OF THE PORN....ALL OF IT

    Strategy for fighting back against (5.00 / 1) (#56)
    by ruffian on Tue May 01, 2012 at 12:33:00 PM EST
    new voter ID (aka voter suppression laws): a massive grass roots state-by-state educational campaign to train people registering to vote, and the voters, to follow the laws. At this point I agree with Pierce that this is the best thing to do. It has resonance back to the civil rights campaigns of the 60's and also could beat the GOP at its own game.  

    My FL brother signed up to help (none / 0) (#58)
    by oculus on Wed May 02, 2012 at 02:13:47 AM EST


    Parent
    Might have to tune in... (none / 0) (#1)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 09:26:26 AM EST
    to the EPL replay after work, I don't know if I can stomach another Knick game.  What a debacle.

    Three thoughts...some of the worst officiating in recent memeory, Lebron is the best player in the world (& the biggest floppin' baby), and even with even-handed officiating the Knicks lose by 20.

    Two words (none / 0) (#3)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 09:42:43 AM EST
    Tyson Chandler.

    without him right, Knicks have no shot.

    Parent

    Yep (none / 0) (#12)
    by Dadler on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:32:07 AM EST
    Perfect analysis.  Although I would add that without Jeremy Lin, their chances of winning this series were slim from the go.  

    Parent
    that too (none / 0) (#14)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:32:53 AM EST
    no pg.

    Parent
    Might add (none / 0) (#4)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 09:44:50 AM EST
    Once I knew Chandler was sick, I loaded up on the Heat - line was only 9 1/2.

    A gift. Vegas must have taken a bath. But who knows.

    Gave a lot of it back though with the Grizzlies blew a 24 point lead with 8 minutes to go. I was laying 5.

    Worst loss of the year for me.

    BTW, I like ManU today.

    Parent

    In case you were wondering (none / 0) (#6)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 09:47:06 AM EST
    Heat are -10 for today's game. No money line.

    Parent
    With Shump out... (none / 0) (#7)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 10:10:35 AM EST
    our zero margin of error went to less than zero.  

    Pains me to say but I'd lay the wood.

    Parent

    This stuff is so fun to read. (none / 0) (#11)
    by oculus on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:26:50 AM EST


    Parent
    Need to go Pat Riley Knicks (none / 0) (#15)
    by Dadler on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:34:01 AM EST
    Just treat it like a cage match.  

    Parent
    Not an option... (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:50:29 AM EST
    if the officiating is anything like Game 1.  The Heat were playing that kinda ball, we weren't allowed.

    Shouldn't Lebron have to win a title before he gets the MJ superstar courtesy calls? ;)

    Parent

    In a word: yes (none / 0) (#17)
    by Dadler on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 12:13:24 PM EST
    But I have sympathy for LeBron.  We share the daddy-took-off syndrome, are members of the same Inferiority Complex Club, and I'm actually rooting for him to get that ring this year, and get that monkey off his back.    

    Parent
    I love posting sh*t like this (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by Dadler on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 12:13:43 PM EST
    so Dadler

    Parent
    But, caution advised. One commenter (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by oculus on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 12:25:28 PM EST
    dislikes self-referencing comments!

    Parent
    BTW, why aren't you in Cancun (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by oculus on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 12:27:57 PM EST
    competing in the Bud Light Bucket challenge?  My niece's sign. other is.  (He is approx. 38 yrs. old!!!)

    Parent
    Your Lakers... (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 12:48:01 PM EST
    off to a nice start, Bynum drops the 10 block triple-double, impressive.

    And the Clips with the miracle comeback, I heard Del Negro was packing it in and looking ahead to Game 2, till Chris Paul begged to get back in the game, and the rest is history....good weekend for L.A.  

    Parent

    Speaking of Father Issues.... (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 01:45:25 PM EST
    saw the new documentary "Marley" this weekend, very enlightening look at the man behind the legend.

