home

Wednesday Open Thread

No ruling yet in Oscar Pistorius sentencing. The judge wants the parties to finish by the end of the week.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

< U.S. Gives Name to War Against ISIS, ISIS Baits U.S. in Video | U.S. Ditches Free Syrian Army Rebels: Iraq Comes First >
  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


  • Display: Sort:
    Good opinion piece by Frank Bruni (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 01:59:18 PM EST
    re epidemics he thinks we should be concentrating on:

    NYT

    Shep Smith (none / 0) (#14)
    by KeysDan on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 05:13:40 PM EST
    gives a "calm down, no Ebola outbreak in US, watch out for the politics" four minute lesson.   Don't know much about this guy, but I do wonder if his days are numbered--at FOX news.

    Parent
    He has been (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 05:43:45 PM EST
    their token sane person for a long time.

    Parent
    Thanks, (none / 0) (#20)
    by KeysDan on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 05:45:43 PM EST
     I did not know they had one.

    Parent
    Shep Smith was the news chief at Fox (none / 0) (#18)
    by fishcamp on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 05:45:15 PM EST
    News for a long time, but don't think he still holds that position.  He's a good announcer but there's something terribly wrong with his eyes.  They're often very glassy looking.  And no I don't watch much Fox news, but many ball games are on Fox.  I do look at Imus in the mornings to see how grumpy he is.  I'm usually watching the local Miami weather girls that dress up like movie stars.

    Parent
    You'd be glassy-eyed, too, if ... (none / 0) (#48)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:27:08 PM EST
    ... you worked for Fox News. Were I to ever be an on-air personality there, I'd require a personal assistant who always remembers to remove the bong from camera view before the end of the commercial break.

    Parent
    ... have been numbered ever since he first joined the network in 1996. One does have to give him credit for not being afraid to ridicule and counter the nonsense that all too often passes for conventional wisdom at that network.

    Parent
    Donald, I'm getting frantic calls (5.00 / 1) (#52)
    by fishcamp on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:57:36 PM EST
    from my friends in Maui about the approaching tropical storm Anna.  It's a very large storm with two possible eyes, the larger eye is south of the big island, and the smaller one is heading towards Maui and Honolulu.  These eyes are not spinning in normal hurricane fashion, like we see here all the time. I predict it will be a rainy, windy few days but not a hurricane.  Your water is between 75 and 80 degrees which is what it takes to make, or keep a hurricane going, but it isn't a hurricane.  This storm is still hundreds of miles from you and is showing absolutely no hurricane spinning motion.  As you know the news people drive everybody into a state of panic.  Even if it were spinning like hurricanes do, Mauna Loa, and Mauna Kea would break it up.  The eventual weather bands would bounce back off the land and set up a type of wind shear that would break up the eye.  Not sure why I'm telling you this as you don't seem panicked like my Maui friends.  Guess I'm just getting ready to explain it to them, all over again.  But get your rain gear together, and good luck.

    Parent
    We've had three hurricane warnings ... (none / 0) (#62)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:36:06 PM EST
    ... this season alone, one of which (Hurricane Iselle) made landfall. It's best to never take such warnings likely, and Gov. Abercrombie just declared a state of emergency, so I would recommend that your friends on Maui take the warnings seriously and undertake the necessary precautions and preparations, and not wait until Friday. Other than that, our geographic isolation precludes our being able to evacuate to someplace else, so we have to shelter in place. It is what it is.

    Parent
    Yes, you are absolutely correct (none / 0) (#78)
    by fishcamp on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:21:25 PM EST
    Donald, I was looking at the big storm to the east of the Hawaiian Islands, but just found the biggie heading directly towards the big island from the west.  It looks very large and dangerous.  My apologies for not seeing that and giving false information.  I still hope the mountains will break it up, as often happens.  You are also correct about having no place to go, to outrun the storm.  Curiously, when hurricanes approach this area most people head to the Orlando area, where Disney World has many hotel rooms.

    Parent
    As of 8:00pm EDT, TS Ana is projected to ... (5.00 / 1) (#83)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:39:42 PM EST
    ... reach hurricane strength sometime late tonight, turn slightly northwest and pass over South Point on the Big Island on Friday night, and then start hitting Honolulu sometime late Saturday night. If the predicted route holds true to form, the eye is projected to pass directly over us by 8:00 a.m. Sunday.

    Mountains actually tend to accelerate hurricane-force winds, so that 90 mph winds at sea can reach well over 120 mph in isolated areas once the storm makes landfall. While Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are both nearly 14,000 ft. tall, our mountains on Oahu are between 2,000 and 4,000 ft. elevation, which are too low to break up a storm of this size.

    In any event, we're as ready as we can be. Aloha.

    Parent

    Update (9:00: a.m. EDT): (none / 0) (#98)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:07:37 AM EST
    NOAA / NWS now projects that the eye of Ana will pass 40 miles south of Honolulu on Sunday morning, which would spare us a direct hit but still subject us to upwards of 12 inches of rain, 65 mph winds and a 4 ft. storm surge on the Oahu's south shore. Regardless, it's going to be a very wet and messy weekend. The Spouse's sister and brother-in-law arrived from San Antonio Tuesday night for a business trial lawyers' conference all this week out at Ko Olina on the west side of the island. They also planned to return to Texas on Sunday. I don't think so.

    Parent
    True Donald, (none / 0) (#107)
    by fishcamp on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:39:30 AM EST
    my NOAA Central Pacific Hurricane Center website is showing exactly that.  I had to search around amongst my collection of hurricane sites since they are all related to the Atlantic systems.  I have been directly involved with fifteen hurricanes in the past twelve year of living here, some direct hits on the keys and others hitting, crossing, and recrossing Florida.  Your hurricanes must have different reactions to your mountains than ours do.  Every hurricane that drags across Jamaica, or Cuba slows down significantly.  There is a phenomena that exists, where if perfectly lined up, after leaving Cuba, and crossing the 100 miles of open warm water, some hurricanes can rebuild their speed.  The dangerous early hurricanes that cross the Atlantic, without cruising through the Caribbean can prove dangerous to us.  The, later in the season hurricanes, that hatch in the Yucatan peninsula area of the Gulf of Mexico,  are usually the ones that hit the Florida panhandle area and Louisiana.  Once again good luck as I have shared your experience with hurricanes.

    Parent
    Cuba and Jamaica are both much bigger ... (5.00 / 1) (#116)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 09:51:52 AM EST
    ... than any of the Hawaiian Islands. I would offer that the size of the land mass probably also has something to do with slowing a hurricane down and breaking it up -- and we're mere specks on the ocean compared to an average hurricane's size.

    That often works to our advantage, because the eight main islands are spread out over 400 miles in length from east to west, and so each island actually presents a pretty small target for mid-Pacific cyclones. But when Category 4 Hurricane Iniki scored a direct hit on Kauai in Sept. 1992, the island's 5,000-ft. peaks didn't impede that monster one iota.

    Further, with the exception of the massive and rounded peaks of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala at the eastern end of the state, Hawaii mountains are uneven in height, craggy and steep and full of numerous small valleys facing every which way, such our own Kuliouou Valley. Kuliouou is about four miles long and runs in a south-to-north direction on the island's southeast shore. We have 2,000-ft. walls on either side of us, which sometimes tend to act as funnels during storms and can greatly accelerate wind gusts, well beyond what they might otherwise be over open water or flat land.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Ebola doesnt care about politics (none / 0) (#47)
    by Jack203 on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:25:37 PM EST
    It seems to me this current Ebola outbreak is the most dangerous threat the US and world has faced in a long time.

    I really hope I'm wrong.

    Panicking is not going to accomplish anything.  But the steps the CDC and countries around the world are taking are wise.

    Parent

    At such times, we would be wise to ... (5.00 / 2) (#49)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:42:06 PM EST
    ... heed the wisdom of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

    "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Was that a slight at me? (none / 0) (#58)
    by Jack203 on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:25:04 PM EST
    Not sure your point.

    The largest ebola epidemic the world has ever seen is a significant threat.  I am much much more concerned about Ebola than say....ISIS.

    There are many projections we can make from Ebola. And many of them are not good.  If things get much much worse in Africa.  We can't just say it's only Africa.   We're all connected.  

    Parent

    No, it isn't. (5.00 / 2) (#64)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:39:56 PM EST
    I agree with you, and Dr. King's words apply to us all during times like these. Information is our friend. Not only does panic solve nothing, it is generally counterproductive and actually elevates the level of risk.

    Parent
    Ahh (none / 0) (#70)
    by Jack203 on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:07:01 PM EST
    I understand your point now.  Thanks for clarifying

    Parent
    didn't like the article (none / 0) (#67)
    by Jack203 on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:52:29 PM EST
    Condescending and lacking substance.

    He admits Ebola is a "concern" but that nobody should panic over imminent exposure.  Not exactly going out on a ledge there.  That's a no brainer.

    Then he talks about flu, car accidents, skin cancer, and not eating sugar and fats.  Pretty standard stuff everybody's heard a thousand times.

    Nobody is panicking besides the people that panic over everything anyway.  But there are significant steps the CDC, WHO, and governments around the world are taking, and should be taking.   Most predictions are that it is going to get worse before getting better.

    Parent

    Women are dying at a rate of one every 12 days (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by MO Blue on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 02:41:27 PM EST
    from domestic abuse in South Carolina, yet SC prosecutors say the Stand Your Ground law shouldn't apply.

    South Carolina is one of more than 20 states that has passed an expansive Stand Your Ground law authorizing individuals to use deadly force in self-defense. The law has been used to protect a man who killed an innocent bystander while pointing his gun at several teens he called "women thugs." But prosecutors in Charleston are drawing the line at domestic violence.

    In the cases of women who claim they feared for their lives when confronted with violent intimate abusers, prosecutors say the Stand Your Ground law shouldn't apply.

    "(The Legislature's) intent ... was to provide law-abiding citizens greater protections from external threats in the form of intruders and attackers," prosecutor Culver Kidd told the Post and Courier. "We believe that applying the statute so that its reach into our homes and personal relationships is inconsistent with (its) wording and intent." link



    The Good News... (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by ScottW714 on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 03:06:25 PM EST
    ...is that is decided by a judge.

    It's just mind boggling that a prosecutor would go on the record stating who can use the law, as if they are the deciders, and is if a law meant to protect oneself somehow doesn't apply to women because they know the assaulter.

    I wouldn't worry about it as surely some guy is going to kill his wife and they will be tripping over themselves to use stand your ground.

    I do like the teenage girls being called women thugs by republicans.  There is literally nothing they can't be afraid of.  How about diapered gangsters or felon fetus'.

