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Monday Morning Open Thread

Quote of the day:

I don't want to retire and leave college football in the hands of the Jackie Sherrills and Barry Switzers. --Joe Paterno

Here's me discussing Penn State - link.

Open Thread.

< NCAA Hands Down Severe Sanctions To Penn State | The Founders vs. The Republican Party >
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    Anaheim police shooting over the weekend... (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Dadler on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 12:08:56 PM EST
    Firing on women and children... (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by kdog on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 12:12:15 PM EST
    with beanbags and tear gas, not to mention sicking the dogs on 'em.

    Not to mention the killing that sparked the protest...an unarmed fleeing suspect shoot in the back, and then in the head.

    Appalling.

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    Magic Kingdom country (none / 0) (#22)
    by Dadler on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 04:03:09 PM EST
    Ain't no Fantasyland on this side of the gates, boss. Appalling is right.

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    I was just going to (none / 0) (#3)
    by sj on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 12:27:40 PM EST
    comment on that.

    Read the comments, too. Some of the usual blowhard lawn order cr@p, but also some insightful (if sometimes sarcastic) remarks.  For example, about the police attack dog that was released into the crowd "accidentally":

    They only train you how to let go of the dog at the academy. Holding onto the dog is some rocket scientist level sh1t.



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    Lawn order? (none / 0) (#5)
    by jbindc on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 12:55:50 PM EST
    Having good grass and edging properly?

    ;)

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    Sure (none / 0) (#6)
    by sj on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 12:59:04 PM EST
    Let's go with that. :)

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    Bull Connor... (none / 0) (#26)
    by Dadler on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 04:38:15 PM EST
    ...would shed a little tear of joy.

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    US poverty rates on track to reach (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Anne on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 12:32:19 PM EST
    46-yr high.

    From the Washington Post:

    The ranks of America's poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net.

    Census figures for 2011 will be released this fall in the critical weeks ahead of the November elections.

    The Associated Press surveyed more than a dozen economists, think tanks and academics, both nonpartisan and those with known liberal or conservative leanings, and found a broad consensus: The official poverty rate will rise from 15.1 percent in 2010, climbing as high as 15.7 percent. Several predicted a more modest gain, but even a 0.1 percentage point increase would put poverty at the highest level since 1965.

    [snip]

    The predictions for 2011 are based on separate AP interviews, supplemented with research on suburban poverty from Alan Berube of the Brookings Institution and an analysis of federal spending by the Congressional Research Service and Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Institute.

    The analysts' estimates suggest that some 47 million people in the U.S., or 1 in 6, were poor last year. An increase of one-tenth of a percentage point to 15.2 percent would tie the 1983 rate, the highest since 1965. The highest level on record was 22.4 percent in 1959, when the government began calculating poverty figures.

    Poverty is closely tied to joblessness. While the unemployment rate improved from 9.6 percent in 2010 to 8.9 percent in 2011, the employment-population ratio remained largely unchanged, meaning many discouraged workers simply stopped looking for work. Food stamp rolls, another indicator of poverty, also grew.

    Would love to hear how it will be possible to go full-bore at deficit reduction, which seems to be a priority of both parties, and also spur demand, create jobs and lift people out of poverty.

    I fear that any approach that threatens the dominion of the Vampire Squid has zero chance of happening.

    Well, we can't spend our way out (none / 0) (#7)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 01:05:00 PM EST
    of it and we can't tax our way out of it..

    Maybe we can grow our way out of it...

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    Actually, We Can Tax Out Way Out of It (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 01:57:49 PM EST
    ...and in reality, it's the only way out of it.  If only Bush hadn't believed lowering taxes would generate more revenue, we wouldn't actually be it to begin with.

    But that wasn't the point, the point was who is going to carry the burden of that debt, the people who can easily afford it, or people with nothing.  That is rhetorical.

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    I agree. (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by lentinel on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 02:03:10 PM EST
    This might be an oversimplification, but I believe that Clinton raised taxes - and brought us out of a deficit.

    I am curious about the new President of France, Hollande.

