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Saturday Open Thread

I'm on the eternal laptop search. I can't keep putting a 7 pound beast on my lap to blog. And this time I refuse to buy a laptop without having held it , typed on it and viewed the screen first -- no more laptop buying sight unseen. Wish me luck.

Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Can you start a blog from (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by fishcamp on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 02:12:02 PM EST
    an iPad or iPhone, If it was an open thread, with no details?  iPads are easy to type on as long as you don't drag a finger.  You can tell iPad users due to periods and capitals in the middle of sentences.  

    yes I can do that (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 02:31:44 PM EST
    Presently using an HP (none / 0) (#36)
    by scribe on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 09:34:14 PM EST
    which I bought last fall at Best Buy.  Highly recommend them and the products they're selling.

    My current computer came loaded with Windows 8, which works just fine.  Weighs about 3 pounds, about a 13 inch (measured with hand, not ruler) touch screen and full-sized keyboard.  I got it on sale for less than $300 - don't remember exactly how much but it was closer to $200 than $300.  It's a little light on the memory and doesn't have a CD-ROM drive, but works just fine for my purposes.

    As one other commenter noted, you get to handle and fiddle with the merchandise at Best Buy and the salespeople actually seemed to have a clue about the products.  A refreshing change.

    Parent

    My new, refurbished MBP (none / 0) (#93)
    by fishcamp on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 07:40:55 AM EST
    weighs 4.49 lbs., and it feels heavy to me.  The Macbook air weighs about half that and is a computer.  However, even though Jeralyn has an iMac, I think she needs a windows machine to do her work with those files.  That's why she keeps mentioning the different windows laptops.  I use Apple because of my extensive photo, music, and film/video files.  Thankfully I have no jail, court, or prisoner files.

    Parent
    I would not recommend her trying that (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by ruffian on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 02:32:04 PM EST
    Try a MacBook Air instead. Low end refurb models (like mine) are not much more expensive than the iPad and a lot easier for typing and other 'real computer' stuff.

    Parent
    MacBook Air (none / 0) (#38)
    by Coral on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 09:55:38 PM EST
    I tried an iPad, and ended up giving it away. The best solution for me has been the smallest MacBook Air. Very light, travels anywhere, and works like a computer with access to your filing system without having to go through apps.


    Parent
    I like my iPad for reading, photos, and a few (5.00 / 2) (#54)
    by ruffian on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 10:34:57 AM EST
    other things, but I have just about given up on it for typing more than a few lines. I'm just too bad at it, and have to correct nearly everything. Bluetooth keyboards are a pain with it too, weird combination of touching and typing.  So a few months ago I got a refurb 13 inch MacBook Air for my portable computing. I doubt I'll ever get any kind of a tablet again.

    Parent
    Yes to having keyboard! (none / 0) (#62)
    by Coral on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 04:07:17 PM EST
    I did attach a keyboard to the iPad I bought--but that made it heavier, along with additional problems. Macbook Air solved the problem. Only 2 1/2 lbs.

    Parent
    My work laptop is a small Lenovo Thinkpad (none / 0) (#49)
    by Cashmere on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 09:16:22 AM EST
    and I love it.  For personal use, I have a MacBook Pro, but I tend to prefer using Windows as it is what I've used much of my life.


    Parent
    Our taxpayer dollars at work (5.00 / 3) (#4)
    by ruffian on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 02:35:03 PM EST
    This guy needs to be fired.. Not the first time this week I have just wanted to tell someone 'Ya know what? eff you'.

    What would possess someone to say such a thing anytime, this week especially.

    What a j@ckwad. (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by caseyOR on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 03:12:19 PM EST
    Unfortunately, the world has an ample supply of j@ckwads.

    That comment should disqualify him from working on any case that involves Orlando, anyone who lives in Orlando, anyone who is or could be thought to be from a developing country or has a cultural heritage from a developing country, all LGBTQ people and anyone who could be perceived as LGBTQ, anyone who is or could be perceived to be of a lower economic status, anyone with a religion, etc.

    You get the idea.