    Parent

    In the Monday Night Open Thread (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by MO Blue on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 03:14:55 PM EST
    regarding the new HCV drug you commented:

    Big Pharma needs to be reeled in, like seriously.  This strangle hold they have on America is not good for the citizens.  Which has me wondering, what does the pill costs outside the US.

    I found an write up that provides links to numerous articles on the subject. If you are still interested, please read my reply to your comment here.

    Parent

    Interesting Stuff (none / 0) (#11)
    by ScottW714 on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 03:33:47 PM EST
    It would be nice if all governments banded together and simply said this is what we will pay, otherwise no go in selling it here.

    One article said they would make a profit at $105 a pill, but they are charging $1000.  And it sounds like certain states will approve for medicare, which means less money for other people so that corporations can price gouge the public.

    Parent

    Very true MO, in fact the drug (none / 0) (#22)
    by fishcamp on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 05:56:57 PM EST
    has been available in Mexico, Brazil, and India for as little as $25 per pill, from the rumors I'v heard.  But they are rumors.  The price will start coming down soon, if these rumors of a generic Gilead's pill, and other companies drugs begin surfacing abroad.  $1,000 per pill is quite ridiculous. Good sleuthing.

    Parent
    Thanks (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by MO Blue on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:09:52 PM EST
    Health care related issues are one of my maiin interests. A few years back, I was hoping that the U.S. would join the rest of the civilized world and begin negotiating prescription drug prices with Big Pharma.  Unfortunately, that was not to be.

    Maybe one of these days, our citizens will rise up and demand single payer health care and reasonable prices for medicine.

    Parent

    Yes, well (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by Zorba on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:34:37 PM EST
    I used to hope so, too.
    But we do not negotiate the drug prices.  
    And this is a big part of the reason that our drug prices are so much higher than those in Western Europe, Canada, and others in the civilized world.
    They negotiate, and receive better prices.  We don't, and are essentially subsidizing their cheaper drugs.
    I have often said that we should negotiate those drug prices, as well.  We would wind up paying less for our drugs, and most probably, the countries with some form of universal health care would wind up paying more.
    The drug companies would still make a profit, which I don't oppose.  They're not charities, after all.  But they don't have to be making most of their profits off of us.
    Oh, and, BTW, the Veterans Administration does, in fact, negotiate, and the drugs that our veterans are supplied with are much cheaper.  Years ago, my father, a vet, was paying $600/month for his drugs (he did not have drug coverage).  When he switched to the VA, he paid $60/month for the exact same drugs.
    Most Americans, unfortunately, just do not realize this.
    And this is sad.  

    Parent
    BTW, did you happen to see this (none / 0) (#28)
    by MO Blue on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:31:57 PM EST
    Jenna Gavin reels in a 618-pound Atlantic bluefin tuna, shatters previous world record for junior girls while fishing with parents in Nova Scotia

    That is one big fish. Jenna is 12 years old.  I love this part:

    The fish was later processed commercially and delivered to market in the U.S.

    Where did some of the proceeds go? Toward helping pay for Jenna's braces.

    Source

    Parent

    Well, congratulations to Jenna, (none / 0) (#54)
    by fishcamp on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:13:06 PM EST
    Those large Bluefin tuna do come from that area, but are not always worth as much money as we read that the Japanese pay.  In order for them to be worth the big bucks, they must be caught very fast, so the core temperature doesn't build up and begin to spoil the fish, as it is still alive, and being caught.  I personally do not care for the flavor of Bluefin tuna, as they are rather fatty tasting.  The Yellowfin tuna is the type mostly seen in sushi bars, markets, and restaurants.  It is delicious, and most boats, down here, keep Wasabi, and teriyaki sauce, on board for very fresh sushi.  Still it is an admirable catch for anyone, especially a twelve year old girl.  Another very good story MO.

    Parent
    {{Sigh}} (5.00 / 4) (#9)
    by Zorba on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 03:07:42 PM EST
    Why am I not surprised?
    Kill an innocent bystander, or even some stranger you may wrongly perceive as a threat, even if he's not, and it's all good.
    But if a woman tries to protect herself from her violent abuser, it's "forget about it."
    What, women in intimate relationships aren't "law-abiding citizens," too?

    Parent
    I'm not going to argue that stand your ground (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by CoralGables on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 04:12:48 PM EST
    should be permitted in domestic cases, because I don't think stand your ground should ever be permitted.

    Parent
    I do not think that (5.00 / 3) (#13)
    by Zorba on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 04:58:41 PM EST
    Stand Your Ground laws should ever be permitted, as well.
    The standard should be "self defense," in the face of an actual threat.
    But it boggles my mind that the prosecutors referenced by MOBlue seem to think that these idiotic Stand Your Ground laws should, apparently, only apply to you regarding some stranger that you think may be a threat (or an innocent bystander) and not to a domestic partner who is in actual fear for her life and safety, in the face of repeated domestic abuse and actual threats.
    Way more than a double standard here, IMO.

    Parent
    I was trying to compose a reply to CG's (5.00 / 2) (#16)
    by MO Blue on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 05:33:54 PM EST
    comment that would accurately describe my POV.  I was struggling to state my opinion with some clarity.

    Your comment clearly states my opinion so much better than I could do. So I will just say, I agree 100 % with your comment.


    Parent

    How much of a... (none / 0) (#29)
    by unitron on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:34:09 PM EST
    ..."duty to retreat" do you think there should be?

    A single step back?

    Putting a piece of furniture between oneself and one's would-be assailant?

    A good faith effort to run to the car and drive away?

    Parent

    Duty to Retreat... (5.00 / 2) (#119)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 10:00:17 AM EST
    ...what right wing site did you get that catch phrase from.

    Walking away from a dangerous situation is what normal people with functioning brains do.  Fighting over ones belief that they should not back down is what prisoners and gang members fight over.

    If people with guns pretended they didn't have one and understand that in life sometimes its much easier and smarter to walk way, and realize that the use of deadly force should only be used in self defense, not to for chest puffing and ego stroking.  

    What's next, a law stating it's OK to shoot someone if they call you or your woman something derogatory ?  Yeah it sucks, but in the real world sometimes you aren't top dog, be it at work, or on the street, or in even in your home.  Sometimes you have to act like an adult, and walk away, instead of some gang member who thinks guns are the best to resolve disputes.

    It's chicken S machismo BS, which is fine, but there should not be laws protecting that kind of mentality.

    Personally, I don't want weak willed paranoid republican shooting me because he thinks I am a danger, when 50 witnesses say I posed no threat.  The idea that it's the judgement of the person who is paranoid enough to carry a gun in public, should not sit well with anyone who find themselves out in public.  By definition, they are free to shoot so long as they believe they were a threat.  For the paranoid, everyone is a threat/danger and that is not right.

    Parent

    I was answering CoralGables' assertion... (5.00 / 1) (#175)
    by unitron on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:49:04 PM EST
    ...that "stand your ground" should never be permitted.

    "...because I don't think stand your ground should ever be permitted."

    SYG removes the duty to retreat (a legal term found in real legal laws) found in some self-defense provisions in laws dealing with justifiable use of force.

    It basically expands "Castle Doctrine" beyond the bounds of one's own home to anywhere one has a right to be.

    It's pretty much a binary thing.

    Either you do have a duty to retreat or you do not, so no SYG means that you do.

    (or else you have a situation where the law is intolerably vague)

    I was asking how much of a duty to retreat CG would impose in place of SYG.

    (I personally think if there is a real threat to someone, that threat could manifest itself while that person was trying to carry out their duty to retreat, and I generally think the law should be more on the side of the "in immediate and real danger of being assailed upon" than upon the the side of the would-be assailant.)

    When states enact SYG provisions they often introduce other tweaks or changes to their justifiable use of force laws at the same time, and this means that a lot of stuff that isn't strictly SYG still gets called that, even by people, like police chiefs, lawyers, judges, legislators, state executives, and reporters specializing in crime and courts, who should know better.

    The Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case was an excellent example of that, and managed to mislead and misinform a lot of the general public.

    Parent

    By the way... (5.00 / 1) (#177)
    by unitron on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 09:21:15 PM EST
    ... here is the "right wing site" from which I got "that catch phrase".

    Parent
    "Duty to Retreat" (none / 0) (#120)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 10:21:36 AM EST
    Is part of the criminal code in the defense of self-defense in some jurisdictions.  It is not a "right wing" idea:

    Some U.S. jurisdictions require that a person retreat from an attack, and allow the use of deadly force in self-defense only when retreat is not possible or when retreat poses a danger to the person under attack. The duty to retreat is not universal, however. For example, police officers are not required to retreat when acting in the line of duty. Similarly, some courts have found no duty to retreat exists when a victim is assaulted in a place where the victim has a right to be, such as within one's own home.[1] The Model Penal Code[2] suggests statutory language that also recognizes an exception to the usual duty to retreat when the victim of the attack is in his or her own dwelling or place of work. It is common to exempt a person's home or car from the duty to retreat, known as the castle doctrine.

    Many states employ stand your ground laws that do not require an individual to retreat and allow one to match force for force, deadly force for deadly force. The Washington State Supreme Court, for example, has ruled "that there is no duty to retreat when a person is assaulted in a place where he or she has a right to be."[3][4]

    Most state legal systems began by importing English common law such as Acts of Parliament of 2 Ed. III (Statute of Northampton), and 5 Rich. II of 1381 (Forcible Entry Act 1381)--which imposed criminal sanctions intending to discourage the resort to self-help.[5][6][7] This required a threatened party to retreat, whenever property was "involved" and resolve the issue by civil means.

    Today, the majority of American states have construed their statutes of forcible entry, both penal and civil, in such a manner as to abrogate (i.e. abolish) the common law privilege to use force in the recovery of possession of land.[8]



    Parent
    Define Some Jurisdictions... (none / 0) (#134)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 11:52:17 AM EST
    ...because I can find one state.  And if it's circulating in right wings sites as a talking point for stand your ground, its right wing.  If he got it from reading Washington state statutes, then I stand corrected.

    But that really had nothing to do with my statement, remove it and the statement remains the same.  I never advocated for making the common sense decision, the law, just what people with functioning brains do, and I would add, have done before SYG laws.

    Parent

    From last year (none / 0) (#135)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 12:01:09 PM EST
    (although some may have changed)

    19 states and DC have Duty to Retreat laws:

    As best I can tell, the current rule is that 19 states (plus D.C.) fall in the duty to retreat category, with the states being bunched up quite a bit geographically:

    *Northeast/Mid-Atlantic: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island.