    One of the most interesting revelations (pun intended) was Bob's inspiration for "Corner Stone".  The white Marleys were a big deal in Jamaica, owned the largest construction firm in the country.  Bob wrote the song after seeking his fathers family's acknowledgment of him and being rebuked.  

    Like a prophecy, Bob became the corner stone Marley, the stone that the builder refused.  How cool is that?

     

    Parent

    11 children (none / 0) (#25)
    by Towanda on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 01:55:08 PM EST
    by 7 women is not cool.

    But at least he didn't rebuke his progeny.  What I was unclear about is whether he took care of all of them in his estate.

    Parent

    Bob refused to write a will... (none / 0) (#28)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 02:20:01 PM EST
    I thought that was pretty cool too, he had no patience for Babylonian business that man.

    One of the interview subjects said part of the reason was Bob wanted to give everyone a chance to show their true colors after he died, who would go for the moneygrab and who would share and share alike.

    Rita and a few of his other ladies said Bob's infidelity could hurt, but not enough to ever stop loving him.  And he wasn't deceitful about it, they all knew the score.  

    Jamaican culture isn't very progressive when it comes to women, or gays for that matter, I can't argue with that.

    Parent

    Sounds very Biblical (none / 0) (#31)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 03:14:44 PM EST
    the way you describe it. What with all the father-son issues and people becoming "corner stones" of buildings etc..

    And Bob, in his quixotic-Rasta way, was into the Bible..

    And hey, those Patriarchs had a lot of kids too..:)

    Parent

    I should have added... (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 03:48:41 PM EST
    though far from a model father, he never denied his children's existence, like his father denied his.

    Rastafarianism is very biblical, for sure Bob was into it.  

    "He causeth the grass for the cattle, and herb for the service of man"

    -Psalm 104:14

    Parent

    I'm going to see "Marley" later this (none / 0) (#36)
    by caseyOR on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 04:27:16 PM EST
    week. Sounds like it is worth the price of admission. And, given the cost of a movie ticket these days, that's good to know.

    Parent
    I lucked out... (none / 0) (#37)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 04:40:32 PM EST
    my cable tv provider has it On Demand for 7 bucks.Tthough it would have been cool to see it on the big screen, I'm tryin' to be on cash lockdown till I get to Mexixo for that Mellow Mood;)

    Strike the hammer while the iron is hot...

    Parent

    "Hermitude.". (none / 0) (#38)
    by oculus on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 04:45:28 PM EST


    Parent
    You, Lady of the Fine Arts & Culture... (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 04:57:33 PM EST
    should check it out too.

    Another nugget that stuck with me... Bob not locking his doors, house or car, because it says you don't trust people.

    Now it might have gotten Bob shot and Peter killed, trusting your fellow man and all that...but they're better men than the strapped up suspicious minded brigade on display will ever be.

    Parent

    I'm going to have to check it out, too (none / 0) (#40)
    by Zorba on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 05:15:22 PM EST
    I listened to an interview on NPR with one of his daughters, Cedella, who had a role in making the film, and she talked a lot about her father, and Rastafarianism.  Fascinating stuff.

    Parent
    a couple of years ago when my daughter (5.00 / 0) (#45)
    by ZtoA on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 08:23:16 PM EST
    was a senior highschooler, she and a bunch of friends went to hear a band called Marleys. I thought, who are they, but OK - my girl is working part time and paid for her ticket and they had designated drivers. I cooked the lot breakfast the next morning (morning at noon), and the boys came over too for eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, fruit and toast. They looked drowsy and, actually, a bit hungover. I said "I used to really love the music of a Bob Marley, and they replied "Yeah, these are his kids". I'm so slow! So I said, "Ah it makes sense now....did you get hight just by breathing the air?" and they all smiled and said "Yeah, pretty much".

    Parent
    If they don't cover, they suck (none / 0) (#13)
    by Dadler on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 11:32:50 AM EST
    They should win by 20 at least.