    Parent

    One of my least favorite relatives (none / 0) (#8)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 03:27:50 PM EST
    Lives in Orlando.  She is a real honest to god religious zealot.  She has worked, for example, in Africa and other places helping spread and justify the kill the gays Christianity we read about.

    She is a "friend" on my old abandoned FB page with all the people and relatives I hate.  My sister told me I should check out her posts on the subject.  

    Wow.

    I can tell you with some certainty this guy has an audience and most likely plenty of support.  

    I'm sure Orlando is a nice place and they have responded to this admirably.  But a$$holes are everywhere.  And I just happen to have a line into that particular local group.  

    Parent

    This particular statement touches all the (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by ruffian on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 03:38:09 PM EST
    bases in the right wing hate ballpark. I am really stunned to see it come from a public official. Just a little taste of what a Trump admin would look like.

    Parent
    She had some pretty awful quotes (none / 0) (#11)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 03:44:16 PM EST
    From other, what seemed to be, public officials.  If I ever decide to go back (unlikely) I will take names.

    The good news I think is that people like my sister and other family members that are certainly not friends of Dorothy seemed really shocked and uncomfortable with the tone.


    Parent

    Just unfriended one of the more virulent locals (5.00 / 2) (#35)
    by ruffian on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 09:08:58 PM EST
    Convinced she was blocked from getting jobs because Muslims were getting preference. Should I tell her she was not getting jobs because everyone that ever worked with her thinks she's an idiot?  Maybe that would be the kindest thing.

    Parent
    Kenneth Lewis, the (5.00 / 2) (#9)
    by KeysDan on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 03:35:07 PM EST
     assistant states attorney for Florida's 9th circuit (Orlando/Osceola Counties), has a way with his Facebook words. In a 2014 post he wrote: "Happy Mother's Day to all the crack hoes out there, it is never too late to tie your tubes and clean up your life and make a difference to someone out there that deserves a better mother."

     Lewis was reassigned and ordered to take sensitivity training; it is not known if the course was taken at Trump U., but in any case, hopefully, the course came with a warranty.

    Parent

    My tax dollars are funding (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by oculus on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 03:57:37 PM EST
    the placement of large jagged rocks to deter homeless sleepers blighting America's finest cities while MLB All Star game festivities are here v

    Parent
    I'm wondering if the (none / 0) (#12)
    by oculus on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 03:55:13 PM EST
    CA AG monitors Facebook posts of her deputies!

    Parent
    I saw a wolf in my yard yesterday (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 03:00:36 PM EST
    Either that or the worlds biggest coyote.  It had a rabbit, I think I have not inquired about the health of my neighbors rabbit sized dog, in its mouth.

    I looked at me with more "don't even think you are getting this" than fear.   And loped away into the field on the other side of the road.

    My brotherinlaw says it's very possible.  That they have been getting his calves in the field behind my house from time to time.

    It was cool. And a bit freaky.

    A mountain lion attacked (none / 0) (#47)
    by fishcamp on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 08:16:59 AM EST
    a five year old boy yesterday in Woody Creek, Co., just outside Aspen.  It happened relatively close to Hunter Thompson's house.  

    The mother heard screams, ran out and pried the Puma off her son.  She actually reached into the cats mouth to pry it open to get the boy's head free.  The father rushed his son to Aspen Valley Hospital where he was listed in severe condition.  They flew him to another hospital in Denver.  Mom had scratches on her arms and legs.

    The wildlife folks found the cat and put it down.  It was only 600 yards from the attack location.  Then they found another Puma nearby and put it down too.  The cats were about seven months old and weighed 40 lbs.  If young cats lose their mother early in life they don't know what type of prey to attack.  A very strange situation since mountain lions are reclusive, and rarely attack people.

    Parent

    there had been a ton of rain (none / 0) (#48)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 08:53:49 AM EST
    recently and my yard had gone white with clover.  swarms of rabbits. every time i open a door rabbits scatter like cockroaches.  cute cockroaches.  not surprised predators are lurking.  this was in my front yard.  he could not have gotten into my back yard where my dogs stay.  i dont think this guy presented any threat to me.  

    it was really sort of thrilling to see it up so close.  many reports of big cats around here.  night cam pics on FB and stuff.  i heard one once but have never seen one.  well, for sure.  i nay have caught a glimpse in a car once.

    love to see one of those.  but not necessarily as close as that.