    *Midwest/Plains: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin.

    *West: Hawaii, Wyoming.

    All the other states do not impose a duty to retreat. The rule in federal cases seems to be ambiguous.



    Parent
    I Did Not Know That... (5.00 / 1) (#137)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 12:29:28 PM EST
    ...but in the context used above, it doesn't apply as defined in your link:

    In duty-to-retreat states, the defendant is not legally allowed to use deadly force to defend himself if the jury concludes that he could have safely avoided the risk of death or serious bodily injury (or the other relevant crimes) by retreating.

    Unitron is clearly using a different definition, one that implies one must retreat, one that surely has political roots.  It mentions nothing about retreating, only that you can't use deadly force if it could have been avoided.

    If you don't think Unitron's phrase is politically based, so be it, I do.  And if I had the time to peruse the right wing sites, I am sure I can find it be misused throughout the right wing/gun blogosphere.

    But you already know that because you sure Googled it.

    Parent

    Not sure why you're being testy about it (none / 0) (#138)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 12:39:52 PM EST
    Because You What I am Saying... (none / 0) (#144)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:01:07 PM EST
    ...but are acting like you don't.

    I hate when you get into quarrel mode and what I hate more is not being able to ignore it.

    Parent

    I genuinely thought (none / 0) (#147)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:12:29 PM EST
    You had never heard of "duty to retreat".  Apparently I was right, since first, you thought it was a right-wing talking point, and then you thought only one state had it.

    Still not sure why you seem all-fired to start an argument, but apparently you are in that kind of mood today.

    wev.

    Parent

    I Promise You I am Not... (none / 0) (#152)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:26:22 PM EST
    ...if you saw the pile of work I have and this is only ensuring a late night.

    Parent
    Nice Sous Vide (5.00 / 2) (#35)
    by Zorba on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:57:22 PM EST
    Time and temperature guides, from
    ChefSteps.
    With thanks to squeaky for pointing out ChefSteps originally.

    cool ! I've just ordered some duck legs (none / 0) (#178)
    by ZtoA on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 09:35:38 PM EST
    from a site that squeaky recommended. In the last 24 hours 5 people have asked to be invited to T-giving at my house. With family, this is starting to be a crowd and I'll have to order one or two rental tables and chairs. I have several friends who like to be included so the # may grow.

    One medium turkey will not cover these, so I'm going to add some duck legs. Broiled-crisped since torching them at the end will just be too confusing with all the kids trying to help in the kitchen. But I'll sous vide them for the confit in the next couple of weeks and then can experiment with broiling times and distances.

    I find that having sous vide meats and veggies in the freezer, already cooked, cooled and frozen, is just so handy when I or someone else decides a nice dish is wanted. If I have a medical problem, I don't have to think about getting stocked up on food too. And I only have to cook (that is do the sous vide) when I have the time (it does not take much time tho) or inclination to do so. Do you cook this way often? I've made only one of your recipes so far, but look forward to making more.

    Parent

    No Broiling (none / 0) (#180)
    by squeaky on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 10:26:04 PM EST
    They will be cold, as they have to age in the fridge, a week or two (or three or four) after the sous vide..

    When ready to serve put them in a hot oven 425ºF for 15  minutes or so, will warm them up and crisp the skin...  OK maybe a minute or so in the broiler after the oven, if they are not crispy enough.

    Parent

    Thanks, good to know in advance (5.00 / 1) (#181)
    by ZtoA on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 10:54:57 PM EST
    so I don't waste duck legs trying to experiment. I'll just do one experiment trying out your method (will let the duck legs come to room temp before too). Yummmm for that experimental dinner.

    When the "kids" (who are all now teens and 20somethings) are ALL in my very small kitchen with tasks that will "help"(they get to rice the mashed potatoes then add the warm ingredients I have prepared - hey, they say, a ricer is fun!), and everyone else is shoved in trying to conversate at a level that they can hear each other over the loud and laughing banter of the kids....well....I have to have my stragedies in place already in order to get everything to come out at the same time and per everyone's tastes and menu orders. Actually, as a somewhat reclusive introvert, it is a very quiet place for me which I love.

    And then the feast can commence and I am released from that internal quiet space and can actually look at and talk to the guests.

    Parent

    Oh (none / 0) (#182)
    by squeaky on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 11:49:03 PM EST
    And you don't need to freeze duck confit as they are preserved.


    Parent
    I actually had not planned to (none / 0) (#183)
    by ZtoA on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 12:24:05 AM EST
    freeze the dock confit. I do freeze sous vide cooked wild salmon (got some on sale) and some meats and chicken and broccoli (my fav sous vide veggie). I'm stocked full of those and they are great. I'll just confit (is that a verb?) the duck legs I just ordered and store them in the frig.  I think freezing a fat is not so effective, and I've read that too.

    Parent
    Kurds taking back Kobane (5.00 / 1) (#44)
    by Jack203 on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:19:57 PM EST
    So apparently Gov Rick Scott would not come (5.00 / 3) (#45)
    by ruffian on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:19:59 PM EST
    out for the first 10 minutes of the debate with ex Gov Charlie Crist ...because Crist had a little fan under his podium which Scott claimed was against the roooolz...but I saw a tweeted copy of the handwritten  addendum to the rules allowing the fan if the temp in the auditorium was too hot for Crist.

    Can we just all agree Scott is the biggest jacka$$ in politics?

    I just saw this (5.00 / 1) (#50)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:47:06 PM EST
    amazing.  Is it possible there is anyone who does not think Scott looked completely petty and ridiculous?   The panel did not mince words.

    Parent
    It is because he is petty and ridiculous. (5.00 / 1) (#141)
    by Amiss on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 12:50:46 PM EST
    But many of us already knew that.

    Parent
    I'm sorry, but I can't agree. (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:51:28 PM EST
    I'd really like to, but he has a lot of stiff competition in that category.

    Parent
    Fair enough! No need for unanimity after all. (none / 0) (#53)
    by ruffian on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:08:40 PM EST
    The other problem with (5.00 / 1) (#57)
    by fishcamp on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:21:38 PM EST
    Gov Rick Scott, is he looks like more of a jerk than he already is.  He has a weird habit of always tilting his bald head during interviews, which makes him look very cartoonish.

    Parent
    Can we talk about eyebrows? (none / 0) (#61)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:35:02 PM EST
    whats up with that? Was he born without them?  Does he shave them?  

    Parent
    Nope. He's got nothing on Ted Cruz. (none / 0) (#77)
    by Angel on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:19:21 PM EST
    Senator Ebola. (none / 0) (#81)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:30:08 PM EST
    Maybe now would be a good time (5.00 / 2) (#86)
    by NYShooter on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 11:37:17 PM EST
    for Crist to remind Florida voters how Scott was CEO of  Columbia/HCA when it pled guilty to 14 felony counts of fraud, and, having to pay out over 2 Billion dollars to settle the claims.

    Reading the litany of abuses at his hospitals will truly may you sick. Just imagine showing a campaign ad where an elderly patient tells the camera what she went through being told by her doctors (who were paid bonuses for exaggerating the extent of illnesses) what her phony diagnosis did to her, and, how much unnecessary, extra money she was charged.

    American hospitals are unprepared for Ebola?

    Money grubbing creeps like Richard Scott, and his ilk, are one reason why.  

    Parent

    From (none / 0) (#143)
    by Amiss on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 12:58:15 PM EST
    What I have read, he pled the fifth 75 times. I will never understand how anyone could vote for him, if they are sane.

    Parent
    Michelle Obama will headline a rally (none / 0) (#191)
    by oculus on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 11:03:09 AM EST
    for Charlie this weekend in Orlando.

    Parent
    The friendly skies -- (5.00 / 1) (#85)
    by Uncle Chip on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 10:54:21 PM EST
    Second Ebola-stricken nurse was given permission by CDC to fly commercial after calling them several times and telling them that she had a low grade fever.

    So her only symptom was a low grade fever at the airport and when her blood was tested 12 hours later at the hospital it tested out as Ebola.

    Her fever was below the 100.4 that (5.00 / 1) (#94)
    by Anne on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 07:06:43 AM EST
    I'm sure years of research has shown to be a pivotal point in terms of viral load.  She wasn't vomiting.  She didn't have diarrhea.  She wasn't bleeding.

    Was it the best decision to approve her flying? It looks bad, but in terms of risk, the people on that plane probably had more chance of getting the flu or a cold from coughing, sneezing passengers than they did of getting Ebola from the nurse.

    If Duncan's family/friends, who were in close contact with him while he was symptomatic, have not fallen ill, how rational is your constant hysteria?  What purpose does it serve?

    Ebola is not going to take root here.  It isn't going to be an epidemic of West African proportions.  

    I hope that doesn't disappoint you.

    Parent

    And, I am not sure (none / 0) (#153)
    by KeysDan on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:37:06 PM EST
    that exposure to body fluids is well understood.   "Severe diarrhea and vomiting" as occurs in patients sick with Ebola is not within most people's experience or even, imagery.   It is not something like stomach flu or  traveler's diarrhea or nausea with  the soiling of clothing and embarrassment.  Severe, likely entails explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting.  

    Parent
    RIP, Elizabeth Peña (1959-2014). (5.00 / 1) (#89)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:17:12 AM EST
    The Cuban-American actress, who died today following a short illness, made an indelible impression in John Sayles' critically acclaimed 1996 masterpiece "Lone Star." She played a lonely Latina schoolteacher who rekindles a star-crossed relationship with her old high school boyfriend (Chris Cooper), a Texas county sheriff currently embroiled in a controversial cold case murder investigation that many respected townspeople -- including her own mother -- would otherwise like to see dropped for a variety of personal reasons.

    Aloha to an understated yet brilliant talent. I'll miss her.

    Excellent film. Great cast. (none / 0) (#149)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:18:26 PM EST
    It's still one of my all-time favorites. (none / 0) (#170)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 04:56:58 PM EST
    After Robert Towne's "Chinatown," I consider John Sayle's "Lone Star" script to be one of the every best screenplays ever written for the modern American cinema. His directing skills sometime leave a little to be desired, but in the overall context of his complex storylines, character development and keen eye for casting -- Kris Kristofferson was never better onscreen as the incorrigibly cruel and corrupt Sheriff Charlie Wade -- that is often a pretty minor quibble.

    Parent
    I didn't know the name (none / 0) (#171)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 04:59:39 PM EST
    But when I saw her pictures, I realized she was Gloria's mom in "Modern Family".

    So sad.

    Parent

    Oh, that is too bad (none / 0) (#174)
    by ruffian on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:18:01 PM EST
    She was really good in 'lone .star', a favorite of mine as well, and other movies.