    Parent
    Georgia's criminal discovery rules (none / 0) (#2)
    by rickroberts on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 09:28:29 AM EST
    Jeralyn, do you happen to know whether Georgia's rules allow media and the public to see the discovery prior to trial? I have looked around and cannot find the answer. Thanks!

    For Jeralyn (none / 0) (#5)
    by AngryBlackGuy on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 09:45:56 AM EST
    O'Mara, lawyer for Zimmerman, just launched a website and twitter account for the Martin case.

    Link

    "The O'Mara Law Group was engaged for George Zimmerman's legal defense, but we cannot ignore that there are other issues surrounding the charges against Mr. Zimmerman. Professionally, it is not our place to be involved in the surrounding discussion, but we do feel a responsibility to help distinguish between what is relevant to the current legal case and what is not. It is our hope and intent to assist in focusing the conversation when appropriate, rather than allowing the lack of focus to distort the process."

    I'd think that this too is something that should be frowned upon.

    Thoughts?

    No Manchester games for me (none / 0) (#22)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 01:37:33 PM EST
    It's all wedding this week

    Largest law firm bankruptcy (none / 0) (#24)
    by Towanda on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 01:53:08 PM EST
    in U.S. history is possible, taking with it the pensions of the two thousand employees still there at Dewey & LeBouef (based in D.C. but with branches around the country, half of them lawyers -- and in peril are pensions of those who already had left, including a family member of mine who had paid into it for thirty years.

    He copied and pasted the story on email but tells us that it's from the front page of the Wall Street Journal today.

    Who knew any law firms still had pensions? (none / 0) (#26)
    by oculus on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 02:04:12 PM EST


    Parent
    They did when family member (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by Towanda on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 03:03:02 PM EST
    started there more than 30 years ago, and when thousands of other employees paid into them for many years as well.  That's the point, of course.  

    And anyone can have a pension plan, even if their employer does not.  The problem for many of us is that our employers do have pension plans in which we must participate, and our employers also are untrustworthy.  That's true for me, as my employers who even now are coming up with a plan to steal my pension are the taxpayers of my state.

    Parent

    Another reason to have a firearm: (none / 0) (#27)
    by oculus on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 02:06:37 PM EST
    Coyotes/deer

    or a car? Humans already most deadly (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by Towanda on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 03:06:39 PM EST
    to deer, whether the humans' weapons are guns or cars, according to the link.

    I've never touched a gun, but I have taken down a deer with a Fiat.  

    Well, the deer took down the Fiat, too.

    Parent

    That's scary. (5.00 / 2) (#44)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 07:42:29 PM EST
    I'll never forget the time in the SoCal foothills about 20 years ago, when I was driving along and a full-grown buck suddenly bolted from the woods to my right and literally leaped over the hood of my car. Fortunately, I wasn't traveling fast and thus somehow avoided hitting him, because he otherwise would've ended up going through my windshield if I had. As he ran off into the brush to my left, the instant fright so unnerved me that I had to pull over for a few minutes to calm down.

    Parent
    It really is very, very unnerving (5.00 / 3) (#49)
    by sj on Tue May 01, 2012 at 12:54:26 AM EST
    When we were driving through New Mexico a few years ago we hit "Deer Crossing" territory right at dusk when they really seem to congregate near the road.  Not only deer but also elk which seemed HUGE.  On a ten mile stretch we encountered about 8 herds.  I think we had to only brake suddenly for one or two, but the roads are curvy so it was very scary not knowing what was up ahead.  I was already white-knuckled as we were traveling for my mother and brother's funeral.  I was so full of adrenaline I'm not sure how I made it.

    Parent
    Now I'm going to have nightmares (5.00 / 2) (#50)
    by Towanda on Tue May 01, 2012 at 01:32:24 AM EST
    about elk out to get me, like the d#$n deer.  Elk?  ELK?  They are HUGE.