    Parent

    Pumas riding in cars? (none / 0) (#111)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 11:08:04 AM EST
    Or was it driving?

    Things certainly are a bit different down there in ArKansas.

    Parent

    If they vote (none / 0) (#133)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 03:28:02 PM EST
    Why not drive?

    Parent
    Bear attack as well (none / 0) (#83)
    by ragebot on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:53:49 AM EST
    250-lb bear found (none / 0) (#117)
    by Towanda on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:23:47 PM EST
    last week in southern Wisconsin.  Very rare there.  But a bear cub was found there a few years ago, and lots of other wildlife have migrated south along rivers from the northwoods, because of the building boom (before the recession) of lots of second homes.

    We're in the most urban of areas, so far no bears, but lots of coyotes -- so deaths of small dogs -- and foxes and wild turkeys -- the latter can stand several feet tall and do attack humans -- and the like not seen here for many decades.  

    Parent

    After filming many ABC Sports (none / 0) (#164)
    by fishcamp on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 09:59:58 AM EST
    American Sportsman animal relocation films, I learned the farther north you go, the larger the animals become.  Bears are the perfect example.  Black bears, that roam many parts of the U S, are smaller than the northern brown bears.  Then the Grizzlies, that are huge, are smaller than the big white bears, that are now floating around on MMGW ice bergs.  This size difference is noted in the small Desert Bighorn Sheep, which are the same species as the larger northern Bighorns.  Raccoons are another example of this phenomenon.  

    But now with climate changes, and all types of habitat encroachment we can possibly expect some very large critters moving south.  We never used to have White Sharks down here, but we do now.  The Pythons, Alligators, and Crocodiles have eaten most of the smaller indigenous species in the Everglades, and are now moving into neighborhoods to eat.  The torture never stops.

    Parent

    Gators and Crocs are native to the (none / 0) (#167)
    by ragebot on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 11:46:30 AM EST
    Everglades.  It has been my experience that gators get larger as you go South.  Not a lot of experience with crocs, but the ones in the Everglades are fairly small and really don't go North.  The few I know of in the Keys are small as well.  There was/is one in the DT and pix show it to be about six feet.

    On the other hand NatGeo says of the American Crocodile:

    This species is among the largest of the world's crocodiles, with Central and South American males reaching lengths of up to 20 feet (6.1 meters). Males in the U.S. population rarely exceed 13 feet (4 meters), however.

    Parent

    We're only now really starting ... (none / 0) (#185)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jun 23, 2016 at 05:43:16 PM EST
    ... to learn about great white sharks and their behavioral patterns. The prevailing alpha predator out here in Hawaii is the tiger shark, yet we've been noting increased numbers of documented appearances by great whites in our waters of late. But is that due to climate change, or should our present awareness be seen in actual contrast to our former ignorance of their actual movements in the Pacific?

    I pose that question because we now know that great whites in the Pacific do migrate from California to Hawaii and back, and yet scientists haven't been able to determine exactly why they're doing this and can thus far only postulate.

    Some have surmised that great whites travel to Hawaii to mate and whelp ,even though we actually know very little about the mating habits of this species, while others believe that the sharks are actually following the great schools of yellowfin and Bluefin tuna as they conduct their own trans-Pacific migrations.

    You might enjoy taking a look at this Ocearch website, in which they track the migratory patterns of select great whites which have been tagged by researchers in order to compile data for study.

    One such shark, a large female nicknamed "Katherine," has been tracked on her meandering sojourn between the Grand Banks off Newfoundland and the Gulf of Mexico; you can see where she's been over the last three years by scrolling down the list of sharks on the left of the Ocearch website and then clicking on her name. As of June 8, she was about 100 miles off Daytona Beach. In early February, she was off of Nova Scotia. She last transited the Florida Keys back in May and August of 2014, while on her way to and from the Gulf.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    This story (none / 0) (#148)
    by CoralGables on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 05:48:59 PM EST
    may keep my marathons in urban areas. Those suckers are fast.