    He is bucking the "austerity" mantra in favor of raising taxes and stimulating employment. I hope he succeeds.


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    They need to pay (none / 0) (#34)
    by Amiss on Tue Jul 24, 2012 at 01:35:49 PM EST
    Back the hundreds of billions of dollars that was borrowed by the gov't BEFORE any social programs are cut. Lets start with the cost of the S.S. for both Bushes along with their pensions and attach everything they own.

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    Could we at least try spending our way out of it? (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by ruffian on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 09:28:24 PM EST
    If you say we can't I guess that settles it.

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    Happy (belated) birthday, Madiba. (5.00 / 2) (#13)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 02:49:09 PM EST
    Former South African President Nelson Mandela turned 94 last Wednesday. And understandably, many of his fellow South Africans of all races and ethnicities are wondering what life in their country will be like after he finally passes from the scene.

    No doubt, President Mandela is indeed a transcendent and iconic figure, not only in South Africa but also throughout the world, as well. Even with nearly two decades of historical perspective, it's still somewhat hard to full grasp the remarkable political feat Mandela accomplished in skillfully navigating his country through a relatively peaceful transition to majority rule, especially when an inter-racial bloodbath once appeared all but inevitable.

    RIP, Sally Ride (1951-2012). (5.00 / 4) (#28)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 04:41:57 PM EST
    America's first female astronaut in space, 61, had been battling pancreatic cancer.

    lShe was so young. So sad. (5.00 / 6) (#31)
    by caseyOR on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 05:01:27 PM EST
    She was such an inspiration. Not only was she the first American female in space, which was pretty great, her company, Sally Ride Science, was devoted to getting girls interested and involved in science.

    Plus, I always thought Sally Ride was a awesome name for an astronaut.

    RIP, Sally.

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    Ugh, so sorry to hear this (none / 0) (#33)
    by ruffian on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 09:32:03 PM EST
    She was a real inspiration to women in tech fields.

    I always sing 'Ride around Sally' when I hear her name, so one more time ride, Sally Ride, and rest in peace.

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    Bayreuth fires singer (Russian), (none / 0) (#8)
    by oculus on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 01:08:59 PM EST
    who has a swastika tattoo on his chest.  He says it was a mistake he made in his youth.    NYT

    Terrific. (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by lentinel on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 01:59:48 PM EST
    Then they went about playing Wagner, Hitler's composer of choice.

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    Would you have expected ... (none / 0) (#20)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 03:58:43 PM EST
    Yes (none / 0) (#21)
    by lentinel on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 03:59:19 PM EST
    Easily fixed (none / 0) (#17)
    by DFLer on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 03:33:33 PM EST
    by adding 4 straight lines to the tat

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    I believe the tattoo (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by sj on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 04:17:17 PM EST
    has already been modified.  The problem is that there are pictures out there on the internet pre-modification.  And once it's on the web, it's  there forever.

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    I wish I could see Cate Blanchett (none / 0) (#12)
    by oculus on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 02:21:06 PM EST
    in Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya." Some of you could!
    Ben Brantley's review in NYT

    Mitt Romney says: (none / 0) (#14)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 03:08:12 PM EST
    You Olympians, however, know you didn't get here solely on your own power. For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We've already cheered the Olympians, let's also cheer the parents, coaches, and communities

    I agree with Romney here. I just wish he would stop his own hypocrisy about the SCL Olympics.

    Apparently, it doesn't ... (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 03:54:25 PM EST
    ... fit into the current Romney campaign narrative that their candidate "heroically saved" the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games by receiving a massive infusion of approximately $1.5 billion in federal money from the GOP-led Congress.

    It should be noted that about $185 million of those federal dollars was expended on security -- and further, over 90% of the federal funds were earmarked in 2000 and 2001 before 9-11, not after.

    In comparison, the much larger Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles (1984) and Atlanta (1996) only received $84 million and $641 million in federal assistance, respectively.