    Parent
    the height of hypocrisy... (5.00 / 2) (#139)
    by NYShooter on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 12:44:32 PM EST
    Insofar as the majority, or, at least a huge plurality, of Catholic clerics are also gay, appointing themselves as the arbiters of "the moral problems connected to homosexual unions" is, simply, laughable.

    Link please (none / 0) (#142)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 12:52:10 PM EST
    Insofar as the majority, or, at least a huge plurality, of Catholic clerics are also gay


    Parent
    Ferguson Grand Jury eye-witness: (5.00 / 1) (#140)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 12:47:22 PM EST
    But this witness said Brown never put his hands straight up, but held his elbows straight out from his torso, with palms turned up in a sort of gesture of disbelief.
    This latest witness, who is black, told the Post-Dispatch that Johnson took off running toward West Florissant Avenue after the first shot went off inside Wilson's police SUV.
    The witness said Wilson didn't have to kill Brown. "It went from zero to 100 like that, in the blink of an eye. ... What transpired to us, in my eyesight, was murder. Down outright murder."
    re: the convenince store video:
    "Everyone has a little dark secret, but all I know is that anytime I've been in his presence, he was very cordial," the witness said. "He was one of the few in all the years I've lived out here with all these young guys who ever addressed me as `sir' and asked me how I was doing instead of, `What's up, dog?' "


    Grand Jury witness just violated (none / 0) (#173)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 05:59:03 PM EST
    his oath.

    Parent
    What oath? (none / 0) (#176)
    by unitron on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 09:15:44 PM EST
    The jurors may be sworn to secrecy throughout the time the GJ is in session, but are the witnesses required to swear to anything other than the usual truth-telling?

    This is stuff that the witness has already told police investigators, as I understand it.

    Parent

    Move to strike. Brain cramp. Sorry. (none / 0) (#179)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 09:39:22 PM EST
    ZtoA (5.00 / 2) (#156)
    by jondee on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 02:12:25 PM EST
    to answer your question, I never liked Wagner, even before I heard about all his 19th century romantic Aryan Nations malarkey.

    And I'd probably like his work even less if it were continually blaring out of loudspeakers 24-7 at the corner of University and Goodman. I'm allowed, right?

    On the other hand I value highly the work of Fascisism-symps Celine, Ezra Pound, and Knute Hamsun. So, go figure. I'm a mixed bag, like most people.

    If I can sneak past the armed guards and creep across the private golf course/polo grounds, can I set up a monumental statue of the dog-headed Anubis on Otterness's street?    

    Ha! Jondee you might have lots of fun (5.00 / 1) (#167)
    by ZtoA on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 04:50:56 PM EST
    in your art career!

    I'd say we are probably all mixed bags. In fact I can see where you are coming from on animal cruelty and agree 100% on that. And I respect your point of view!

    I had not heard that Otterness did that dog 'art work'. I only knew of his work for the last 30 years and I like it, and also, I respect him as an artist and think he has the right to re-invent himself.  Since you also comment on a criminal defense site you might also agree that an act of cruelty, or even an illegal act, or even being jailed, does not completely define a whole life.

    Also the art dialog context in which the dog 'art work' was done was so wild at that time. He was just one among so very many who did destructive art works. Destructive, gross etc. during a destructive, gross etc period of time in the US.  

    Koons is so unrelated to Otterness. They are controversial for very different reasons. I can understand why PETA would be outraged, but after 37 years and an apology and complete change of approach for Otterness, PETA's holding on to that and trying to destroy his career is borderline cruel in itself.

    Parent

    When Otterness shot the dog (5.00 / 1) (#184)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 02:25:48 AM EST
    It was not illegal to do so.

    Parent
    It is Fascinating Case (5.00 / 1) (#186)
    by squeaky on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 10:23:53 AM EST
    Vets kill dogs all the time and it is OK, sad but people are not protesting outside veterinarian clinics or making death threats to vets like operation rescue.

    But the same vitriol as the crazies of Operation Rescue has appeared in the Otterness hate group. It is really strange, imo.

    Otterness did not kill a dog out of any sadistic, psychopathic, or weird pulling the legs of spiders, or burning cats type of mentality. Among other things was protesting the war, and took a dog that was going to get euthanized to make a political art work.

    Well the piece backfired big time, not the as much as now.

    Otterness has never tortured an animal, or killed one before or after. The dishonesty in pegging him as a threat to animal safety and poster boy for PETA attacks exactly the same tactics that the wing nuts and christian extremists use to fundraise, and troll for new members of their sick groups.

    If anything is sick it is the hate for Otterness who has never fit the profile of a sicko animal killer who needs to be stopped. Even TL commenters who do not have a clue or any interest in looking at, thinking about, or discussing Otterness's current work are quick to jump on the PETA bandwagon.

    Weird, but I guess liberals can exhibit the same behavior as raging conservatives and religious extremists. Ironically this sort of behavior humanizes the Limabaugh Coulter syndrome, even if it is still reprehensible.

    His Rochester MAG commission which jondee apparently fought against, showed how crazy some of these people are:

    The responses from those who wanted the MAG to rescind the Otterness commission have ranged from measured conversation to more extreme approaches. According to Holcomb, one person contacted Holcomb's former employers, various staff members have been threatened, there have been angry, anonymous postings to voice mails, and Otterness's life has been threatened. Holcomb calls the matter disturbing "in the sense that positions of vengeance and revenge and anonymous threats are just not a part of the world we're used to," he says. "We've learned a lot, and I can personally say that I found the experience, if disturbing at times, enlightening overall."

    Fortunately the far larger part of the population takes delight in the Otterness MAG commission and the economic damage to the gallery wound up being a wash:

    Despite protests and petitions drawn up in opposition to the Otterness commission, Holcomb says that the gallery lost no more than two dozen members. In fact, it actually gained new members who wanted to show their support, and had 25,000 more people attend gallery events in the past year than the year before, according to Holcomb.

    And this article actually talks about the art, and not about PETA.
    rochestercitynewspaper

    Parent

    Correction (5.00 / 1) (#189)
    by squeaky on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 10:46:47 AM EST
    Not PETA but IDA....  I guess I used the name PETA as I would "Saran Wrap".  But In Defense of Animal's group is the main one making money off of Otterness's 1977 film, not PETA.

    Parent
    Very interesting (5.00 / 2) (#194)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 12:47:50 PM EST
    IDA claims it has a pure pit bull strategy.  They pick a target and they refuse to let go.  Basically what they have done to Otterness.  Human beings blessed with a much more highly functioning frontal lobe demonstrate pack mentality.  In the spewing on Otterness the event was and had to be completely removed from time and context to be able for most to get really rabid.

    Empathy and rights for animals was socially due, but as in so many things the trend has become faddish and easily exploitable.  I sadly laughed in agreement with Sarah Silverman lately, if children in Africa needed someone in this country to care they should have been born puppies.  

    Parent

    Otterness lost one commission (5.00 / 1) (#190)
    by oculus on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 11:00:07 AM EST
    In San Francisco but another wasn't withdrawn.

    In another vein, the amazingly vitriolic reaction to the Metropolitan Opera producing "The Death of Klinghoffer.""  After reading Michael Cooper's NYT article, I googled for more reactions.  Two on-line Jewish publications. And then the comments including:  who are the quislings on the Met board of directors?  And, I hope Gelb, Adams (composer), etc. are in the balcony when it collapses and they all die.

    Parent

    The comment about hoping they all die (5.00 / 2) (#192)
    by ZtoA on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 11:18:25 AM EST
    is way over the top. Other than that they have the right to express their opinions (not contradicting you here) as do people on TL on Otterness.

    Yes, as squeaky pointed out, it is the same energy from conservatives and progressives to hound some appointed poster child and try to destroy their careers. It's happening to Cylvia Hayes in Oregon now.

    Parent

    Self Promotion (5.00 / 1) (#193)
    by squeaky on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 11:49:07 AM EST
    Yes, people are always looking for scapegoats, to enhance their own status. The actual content, of course gets lost in the sauce.

    Must have something to do with the "tribal gene" we have buried somewhere in our brain or spinal cord. The urge to identify with a group (or cause) overrides a persons ability to use their intellect and reason. Happened here with Obama and Hillary, and is still going on.

    It is most obvious when we look at people like Rush Limbaugh who profits by talking nonsense because people want to identify with the conservative movement. Branding, depends on this tribal gene as well..  

    Oh well.. no wonder we still kill massive amounts of human beings and are able to think of it as a good thing because they are the enemy.

    Parent

    You seem surprised (5.00 / 2) (#197)
    by NYShooter on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 02:48:22 PM EST
    that there was some negative reaction to the production of, "The Death of Klinghoffer."

    Aren't people who voiced their disapproval of this purposely controversial play entitled to their opinion, even "vitriolic" opinion?

    It's your use of the adjective "amazingly" that I find interesting. That's either pitifully naïve, or, recognizing your above average intellect, more probably, just disingenuous.


    Parent

    Yes, of course people are entitled to (5.00 / 2) (#199)
    by ZtoA on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 02:57:33 PM EST
    their opinions. We have the right to express them. We have the right to disagree. People have the right to protest that opera, the opera has the right to be staged and seen.

    What are we entitled to...?...rights start to taper off when it comes to threats and death threats.

    Parent

    Comparing a vet for (5.00 / 4) (#195)
    by nycstray on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 02:17:06 PM EST
    euthanizing a suffering pet to 'adopting' a dog to shoot for an art project/war protest is quite a stretch. Is that the best you can do?

    BTW, folks do protest at kill shelters when they are poorly run and doing nothing to help save and get those pets into loving homes. They also protest the use of gas chambers, heart sticks and other poor euthanasia methods that are considered cruel. In fact, there was a shelter in the south that took quite a bit of heat for shooting dogs. Cruelty to animals is just not an accepted practice by many.

    (and no, I am NOT on the PETA bandwagon. I'm animal welfare, not animal rights . . .)

    Parent

    Best I Can Do? (none / 0) (#196)
    by squeaky on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 02:29:01 PM EST
    Is it the best you can do to support destroying the career of an artist who has zero enmity for animals?

    An artist who does not remotely fit the profile of a person who is a danger to living animals?

    Parent

    Help me out here, squeaks, (5.00 / 2) (#198)
    by NYShooter on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 02:55:48 PM EST
    I'm trying to find where nycstray said he, "supported]  destroying the career of an artist who has zero enmity for animals?"

    Or, were you just responding to those "voices" again?


    Parent

    Oh (1.00 / 1) (#201)
    by squeaky on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 03:02:41 PM EST
    That is the subject of the thread.