    Parent
    Coywolf? (none / 0) (#57)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 11:58:16 AM EST
    Wolfote? (none / 0) (#58)
    by desertswine on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 12:44:49 PM EST
    They could call them that too (none / 0) (#59)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 01:23:22 PM EST
    But the researchers mostly use coywolf. It is a hybrid cross between coyotes and wolves that you only find in the Eastern US so far, has been there for 1,000's of years, and is largely why many Eastern "coyotes" are so much larger than those out West.

    Parent
    Yes, they can be huge (none / 0) (#118)
    by Towanda on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:25:01 PM EST
    by comparison to coyotes.  Coywolves have been sighted here, around the Great Lakes -- although some claim that they are cougars.

    Parent
    According to a PBS Nature episode ... (none / 0) (#131)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 02:37:55 PM EST
    ... recently rerun a few weeks ago, the coywolf appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon as a species or subspecies. They're pretty common in eastern Canada -- in fact, that PBS episode was mostly filmed in and around Toronto -- and are now being seen in increasing numbers in the eastern United States.

    The wolf species that's endemic to Arkansas is the red wolf, hence the "Red Wolves" nickname of Arkansas State University sports teams, but it's unfortunately been extinct in that region for quite some time.

    However, according to U.S. Fish & Wildlife officials in both Arkansas and Missouri, there have been increased and confirmed wolf sightings in both states, and they say that from eyewitness descriptions, they believe that these are migrating grey wolves from the upper Great Lakes region, likely looking to establish new territories. So that may well be what the good Cap'n saw the other morning.

    Cap'n, you ought to contact both the Arkansas Fish & Game Commission at (501) 223-6300, and the Arkansas Ecological Fields Office of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Region 4 in Conway, AR at (501) 553-4470, to report your recent sighting. If officials can definitely establish that wolves are indeed repopulating the region, steps can better be taken to protect them.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Thank you for the numbers (none / 0) (#132)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 03:12:26 PM EST
    But I already done it.  Locally.  We have an office right here in town and surely it will not surprise you to know I have a nephew who works there.

    its associated with the dam .  You know, the third largest freshwater spring in North America.  I often get tiny fish there to feed my big fish.  Free fish food is a perk of having a family member in the office.

    He agreed with you, it was probably a grew wolf.  He says they have been coming around town more often and are telling people to not leave their small pets outside overnight.  I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

    Parent

    i guess (none / 0) (#60)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 02:27:30 PM EST
    it looked a lot like the many coyotes ive seen but darker and much bigger.  it was bigger than my dogs.  my dogs are about 100 pounds.  it was lanky but a bigger frame.  and not really scruffy looking like most coyotes ive seen.  it looked pretty well fed.  not surprising with all the rabbits around.

    this morning i was whacking weeds around the yard and saw an interesting thing i never saw before.  several places where something had tried to dig under my backyard fence from the outsides.  probably the same guy after the rabbits, or maybe the cats, in the backyard.  my fence is 6 ft.  i dont think he could jump over it

    Parent

    Researchers tracking them note (none / 0) (#65)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 05:57:22 PM EST
    They aren't as afraid of people as Western coyotes. They run around Eastern suburban neighborhoods at night and the humans never know they are about, but researchers are tracking them with radio collars.

    I had to study them a little since the first German Shepherd in Alabama that I thought I saw dead on the side of the road turned out to be the biggest coyote I'd ever seen in my life

    Parent

    he did not seem afraid at all (none / 0) (#73)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 07:13:30 PM EST
    it was about 30 feet from my front door. it was quite early.  i had just woke up and was opening up the house.  i had not even let the dogs out yet.  at first i thought it was a dog.   but when it turned and loped away i could tell it was not.   from the scratch marks around the backyard i would say its been grabbing rabbits for a while.  and will probably be back.

    occulus
    I have a friend in LA who has a pet timber wolf.  magnificent animal.  he found it as a cub.  i asked him if it was legal.  he said it was not.   but he lives waaaaay the f@ck out in the middle of the desert.  he had the single longest commute of anyone i knew.  about 2.5 hours one way on a good day.  you have to love the country to do that sh!t.