    Funny, but back in 2002 when he was running for Massachusetts governor, he wasn't at all shy about his willingness to tap his DC connections for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

    So, you're right. Given that he currently decries federal pork barrel spending, as do most of his Republican friends, it's certainly not unfair to label Romney's present claims about his Olympics leadership as dishonest, self-serving and entirely hypocritical.

    Parent

    The former CFO of the Games (none / 0) (#23)
    by jbindc on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 04:07:58 PM EST
    said this:

    Mark Tanner was the chief financial officer for the SLOC before Romney was hired.

    "The games weren't in shambles, but they needed more money," said Tanner, who left for a corporate position shortly after Romney was brought in and now works for an educational nonprofit in San Diego.

    Even though the games had attracted a number of sponsors, many had fulfilled pledges through in-kind donations instead of money. "It was very straightforward that we needed more cash," Tanner said. "Mitt was a really quick study."

    History intervened as well. Just five months before the games came the 9/11 attacks, which changed attitudes in Washington about supporting the games financially. Tanner said winning federal backing had been a tough sell during his tenure.

    "That was money that was not available before," he said.

    Under Romney's leadership, the Olympic committee, which had about a $1.3 billion operating budget, ultimately brought in tens of millions in profits, enough to set aside $40 million to create a fund that owns and maintains the Olympic facilities that were built for the games.

    Is it hypocritical?  Sure is.

    But show me a politician who, when provided the opportunity to get money for their cause, will turn it down. Especially when you turn your cause into a profitable enterprise.

    This is a telling comment:

    In an Aug. 18, 2000, letter to the GAO, Romney called the Olympics "a massive undertaking" and added: "Recognizing that our government spends billions of dollars to maintain wartime capability, it is entirely appropriate to invest several hundred million dollars to promote peace."

    But I find this story more troubling.

    More than a decade has passed since Mitt Romney presided over the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, but the archival records from those games that were donated to the University of Utah to provide an unprecedented level of transparency about the historic event, remain off limits to the public. And some of the documents that may have shed the most light on Romney's stewardship of the Games were likely destroyed by Salt Lake Olympic officials, ABC News has learned.

    The archivists involved in preparing the documents for public review told ABC News that financial documents, contracts, appointment calendars, emails and correspondence are likely not included in the 1,100 boxes of Olympic records, and will not be part of the collection that will ultimately be made public.




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    There's nothing wrong with ... (none / 0) (#25)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 04:37:52 PM EST
    ... Mitt Romney having sought federal aid for the Salt Lake Winter Games. And by most accounts, he did a good job in his administration of the event, considering the payoff / payola scandal that nearly enveloped those Games prior to his arrival in Utah.

    Conversely, however, there is a lot that's wrong with the Romney campaign's rewrite of the history of those Games to its candidate's exclusive benefit.

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    True (none / 0) (#27)
    by jbindc on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 04:40:21 PM EST
    But the Democrats would NEVER do that!

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    Nobody has a monopoly on truth. (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 04:48:36 PM EST
    In my capacity as a party official, 've called out numerous Democrats when they've tried to reqrite history, simply because I hold my fellow Democrats to a higher standard than I do other politicians.

    In fact, I'm actually involved in a local dispute right now over one Democrat's obvious misrepresentation of another Democrat's public record (not to mention his own) in our nonpartisan Honolulu mayoral race.

    If we're supposed to be better than that, then we should act like it.

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    Yep (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by jbindc on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 04:50:48 PM EST
    If we're supposed to be better than that, then we should act like it.

    Completely agree.

    And much of the reason I am so filled with disgust and ready to check out, politically speaking.

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    What hypocrisy? (none / 0) (#15)
    by jbindc on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 03:12:57 PM EST
    Sorry - haven't heard much about this.

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    The (none / 0) (#16)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 03:25:04 PM EST
    whole do it "by yourself" non scandal junk.

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    Oh (none / 0) (#18)
    by jbindc on Mon Jul 23, 2012 at 03:50:25 PM EST
    He admitted he had help.

    But as any person running the show, you get more grief than you deserve when things go badly and more credit than you deserve when things go well.

    Ask any NHL goalie or MLB pitcher or NFL quarterbacl.  :)

    Parent