    Jondee et al. support the destruction of Otterness's career.

    It certainly is not about his art, although jondee did seem to think that Otterness made a career of ripping off Matt Groening, which IMO is quite absurd on many counts.

    Parent

    In Any Case (none / 0) (#203)
    by squeaky on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 03:32:11 PM EST
    Despite what nycstray thinks et al. I think that the comparison of a Vet who puts down stray dogs and what Otterness did is apt and quite to the point.

    If there are protesters who picket Veterinarians who put down dogs the point would be, I assume, to get them to shut down their kill operation. If the vet stopped the protests would stop.

    No such thing has happened to Otterness. He never had a practice of killing animals nor has killed any animals since the dog video.

    Yet the language around those trying to ruin Otterness career is that he tortured dogs, and should not be granted public commissions as a result.

    Someone donated $750K for the NYPublic Library for Otterness to make bronze Lions. The commission was rejected because of pressure from those who pegged Otterness as an animal murderer and torturer.

    That is crazy, imo.

    Parent

    I was responding directly to your comment (5.00 / 2) (#202)
    by nycstray on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 03:13:38 PM EST
    about comparing vets to this artist. Nothing more, nothing less. I did not even say a word about this man's career. Don't not put words/thoughts where they do not belong in regards to my comments when you have nothing to back up your previous ill stated thoughts.

    For the record, I do not compare this man to someone who tortures animals.

    Parent

    Segue: Wagner. Do you actively dislike (none / 0) (#157)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 02:32:24 PM EST
    his "Siegfried's Idyll"?  How about "Tristan und Isolde"?  Met HD of "Parsifal" was quite beautiful. Jonas Kaufmann. But Mark Twain did opine he was waiting to be impressed by Wagner, which was also my brother's critique after hearing the Ring Cycle at Chicago Lyric.  .

    Parent
    Liebestod (none / 0) (#159)
    by squeaky on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 03:21:33 PM EST
    Hard to imagine anyone not liking the Liebestod in Tristan and Isolde. IMO, it is tantamount to someone saying that they do not like western music, and I do not mean POP..

    The Lebestod, and in fact the entire opera, was the most radical step in the history of the tonal system up to that point. Wagner exploited the tonal system of harmony and next step was Schoenberg.

    Parent

    You would be very amused by Jeremy (none / 0) (#160)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 03:45:22 PM EST
    Denk/Stephen  Stucky's "The Classical Style: An Opera (of Sorts).  I think the Carnegie Hall performance is very soon. I have the libretto in case you'd like to read it. Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven are shocked, shocked  I tell you, by "The Tristan Chord."

    Parent
    Maybe (none / 0) (#161)
    by squeaky on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 03:52:37 PM EST
    I find Denk annoying and somewhat superficial, his playing mostly.. and... OK his blather...

    Obviously the MacArthur Foundation disagrees..  

    Parent

    So do I, disagree, that is! But don't take it (none / 0) (#162)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 04:18:05 PM EST
    personally. (snk.)

    Parent
    ruffian, repeating myself (none / 0) (#2)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 02:06:21 PM EST
    in case the comment is missed in the last thread.  

    Peter Dinklage is the bad guy in the newest X-Men movie.  Watching it now.  It's really good.  90some% on RT but the point is Dinklage is great.  And there is no reference made to his size.  He's just "the bad guy".  I'm not all the way thru yet but it seems like they are making a point of avoiding the subject.
    How cool is that?
    When was the last time you saw a dwarf in a drama that did not, in any way, reference his being a dwarf at least on some non verbal level?  I cant remember one.  

    X-Men Days of Future Past

    I love Peter Dinklage (none / 0) (#3)
    by Zorba on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 02:14:10 PM EST
    I think he's a wonderful actor, and I don't give a rosy rat's @ss about his height.  I'm glad that they don't make any kind of deal about that.
    I'm definitely going to watch this.

    PS  Plus, I think he's sexy as he!!  What can I say?   ;-)

    Parent

    Mee too (none / 0) (#4)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 02:18:20 PM EST
    :)

    Parent
    Hee, hee! (none / 0) (#6)
    by Zorba on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 02:26:10 PM EST
    I'm pretty sure he's straight, Howdy.   ;-)
    And he's married, anyway.
    But he's still cute.  I may be married, myself, but there is nothing wrong with occasional window-shopping, even if I don't have any intention of buying.

    Parent
    Heh, me too. (none / 0) (#41)
    by ruffian on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:14:06 PM EST
    I will find that movie!

    Have you seen him in 'The Station Agent'? Great film, I can't remember if they reference his height at all. I'm old and forgetful.

    Parent

    It just started on PPV (none / 0) (#42)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:15:10 PM EST
    It's very good (none / 0) (#72)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:16:00 PM EST
    you find out new and interesting alternate universe facts about JFK and his death and the guy who plays Nixon nails it.

    Parent
    HBO (none / 0) (#5)
    by jbindc on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 02:19:16 PM EST
    To offer online streaming deals in 2015

    If you've been considering cutting the cord to your cable-TV subscription, HBO may have just handed you the scissors. At Time Warner's investor meeting Wednesday, CEO Richard Plepler announced that beginning in 2015, HBO will offer a standalone online service, allowing broadband customers without cable TV to subscribe.


    Son Zorba (none / 0) (#15)
    by Zorba on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 05:21:18 PM EST
    has long maintained that cable TV is very close to being in it's death throes.
    I guess he may well have been prescient.    ;-)

    Parent
    I'm waiting to cut the cord (none / 0) (#19)
    by jbindc on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 05:45:28 PM EST
    But like any addict, I can't quite do it yet.

    Parent
    He's definitely right (none / 0) (#21)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 05:48:34 PM EST
    its been coming for a long time.  Actually taken longer than most people thought.  There are millions of potential customers out there who will never subscribe to a cable or satellite service.  The problem will be it will be a la carte and probably expensive.  At least at first.

    Parent
    Well, I know that (none / 0) (#25)
    by Zorba on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:16:55 PM EST
    Son Zorba streams a whole heck of a lot of stuff.
    He also thinks that Netflix will be in trouble, too.
    I don't even ask him how he streams all the stuff that he does.  And I probably don't want to know.   ;-)

    Parent
    Lots of people (none / 0) (#26)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:26:58 PM EST
    watch certain shows, like Homeland or Dexter on things like iTunes.  It can get very expensive since they pay by episode.  Having a HBO web subscription will help but still it will just be HBO.  And maybe Cimemax.  If you want Starz, Showtime etc that will probably be a separate deal.  And then there are the standard cable channels some of which have hugely popular shows like AMC and FX.  

    ??

    Parent

    Plus (none / 0) (#27)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:30:33 PM EST
    there are pirate sites but I suspect that if HBO is going online they have shutting those down in hand.

    Parent
    Wow, if showtime gets on board with that I am (none / 0) (#43)
    by ruffian on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:15:33 PM EST
    pretty darn close to being able to cut the cable. As long as AMC does not come up with anything good after Mad Men

    Parent
    CBS is next (none / 0) (#103)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:29:54 AM EST
    Their current app sucks anyway (you can usually only watch one show, and have to wait until 8 days after original airdate - no catching up on shows or starting new ones).

    Link

    One day after HBO announced its intentions to offer a standalone streaming service to customers, CBS on Thursday announced it will bring its programming directly to consumers through a new digital subscription video service, which costs $5.99 a month.

    CBS says the new service, called "CBS All Access," will offer thousands of episodes from current and previous seasons of CBS shows, as well as "classic shows," all on-demand. It will also live stream local CBS stations in 14 of the largest US markets -- but it won't be truly "all access," since it will not be streaming NFL games on its new platform.



    Parent
    So aparrently (none / 0) (#23)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:09:46 PM EST
    this second Ebola case did in fact KNOW she had an elevated temperature when she got on the plane.  Which sort of boggles my mind.  I get that the treat is low but seriously, how stupid is this person.  Less excuseable because she is a freakin health care worker.
    It's to bad that people can't be smart enough to not make it necessary to quarantine them.

    This does not "disturb" me (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:55:53 PM EST
    as much as it pi$$es me off-

    "She should not have been on that plane," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden said Wednesday after the nurse was confirmed to have Ebola.
    --
    So how did she get on the plane?
    "I don't know," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told CNN, "and I'm asking a lot of questions today. There's no way she should have been on that flight. She was being monitored here in Dallas. And if she was being monitored correctly, I think she should have never gotten on that flight."
    It's unclear whether there was anyone who was responsible for making sure she didn't get on the flight.
    Before the flight, the nurse had taken her temperature and reported it to be 99.5 Fahrenheit (37.5 Celsius), Frieden said. That's below the fever threshold of 100.4 Fahrenheit that airport screeners are using to evaluate incoming travelers from West Africa. Frieden said her slightly elevated temperature was another sign she shouldn't have boarded the aircraft.

    No sh!t.  So who told her to fly.  And why do they still have a job.

    Parent

    And she's a nurse! (5.00 / 2) (#37)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:59:49 PM EST
    I'm praying for her complete recovery, but honestly, WTF was she thinking?

    Meanwhile, officials at Dallas Presbyterian Hospital are trying to shift blame to the CDC, saying that the feds failed to warn them. To which I say, boo and hiss.

    I'm sorry, but medical professionals are arguably the best educated people in the country -- particularly when it comes to health care protocols. The CDC did in fact issue guidelines, and yet the folks at Dallas Presbyterian still couldn't figure out how to properly deal with a highly infectious contagion. Then a nurse who KNEW she was at risk of infection decided to board not just one, but two planes while running a low-grade fever.

    Given how Dallas Presbyterian has thus far handled this tragic matter, from the very moment Thomas Duncan first presented himself at the hospital's emergency room, you really have to start wondering whatever happened to common sense in that facility.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Amen (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:03:06 PM EST
    im actually starting to agree with McCain.  Maybe there really should be a "Czar"

    Parent
    Half in jest (none / 0) (#40)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:09:26 PM EST
    but seriously, it's time for somebody to start kicking a$$ and taking names.

    Parent
    She was thinking (2.25 / 4) (#132)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 11:29:05 AM EST
    ...that the CDC approved her flight.  Which they did.

    Throwing victims under the bus is what the CDC seems to be the best at -- in other words, politics, Obama-style.  Actually figuring out what to do about this budding epidemic has thrown them for a loop.

    Just another of the huge numbers of way our government is completely incompetent.  

    Parent

    A few thoughts here: (5.00 / 2) (#163)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 04:27:21 PM EST
    According to updated information that has since been released well after I offered my initial comment yesterday, the Presbyterian Hospital nurse in question has been publicly identified by the media as Amber Joy Vinson, formerly of Tallmadge, OH.