    Li'l white-tailed deer look d#%n big enough when they hit your car -- and I would like to point out, yet again, that it was the deer that hit my car, and not the other way around.  I feel the need to keep pointing this out, even years later, as the state highway patrolman disagreed and gave me a ticket.  Talk about insult added to injury!

    It turns out that the cost of removing all of the roadkill in, um, rutting season can run so high in some areas that the resolution has been to ticket all drivers of cars attacked, I say, attacked by deer.  Tickets for driving poorly? No.  Tickets for hunting without a license!  At a couple of hundred dollars per ticket, that covers the cost of roadkill removal.

    I already was coping with a destroyed car, crying kids, a bad headache from whiplash, and I was a broke graduate student, so I just about broke down like the car, until the officer suggested that I stay by the side of the road for a while to see if someone stopped to ask for "my deer" to take home to make venison sausage or something.

    It was a looooong morning, but finally along came someone who considers roadkill a culinary delicacy.  The officer came back to tear up the ticket.  I finally could call the tow truck, get the kids home and get me some aspirin, and find a way to get to work and day care the next day.  

    Just remembering that day . . . I have an abiding hate for the very sight of deer carcasses on cars, and now I will have nightmares about elk as well. They're out to get us.  Drive safely.

    Parent

    Talk about a nightmare.... (5.00 / 2) (#52)
    by Angel on Tue May 01, 2012 at 08:17:13 AM EST
    I lived in a semi-rural area across from a 1,000 acre undeveloped ranch that teemed with wildlife - deer, wild turkey, coyotes, etc., and during mating season one of the bucks took a liking to me.  For weeks that damn buck waited for me in my yard.  He was there in the mornings when I got up to get the newspaper, he was there in the evenings when I got home from work.  I was so scared I couldn't even walk outside my own house for fear he was going to attack me!  He finally left and things went back to normal, but I have never felt fear like that before.  Those animals are strong and powerful and quick, and there is no way I could have won any battle with him. That was about fifteen years ago and I still shudder at the thought of what could have happened.

    Parent
    Glad you survived. I always think (none / 0) (#32)
    by oculus on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 03:20:11 PM EST
    of Iowa basketball coach Bucky O'Connor who didn't.  

    Parent
    Yes, it was scary -- but it was a doe (none / 0) (#42)
    by Towanda on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 05:19:43 PM EST
    who hit me (sure, the police report says that I hit the deer, but it darted out from behind me), and we all -- my children, young then -- were buckled in, as I managed to control the car.

    It was safer than being hit by a buck, as I got to hear horror stories of antlers through windshields into throats of drivers and passengers.  Even so, I still have nightmares about it.  We were on a dangerous, curvy road with a lot of semitrailers.

    Parent

    With half the country (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 03:29:03 PM EST
    practically walking on their knuckles, the last thing we need is more firearms..

    Parent
    Agreed. (none / 0) (#35)
    by oculus on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 03:51:16 PM EST


    Parent
    Oh, that is interesting (5.00 / 1) (#48)
    by gyrfalcon on Tue May 01, 2012 at 12:13:03 AM EST
    My first week here in VT, I discovered a well-gnawed fawn's foreleg in the middle of my lawn one morning.  No wolves here, but lots of coyotes.

    I do think the presence of the dead cattle dump skews the picture, though.  All predators will take easy carrion over hard-to-get live prey, and it makes sense that the wolves would take the carrion for themselves and make the coyotes work for the live prey.

    Parent

    We're living in deer-central here.. (none / 0) (#57)
    by jondee on Tue May 01, 2012 at 01:45:26 PM EST
    how they manage to be so numerous, with a hunting season, coyotes and does only having one or two fawns at a time, is a mystery that passeth beyond my admittedly limited understanding..

    Meanwhile, even with all the rivers, streams and other waterways with tons of fish around here, I haven't seen an otter in years, though the beavers around here are making a big comeback..
     