    Ms. Vinson reported that she had a low-grade temperature of 95.5ºF, but was otherwise presenting no symptoms of infection, at the time she inquired of the CDC about whether she could take a previously planned trip to Cleveland.

    In painfully obvious retrospect, yes, everyone probably should've known better than to allow that trip to go forward, Ms. Vinson and her own superiors included. But hindsight is always 20 / 20, and putting it in the context of the time of Ms. Vinson's departure, the CDC really had no overt reason to forbid her from traveling to Ohio, given that:

    • The reason for her trip was to visit her family in Tallmadge (which is near Akron) and commence the planning for her upcoming wedding;

    • People will often run low-grade temperatures for a variety of reasons, not necessarily due to illness, and her 95.5ºF temperature clearly did not meet the CDC's stated threshold of 100.4ºF for her to be considered a possible risk for active contagion; and

    • Up to the time of her planned departure, she had been -- and continued to be -- completely asymptomatic.

    It was only after Ms. Vinson returned to Dallas from Ohio that she began to manifest overt signs of infection, and only then did she finally test positive for the Ebola virus.

    At present, the CDC merely says that it did not tell Ms. Vinson that she couldn't fly on a commercial airliner. From that statement, it is unclear whether Ms. Vinson had disclosed to CDC staff -- or for that matter, whether they even asked her -- how she specifically planned to travel between Ohio and Dallas, i.e., by plane, car or some other means.

    Now, regarding your other assertions, I'd first note that two infected patients from one single hospital in one locale, out of a nation of 50 states and 315 million people that spans over 5,000 miles east to west, does not a "budding epidemic" make.

    Further, CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., is a graduate of both Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons (1986) and its School of Public Health (1985). Prior to taking the reins at the Centers for Disease Control in 2009, he served in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's cabinet for eight years as Commissioner of New York City's Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene.

    And what, pray tell, are your professional credentials, that you should consider yourself somehow qualified to condemn Dr. Frieden and his colleagues at CDC as "completely incompetent," on the sole basis of one CDC staff member's obvious misjudgment?

    Much as some people like to believe otherwise, human beings are hardly infallible creatures. They can and do make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes end up being quite serious. I hardly think you'd appreciate someone cavalierly questioning your own professional fitness due to an underling's error.

    So unless you happen to possess irrefutable evidence of gross negligence or incompetence on the part of Dr. Frieden and the CDC leadership, which I seriously doubt you do, you really ought to grant to others those same courtesies you would otherwise reserve for yourself.

    And finally, what exactly does "Obama-style" mean in this particular context? I think it's pretty evident that you have another agenda at work here which prompted you to offer that derogatory remark, and that agenda actually has very little to do with public health policy.

    So please, get a grip on yourself and talk in rational terms, or take your anti-government bashing and fearmongering someplace else where it'll be much better appreciated -- like, say, the Light Foot Militia HQ and boot camp in eastern Idaho.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Correction: (none / 0) (#164)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 04:30:51 PM EST
    Ms. Vinson's self-reported temperature prior to her departure for Ohio was 99.5ºF, and not 95.5ºF as I mistakenly wrote above. (Normal human body temperature is 98.6ºF.) My error.

    Parent
    Buy your chocolate now! (none / 0) (#146)
    by Amiss on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:11:21 PM EST
    A friend in St. Augustine that is a chocolatier has relayed. The Ivorie Coast produces most of it. Her price in these past few days is up almost ten percent.

    Parent
    According to a friend (none / 0) (#55)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:16:53 PM EST
    of mine Ebola OJ is now running on CNN where you can watch the whole caravan going from Dallas to Atlanta. Where's MT when you need her? This has to be going all the way across Alabama. LOL.

    Parent
    It's on all the news channels (5.00 / 1) (#56)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:19:37 PM EST
    at least they are not leaving her in that TX hospital.  From what anonymous nurses are saying there will almost certainly be more cases.


    Parent
    Thank you Governor Perry (5.00 / 3) (#60)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:34:40 PM EST
    For sharing your scraping to get by healthcare system with your healthcare workers and all the rest of us.

    Parent
    Govenor Ebola (5.00 / 1) (#74)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:17:25 PM EST
    is what we should call him from now on.

    Parent
    I'm good with that (5.00 / 1) (#75)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:17:58 PM EST
    Pyrrhic victory in this case. (none / 0) (#82)
    by Angel on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:33:54 PM EST
    Actually (5.00 / 1) (#76)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:18:56 PM EST
    I'm really glad she's coming here because Emory knows how to deal with it, had dealt with it and been successful.

    Parent
    Again? (none / 0) (#59)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:32:45 PM EST
    The nurses at Emory said that the press was absurd over Ebola patients.  Cameras in your face just trying to go to work, and the press wasn't even close to figuring out where the patients were housed thank God.  Not that they told us where they were housed either, but everyone was being harassed and the press wasn't even close.

    At one point three helicopters were hovering around the hospital and the National Guard became concerned about the safety of that situation, so put their own helicopter in the air to police the press helicopters until they could be encouraged to please stop.

    Parent

    This is nurses from Presbyterian (5.00 / 2) (#63)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:38:20 PM EST
    Google and you shall find.  Lots of talk about no training and no protocols.

    Personally I still don't think that excuses the one who flew with a fever.  I or anyone with a TV would have known to not do that.

    Parent

    An already over stressed hospital (5.00 / 1) (#66)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:50:18 PM EST
    Is going to have a difficult time finding the time and funding for training.  An over stressed hospital is full of people with low morale too who feel like everyday is an uphill battle, and that's just a normal day.

    Parent
    I get that (5.00 / 1) (#68)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:55:54 PM EST
    but I was just reading something that said the original problem is that they were treating it like pretty much any other highly contagious disease like HIV.  
    and it's freaking viral hemorrhagic fever.  Hello.  I mean I'm not a health care worker and I know the difference.  

    Parent
    We have seen too many hospitals (5.00 / 1) (#71)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:09:51 PM EST
    with Josh.  And I worked in one too but not as a caregiver, a bean counter.

    They are each their own animal and it starts with the leadership and funding.   A hospital that has great leadership, good pay, will always attract the most educated healthcare workers too.

    The nurses involved their infectious disease department, and this is what they ended up with.  I am not surprised either.

    I used to have to work in the ER area sometimes at night, and I requested that the hospital vaccinate me for Hep B.  At that time they were only vaccinating healthcare workers, but I was exposed to patients directly in the ER.  I was fighting with the assistant administrator about it in the hall when one of my coworkers who was such a brown noser decided to help him.  She approached the fight scene and to reassure me that I was safe she told both of us she had only been bled on or vomited on three times since she began working there :)

    The assistant administrator was furious with her.  She obviously did not know that she had just made my argument for me.  I got my vaccination.  She didn't though.  All hospitals aren't tightly run ships, all hospitals aren't even close to being equal at this point in the healthcare system breakdown.

    Parent

    Google "Peter Pronovost." (5.00 / 6) (#79)
    by Anne on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:23:45 PM EST
    He's a Hopkins doc who has been on the leading edge of infection control and reducing hospital-based infections.

    I also found this, that some people may find of interest:

       The nurses said the patient was  "left for several hours, not in isolation, in an area" where up to seven other patients were. "Subsequently, a nurse supervisor arrived and demanded that he be moved to an isolation unit, yet faced stiff resistance from other hospital authorities," they alleged.

        Duncan's lab samples were sent through the usual hospital tube system "without being specifically sealed and hand delivered. The result is that the entire tube system ... was potentially contaminated," they said.

       The statement described a hospital with no clear rules on how to handle Ebola patients, despite months of alerts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta about the possibility of Ebola coming to the United States.

        "There was no advanced preparedness on what to do with the patient. There was no protocol. There was no system. The nurses were asked to call the infectious disease department" if they had questions, but that department didn't have answers either, the statement said. So nurses were essentially left to figure things out on their own as they dealt with "copious amounts" of highly contagious bodily fluids from the dying Duncan while wearing gloves with no wrist tapes, flimsy gowns that did not cover their necks, and no surgical booties, it alleged.

    On so many levels, and in so many ways, this Ebola thing is going to expose some very ugly realities of the state of the American health care system.  I hope that leads to positive changes - I just hope more people don't have to die in order for it to happen.

    Parent

    I think you are right (5.00 / 1) (#80)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:26:08 PM EST
    I did read about that sad (none / 0) (#65)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 08:46:28 PM EST
    Part of the story.  The press chased the second healthcare worker from Africa that Emory treated from the airport to the hospital.  Josh was in Emory then.  My husband said they hoped that the ambulance had engine trouble or was in a car accident cuz, news.

    Parent
    I can imagine (5.00 / 1) (#73)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:16:29 PM EST
    The news was awful enough to watch and they did not stop until the guy went home. And then there was another case too that went to Emory. Both were cured.

    Parent
    So, you've never gotten on a plane (none / 0) (#169)
    by fishcamp on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 04:55:55 PM EST
    with an elevated temperature?

    Parent
    After extended exposure to Ebola? (5.00 / 2) (#185)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 08:24:30 AM EST
    no I have not.

    Parent
    A good politicians answer, Howdy.:) (none / 0) (#187)
    by fishcamp on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 10:26:26 AM EST
    It's impossible... (none / 0) (#188)
    by kdog on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 10:42:51 AM EST
    to get on a plane without your blood being hot...if you've ever dealt with airport security theater you know what I'm talking about.

    Parent
    ... who won Game 4 of the American League Championship Series this afternoon, 2-1, to complete a shocking sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. Kansas City is now 8-0 in postseason play, and await either the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

    Meanwhile, the O's join the Oakland A's and the Anaheim Angels of Greater Los Angeles in the AL dustbin, each team pondering what might have been -- had they not had the misfortune of running into a red-hot Royals squad. My condolences to Anne and other Baltimore fans who, like me, definitely did not see this coming.

    Kansas City in the World Series -- who'da thunk it?

    :-O>

    KC vs St Louis (none / 0) (#32)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:45:33 PM EST
    Would be interesting

    Parent
    Yes. (none / 0) (#33)
    by Zorba on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:52:09 PM EST
    But I do think that this is better for the National League, whichever team wins.  And I'm hoping it's the Cards.  ;-)
    But this is baseball, after all.  Anything can happen.

    Parent
    Giants won (5.00 / 1) (#88)
    by cpresley on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:01:50 AM EST
    6 to 4. Lets hear it for KC and the Giants in the World Series. Go Giants.

    Parent
    Don't count your chickens before they hatch. (5.00 / 1) (#90)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 02:20:57 AM EST
    The Giants aren't in the World Series yet. With today's victory, they're up three games to one in the best-of-seven series. But as we've seen any number of times in baseball over the decades, getting No. 4 can prove to be an elusive and sometimes impossible task for some teams.

    And in fact, the 1985 Kansas City Royals are the only team in MLB history to successfully rally from 3-1 deficits twice during the same postseason -- first over the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, and then again against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series (arguably, thanks to a now-infamous miscall by umpire Don Denkinger in the bottom of the 9th in Game 6).

    Aloha.

    Parent

    I was at Busch Stadium for a Cards game (none / 0) (#36)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 06:58:27 PM EST
    the Royals 5 yrs. ago in the Mark McGuire suite for my nieces's bday. The Royals list and were much maligned.

    Parent
    Yep. They don't play games on paper. (none / 0) (#39)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 07:08:44 PM EST
    Even though you clearly and rightly qualified your comment, it nevertheless reminds me of 1987, when first the Detroit Tigers and then the Cardinals openly salivated at the prospect of playing the Minnesota Twins, who finished atop the AL West with a tepid 85-77 record.

    How'd that work out for everyone?

    Parent

    Kansas City in the World Series -- who'da thunk it (none / 0) (#69)
    by Jack203 on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 09:03:50 PM EST
    Not me.

    I am really rooting for them though.

    1. Anyone besides the Cardinals or Giants
    2. It's the Royals who have been terrible for 30 consecutive years. How could anyone root against them?
    3.  They have the worst hitting from a world series team I have ever seen.  Their best hitter is a .266 19 HR guy.  Their 1B and DH hover around .270 and can't even get double digit HR's on the season.

    With hitting like that you'd think that they must be further proof that pitching wins championships.  However, their starting pitching is not even that good.  The only area they excel at is their bullpen which is undeniably exceptional.

    What they also have is speed and most team chemistry.  They are fun to watch.

    Go Royals.


    Parent

    They hit only 95 home runs collectively during the 2014 regular season. But more tellingly, they led the major leagues with the lowest strikeout ratio and the most stolen bases. They personify the concept of "small-ball" -- a team that absolutely excels on defense with great pitching and superior fielding, and then nickels and dimes you to death on offense with walks, singles, bunts, sacrifice flies and opportunistic baserunning.

    Parent
    Does PETA know about the (2.00 / 2) (#95)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 07:28:49 AM EST
    "sacrificed flies"?

    Parent
    Does films of killing dogs (5.00 / 1) (#99)
    by MO Blue on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:08:20 AM EST
    rank among the world's great works of art in your world?

    Parent
    Or maybe you might want to (5.00 / 2) (#100)
    by MO Blue on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:11:56 AM EST
    lend your support to the the Wendy Davis/Otterness comparison.

    Parent
    Oh, Blue...don't you know? (3.67 / 3) (#111)
    by Anne on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:47:56 AM EST
    Just asking that question proves that our minds are not open and we don't know enough - or anything - about the art world.  Not that those who have that opinion are snobs or anything, or maybe they are, but it's okay because it's "art," and artists are just so misunderstood.  

    Boo-fking-hoo.  

    Or maybe the comment to which you replied was the usual effort by the usual instigator to carry forward a contentious discussion from an old thread to a new one in order to get it going again.

    I have to say, "culture" just isn't what it used to be.

    Parent

    You are just being "petty." (none / 0) (#148)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:15:03 PM EST
    Don't quit your day job just yet. (none / 0) (#102)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:20:57 AM EST
    Given that troll-rating (not me!), it's obviously a tough crowd. ;-)

    Parent
    Not a troll rating (none / 0) (#105)
    by MO Blue on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:32:49 AM EST
    A two is not a troll rating. A two indicates disagreement with the comment.

    Sometimes the facade of humor is used as a dig when in relationship to a past argument. The standard response when this is pointed out is "I'm only joking."

    Parent

    How are things weather wise (none / 0) (#109)
    by MO Blue on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:39:53 AM EST
    where you are? Are you still in danger from a hurricane?

    Parent
    Usually my comments are ignored. (none / 0) (#122)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 10:28:23 AM EST
    I am flattered!

    Parent
    No offense (none / 0) (#124)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 10:44:44 AM EST
    but sometimes your comments are so cryptic no one knows what you are talking about.  I recognize this because mine sometimes are too.

    Parent
    This is why I appreciate sarcasticunnamedone! (none / 0) (#125)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 10:48:07 AM EST
    Ha! (5.00 / 1) (#127)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 11:04:11 AM EST
    & I U!

    Parent
    I know it's petty, but I will be (none / 0) (#93)
    by Anne on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 06:54:20 AM EST
    rooting for whichever team represents the National League in the World Series against the KC Royals.  

    If I even watch the Series...

    Orioles had a great season; the ALCS games were games of inches - no blowouts, neither team's starting pitchers going more than 6 innings, hitting at a premium - but I think the absence of Machado and Wieters and Davis did finally catch up to them.  The team that vanquished 3 Cy Young award winners was supposed to vanquish the team that was a little more upstart than they were, and it didn't happen.  

    Oh, well - it's just a game, not life or death, right?

    Parent

    ... that the Angels were practically unbeatable, and that the only way the Orioles could possibly reach the World Series would be if the Royals somehow managed to knock the Halos off in the AL Division Series.

    And then, SPLAT! and SPLAT! again.

    Parent

    It's ok to be petty, Anne (none / 0) (#110)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:45:50 AM EST
    Go ahead and root for the NL.

    I was rooting for the Royals to sweep the O's after they took apart my beloved Tigers.  :)

    Parent

    So, we're just paying it forward, I guess! (none / 0) (#112)
    by Anne on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:51:47 AM EST
    It's disappointing, but it's not anything we won't get over.  We had a good run, and there's always next year, right?  Assuming the owner is inclined to spend some money, the Orioles are at least in a position now where good players actually want to come play here - quite a turnaround from the years when this place was a collection of other teams' discards.

    Parent
    You had a great and exciting year (none / 0) (#114)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 09:03:07 AM EST
    And it's only something like 172 days until Opening Day!

    Parent
    Who's the idiot with the clipboard? (none / 0) (#84)
    by Uncle Chip on Wed Oct 15, 2014 at 10:36:52 PM EST
    Take a hint and get a clue. (none / 0) (#87)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 12:31:26 AM EST
    "[G]iven what we know, you should have no concerns about Ebola at all, none, I promise. Unless a medical professional has contacted you and told you some sort of possible exposure, fear not. Do not listen to the hysterical voices on the radio and television or read the fear provoking words online. The people who say and write hysterical things are very irresponsible. [...] Again, these are the facts. We do not have an outbreak of Ebola in the United States. Nowhere. We do have two health care workers who contracted the disease from a dying man. They are isolated. [...] I report to you with certainty that being afraid is the wrong thing to do. Being 'petrified' -- and that's a quote -- is ridiculous."
    -- Shepard Smith, Fox News (October 15, 2014)

    Aloha.

    Parent

    LOL -- Shep Smith (2.00 / 1) (#92)
    by Uncle Chip on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 06:30:21 AM EST
    Donald, when someone as far left as you admit you are is compelled to quote Shephard Smith for your hints and clues, then there is something definitely in the air or drinking water or behind all those hazmat suits to worry about.

    Aloha  

    Parent

    The quote stands. (5.00 / 2) (#113)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:56:16 AM EST
    The facts don't support your specious assersions and at this point, your otherwise reprehensible fearmongering on this issue really amounts to nothing more than half-a$$ed demagogy. And given the underwhelming reception you've received from people here thus far, suffice to say that you're wasting both your time and Jeralyn's bandwidth.

    Adios, you misbegotten white-wing rodeo clown.

    Parent

    KeysDan's reply yesterday (5.00 / 3) (#115)
    by fishcamp on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 09:27:39 AM EST
    was one of the best I'v ever heard, something like, save your breath to cool your soup.

    Parent
    For the defense attorneys out there (none / 0) (#96)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 07:45:42 AM EST
    Former Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife are challenging a juror's dismissal midway through the trial - they want a new trial or have their convictions thrown out.

    The juror who was mysteriously excused midway through the public corruption case against former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, was let go because he called a lawyer he knew and mentioned his jury service -- although both he and the lawyer said their conversation did not go far beyond that, court records show.

    The juror, Louis DeNitto Jr., has said publicly he would have pushed against convicting the McDonnells, and the former governor is now arguing that the circumstances surrounding DeNitto's dismissal provide grounds for a new trial.

    Good argument or grasping at straws?

    Seems like a Hail Mary pass to me.....

    CaptHowdy (none / 0) (#97)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:03:15 AM EST
    I just read about the Arkansas Senate debate.  How has this been playing there?  Is it big news, or just a big yawn?

    During a debate  Tuesday night, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) responded to a question from a moderator by saying that, while there are "different ways to judge it," when he thinks of the middle class, "I think of most of Arkansas -- maybe that goes up to $150, $200 thousand. There's different ways to judge it."

    His opponent, Rep. Tom Cotton (R), was quick to jump on the comment. Cotton said that a typical household in Arkansas earned about $40,000 a year -- not a definition of "middle class," as such, but a much lower number.

    So who's right? Well, Pryor is right when he says that there are varying standards used to define "middle class," a term used more commonly for rhetorical purposes than documentary ones. But by most of those standards, Pryor's suggested range was way too high -- particularly for Arkansas.



    It's been in the news (none / 0) (#101)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:15:50 AM EST
    the truth is while it was probably not smart to say Pryor has a point that there are rich people here.  The Waltons sort of blow the curve.  But of course Cotton would jump on it.  Pryor would probably have jumped on it if Cotton said it.

    IMO it's not going to decide the election.  But it won't help Pryor.  

    I have really conflicted feelings.  I really hate Pryor but Cotton would be a disaster.  Honestly I'm more concerned about the Governors race.  The idea of Assahole Hutchinson being Gov is terrifying.   We may be in for a very dark period.  The days of Arkansas not being as crazy as other red states, i.e., taking Medicaid may be coming to an end.  I really hope not but on the ground vibes do not encourage me.  

    I still think the Dem get out the vote plans will stop a republican takeover of the Senate.  But I am less optimistic about it working here.

    Parent

    Tom Cotton (none / 0) (#108)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:39:48 AM EST
    sounds like a Ted Cruz wanna be. A GOP takeover of the senate would turn the senate into the clown operation the house has become.