    Parent

    Where's "here" just curiously? (none / 0) (#60)
    by gyrfalcon on Fri May 04, 2012 at 11:04:14 PM EST
    Here in rural VT, we've got plenty of deer, but we're not overrun by them.  The coyotes, in fact, are widely blamed for reducing the deer herd and gangs of local yahoos organize slaughter parties every year or so to go out and kill as many as they can.  In addition to the stupidity and injustice of it, it drives me nuts because the rabbit population absolutely explodes for a while after they do that, so anybody with a home veg garden wants to wring the shooters' necks.

    Also, we've got fairly numerous otters and not so many beavers!

    Is your area perhaps more suburban?  VT doesn't really have suburbs, just a couple of small urban areas, lots of small villages, and everything else is thoroughly rural.

    Parent

    gyr (none / 0) (#61)
    by jondee on Sat May 12, 2012 at 03:33:53 PM EST
    I missed your reply before. "Here" is Western NY, outside Rochester near Pinnacle Hill (where some 'Millerites' in the 1840s said the Apocalypse would begin..then they got bored and left). We're in a kinda-sorta rural-ish spot - certainly not rural the way Vermont can be - not too far from the shores of "Blue Ontario" (which isn't so blue anymore..)

    I wouldn't say we're "overrun", but we have more deer around here than many would expect. I haven't hit one yet, but it seems like every person I know has at one time or another..

    We also have the problem of every coyote sighting around here seeming to incite a mini-hysteria in certain quarters; with horror stories gathered from anywhere in the country and in history immediatly circulating about rabies, child-snatchings, ferocious dog-coyote hybrids, coyote's atrocious personal hygiene and sordid reputation, werecoyotes..Basically any semi-feasible reason for some people to shoot something new..

    I like otters, so miss them; some of the more mercenary trout fishermen around here don't miss them. I like red foxes, but the people who raise chickens and ducks around here don't seem to like them at all. Funny how that works..

       

    Parent

    For my nephews, (none / 0) (#43)
    by SuzieTampa on Mon Apr 30, 2012 at 05:50:14 PM EST
    it's wild hogs/mountain lions. They live in the Wild Hog Capital of Texas.  They're poor, and they were thinking that a rifle might pay for itself if they could kill enough hogs. Their mother told me that she saw a neighbor with a shotgun, and he yelled to her that a mountain lion was nearby.

    Parent
    It seems weird to me that (none / 0) (#54)
    by Militarytracy on Tue May 01, 2012 at 09:46:01 AM EST
    researchers are only beginning to understand that coyotes are hunters.  Ranchers know this, especially if you have sheep.  Like all predators they look for the weak, the old, and the sick but when it isn't obvious they run the sheep in a circle like a herding dog could and they lunge into the circle trying to drag out a victim.  They'll get one down but they leave several wounded.  They like to go for the belly in that situation because there is no wool to get through first.  They do leave horrible wounds on the animals.

    They will eat a calf as a cow is giving birth to it and sometimes they get the cow too if she is too weak to defend herself.  They leave a lot of wounds on ranch animals.

    They are a problem here too recently.  They have been picking off pets in subdivisions like the one we live in.  They will avoid our German Shepherds because that would be a fight, but even though the poodle is tall she is not a fighter.  They got a hold of a greyhound in a nearby subdivision and he got away but he lost his tail.

    Two older gentlemen were in my vets waiting area last month when I was there getting rabies shots and they were hunting them on their private land.  I did not ask if it was legal or not, usually Game and Fish has to approve of predator removal.  They claimed they had killed about 30 though.

    Parent

    More babies (none / 0) (#51)
    by jbindc on Tue May 01, 2012 at 05:47:12 AM EST
    Being born addicted to prescription drugs - mostly opiates.  The number has tripled in less than a decade.

    The really sad thing is we don't yet know the long term effects of this.

    Monday Morning Open Thread | 61 comments (61 topical)

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