    Parent
    Btw (none / 0) (#104)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 08:29:57 AM EST
    There is a little known "movement" of rich people into this state.  The Waltons are hardly alone.  Apparently they like the tax code among other things.  One of the largest private homes in America is being built a few miles from my house.  And they are popping up all over.

    I suspect that if the Pryor name does not win statewide this time that may well have something to do with it.

    Parent

    I really hope someone (none / 0) (#117)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 09:53:05 AM EST
    besides me is watching American Horror Story.  It is on track to be the best season yet.   More Emmys coming.

    Takeways from the Kansas Senate Debate (none / 0) (#118)
    by jbindc on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 09:54:53 AM EST
    TBH vs CDC (none / 0) (#121)
    by Uncle Chip on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 10:23:04 AM EST
    Presbyterian workers wore no hazmat suits for two days while treating Ebola patient

    Presbyterian followed CDC guidelines when treating nation's first Ebola patient, officials said Thursday

    Health care workers treating Thomas Eric Duncan in a hospital isolation unit didn't wear protective hazardous-material suits for two days until tests confirmed the Liberian man had Ebola -- a delay that potentially exposed perhaps dozens of hospital workers to the virus, according to medical records.

    The 3-day window of Sept. 28-30 is now being targeted by investigators for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the key time during which health care workers may have been exposed to the deadly virus by Duncan, who died Oct. 8 from the disease.

    Duncan was suspected of having Ebola when he was admitted to a hospital isolation unit Sept. 28, and he developed projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhea later that day, according to medical records his family turned over to The Associated Press.

    You're a little late to that party, Chip. (none / 0) (#131)
    by Anne on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 11:18:57 AM EST
    Well pat yourself on the back -- (none / 0) (#133)
    by Uncle Chip on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 11:43:40 AM EST
    You were ahead of the curve -- take a bow.

    But it needed to be said again given this morning's confusing testimony.

    The question that many are asking is why no PPEs for those two days when Ebola was highly suspected but not yet officially confirmed???

    Is it because CDC protocol does not call for PPEs to be worn by nurses until after there is an official diagnosis -- after the bloodtest comes back positive for Ebola diagnosis???

    Which of course would be, as in this case, several days after he's been symptomatically contagious and sharing his pathogens with others???

    Parent

    My understanding is that they were (5.00 / 1) (#136)
    by Anne on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 12:17:27 PM EST
    wearing gowns and gloves, but not hazmat suits - in other words, following a more standard form of infection control protocol.

    But I'm curious: where are you seeing that CDC protocols do not call for the use of PPE until after a diagnosis?  Because I'm seeing this, directly in CDC materials:

    Standard, contact, and droplet precautions are recommended for management of hospitalized patients with known or suspected Ebola virus disease (EVD) (See Table below)

    Additionally, here:

    As part of the care of patients who are persons under investigation, or with probable or confirmed Ebola virus infections, hospitals are recommended to:

        Be sure environmental services staff wear recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) including, at a minimum, disposable gloves, gown (fluid resistant/ impermeable), eye protection (goggles or face shield), and facemask to protect against direct skin and mucous membrane exposure of cleaning chemicals, contamination, and splashes or spatters during environmental cleaning and disinfection activities. Additional barriers (e.g., leg covers, shoe covers) should be used as needed. If reusable heavy-duty gloves are used for cleaning and disinfecting, they should be disinfected and kept in the room or anteroom. Be sure staff are instructed in the proper use of personal protective equipment including safe removal to prevent contaminating themselves or others in the process, and that contaminated equipment is disposed of appropriately. (see question 8).

    And more (updated August 22, 2014):

    Controlled movement

    Controlled movement requires people to notify the public health authority about their intended travel for 21 days after their last known potential Ebola virus exposure. These individuals should not travel by commercial conveyances (e.g. airplane, ship, long-distance bus, or train). Local use of public transportation (e.g. taxi, bus) by asymptomatic individuals should be discussed with the public health authority. If travel is approved, the exposed person must have timely access to appropriate medical care if symptoms develop during travel. Approved long-distance travel should be by chartered flight or private vehicle; if local public transportation is used, the individual must be able to exit quickly.

    Much of what you are presenting as information and fact does not seem to be in line with the materials I have referenced.  I realize much of what you may find in the linked materials will be hard to integrate into your fear-mongering campaign, but others may find it worthwhile.

    Parent

    CDCPPE (none / 0) (#150)
    by Uncle Chip on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:20:41 PM EST
    wearing gowns and gloves, but not hazmat suits - in other words, following a more standard form of infection control protocol.

    That's my understanding as well though there appears to be an array of personal protective equipment in between like that shown by CDC website.

    I'm not saying that it is part of the protocol to wait for diagnosis before wearing PPEs other than to wonder why they would not take precautions and start wearing them on the 28th. Why??? Was it cost??? Is the hospital not reimbursed by HHS for expensive PPE gear until there is an official diagnosis??? Why would they not take the highest precautions at that point??? I don't have an answer.

    I also noticed in the recommendations for PPEs you posted that there is no mention of the need for the nurse to have to cover her hair or her neck and here is their recommended PPE:

    CDC Protocol for PPEs

    Would you be comfortable wearing that with the hair and neck exposed in an Ebola ward with vomit and diarrhea flying???

    Looking at their inadequate protocols for the PPE  it is easy to see where a hospital could meet CDC protocols for Ebola and still spread the infection to its nursing staff.

    Parent

    The protocol you posted had to do (5.00 / 1) (#154)
    by Anne on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:50:54 PM EST
    with taking off the PPE, not what PPE to use.

    Here's where I think the problem may lie: in comparison to conditions in the African countries, conditions in US hospitals must have been deemed to be orders of magnitude better, and hospitals and personnel much better equipped to deal with the possibility of patients presenting with Ebola, or in the high-risk group.

    The hospital failed from the initial presentation, it seems to me.  And continued to fail for quite some time.

    The CDC is not prepared to send teams to every hospital with possible infected individuals presenting for examination.  Nor, I believe, are hospitals prepared to send every patient possibly infected to some central/regional facility.

    But, for the love of God, how incompetent does hospital administration have to be to even entertain the idea that health care workers could care for someone in full-blown Ebola and attend to a regular patient population???

    I've gotta run, but I will be back to continue this discussion.

    Parent

    CDC website (none / 0) (#158)
    by Uncle Chip on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 02:33:15 PM EST
    The protocol you posted had to do with taking off the PPE, not what PPE to use.

    Then tell me what it says about taking off the covering for the hair.

    How and when does it say it should be done???

    Fortunately most hospitals, even in third world countries, supply PPEs that exceed those shown on the CDC website.

    I have yet to see a PPE used by any hospital nowadays and going back decades that doesn't cover the hair.

    When was that website last updated -- 1950??

    Parent

    An interesting turn of events (none / 0) (#123)
    by CST on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 10:44:27 AM EST
    In the abortion debate.  Link

    "The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed more than a dozen Texas abortion clinics to reopen, blocking a state law that had imposed strict requirements on abortion providers."

    Not an action I would have expected from this court, but certainly a welcome one.

    Linda Greenhouse does a riff on (none / 0) (#129)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 11:09:28 AM EST
    possible meaning of the various SCOTUS actions b/4 issuing any opinions this term:

    NYT

    Parent

    two steps forward, one step back (none / 0) (#126)
    by CST on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 10:58:54 AM EST
    So the pope is apparently pro-gay now, but the English-speaking bishops in the church aren't as down with that so they are altering the English translation of his speech from the original Italian to be less welcoming.

    And this folks, is what we call the game of telephone, and it's been going on with religious (and other) texts for centuries.

    "Pro gay" (5.00 / 2) (#128)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 11:06:16 AM EST
    Might be a tiny over statement-

    "without denying the moral problems connected to homosexual unions it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners."


    Parent
    two steps forward, one step back (none / 0) (#130)
    by CST on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 11:17:16 AM EST
    starting from a mile behind.

    Parent
    KeysDan should be along soon (5.00 / 2) (#145)
    by fishcamp on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:01:07 PM EST
    to kindly, but factually straighten us all out on the Pope's new stand regarding this event.  If not, his presence will be missed.  I can almost feel his thinking from 75 miles away.

    Parent
    Gas Prices (none / 0) (#151)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 01:25:08 PM EST
    The drop in price may appear to some as an indication of a weakening market due to conservation, renewables, and weaker economic data. While partially true, the decline also validates the strength of the domestic energy market. While the U.S. is still dependent upon imports, surging U.S. production means the country imports far less than it has in years.

    According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, in 2013 the U.S. imported approximately 33% of the petroleum consumed, the lowest since 1985. Stated another way, net crude oil imports are down over 25% in the last five years while the country is still more than 20% below its peak production of 1970.  LINK

    Any comments from republicans ?  Weren't leases and renewables a big campaign bugaboo that were going to destroy America or destroy something important ?

    Just filled up (none / 0) (#165)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 04:31:41 PM EST
    2.72

    Wow

    Parent

    LA is in the 3.70 range. (none / 0) (#166)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 04:47:38 PM EST
    Ha...$2.17 down here... (none / 0) (#168)
    by fishcamp on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 04:52:52 PM EST
    Wow. (5.00 / 1) (#172)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 05:51:55 PM EST
    But, do you have caught-over-the-weekend yellow tail in your fridge? :-)

    Parent
    Hey, just came back from Miami again, (none / 0) (#200)
    by fishcamp on Fri Oct 17, 2014 at 03:02:26 PM EST
    to get the bad airbag replaced, and they didn't have the part, but I saw several gas stations at $2.10, and one at $2.06 but that one looked very strange, and unsafe.

    Parent
    Quarantines in Ohio (none / 0) (#155)
    by Uncle Chip on Thu Oct 16, 2014 at 02:12:08 PM EST
    Seven in Ohio confirm contact with quarantined nurse Ebola patient

    It didn't take long for CDC investigators to disbelieve nurse Amber's claim that her low-grade fever just magically showed up Monday night at the airport in Ohio before boarding.

    Since she tested positive Tuesday in Dallas it is more than likely that she was symptomatic and hence contagious as far back as Saturday -- just hours after arriving by air from Dallas and while her colleague Nina, who worked the same Ebola patient in the same ward at the same time wearing the same gear, was checking into the hospital in Dallas with  Ebola.

    Amber probably intended to stay longer in Ohio to work on her wedding but was forced to cut her visit short there and scurry back to Dallas when she started to feel those Ebola symptoms over the weekend.

    Thus the quarantines of her contacts in Ohio.

    And had she gone directly to the hospital in Dallas when she got there as she should have then all of her stuff there in her apartment in Dallas would not be going to the incinerator.