    Parent

    It sounds like you have one (none / 0) (#95)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 08:16:27 AM EST
    Here's an article out of Tallahassee, a trapper who says coyote size has increased. The coys were once believed to only be in the Northeast. But researchers noticed once they started following them, that they can expand their range 5 times faster than coyote studies.

    I don't think they will expand that quickly into the West, there just isn't the game supply out there to work with. But the jungle growth down here is loaded. If the locals don't think coywolves have moved in, I think they are kidding themselves.

    Parent

    Did I mention my (none / 0) (#61)
    by oculus on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 03:57:40 PM EST
    coyote case?  As the fish and game ranger sd. when he removed it from it's "guardian:". Ma'am, there ain't no dog in that coyote."

    Parent
    Howdy, it was a chupacabra... (5.00 / 2) (#63)
    by fishcamp on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 04:13:09 PM EST
    I don't think we have a verified sighting (5.00 / 1) (#151)
    by CoralGables on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 06:02:44 PM EST
    of the chupacabra anywhere north of Hialeah. Although a 5am call from a peacock might make the hair on your arms stand at attention in chupacabra territory.

    Parent
    Welcome to little Aidan Clinton Mezvinsky (5.00 / 4) (#7)
    by ruffian on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 03:16:01 PM EST
    born to Celsea and Marc this morning. Hang on kid, it's gonna be quite a ride.

    Marc the Shark... (none / 0) (#179)
    by kdog on Wed Jun 22, 2016 at 12:40:07 PM EST
    better find more rubes to scam with a new hedge fund..putting two through college ain't cheap.

    Parent
    It (none / 0) (#180)
    by FlJoe on Wed Jun 22, 2016 at 01:15:23 PM EST
    takes a truly cynical mind to use the birth of a child as a reason to slur someone for just being related to the Clintons. Have you no shame?

    Parent
    The dig... (none / 0) (#181)
    by kdog on Wed Jun 22, 2016 at 02:49:31 PM EST
    was directed at grifting for a living, not the Clintons.

    He was and is a grifter man, speaking of shameless!

    Parent

    Mezvinsky senior was the one who did (none / 0) (#182)
    by jondee on Wed Jun 22, 2016 at 03:46:51 PM EST
    time for running ponzi schemes..

    Hopefully the apple bounced a healthy distance away from that tree..

    After awhile though, even an un-cynical mind has to wonder what it is about all these Mezvinskys, Kissingers, Scaifes, and Epsteins that draws the Clinton's in against their wills.

    It could always be worse though. We should be thankful that that dastardly black widow Jane
    Sanders never lured one of the Clintons into her perilous Web of intrigue.

    Parent

    He (none / 0) (#183)
    by FlJoe on Wed Jun 22, 2016 at 04:07:40 PM EST
    was a piece of work, but at least Bill passed up the chance to pardon him. Link

    Parent
    Not to hold the sins of the father... (none / 0) (#184)
    by kdog on Wed Jun 22, 2016 at 07:07:36 PM EST
    or anything, I'm talking the perfectly legal racket at Eaglevale LP and the rest.

    Hedge my grits Mel.

    Parent

    The Bill Maher Show, (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by KeysDan on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 04:24:58 PM EST
    Friday, June 17, was pretty much disfigured by guest Emily Miller, a former reporter for Washington D.C. Fox 5 television and the Washington Times.

     Miss Miller is a gun advocate and reliable source of misinformation. She is perhaps most infamous for her fabricated "home invasion" story that, appears to have propelled her into second amendment nether regions. Perhaps her unfamiliarity with integrity is what has endeared her to her hero, Trump.

     Her tactic on the Maher show was to talk fast, loud and with incessant interruptions.  On all fronts, she made Ann Coulter seem reasonable.  The panel did have Colonel Wilkerson, former assistant to Colin Powell, who attempted to bring some sense of sanity to the discussion.  However, when not talked over by Miss Miller, he was being pawed by her, which the Colonel ignored but was difficult for the viewer to do so.

     Josh Barro, who is a pretty smart guy, who apparently was included to bring gay perspectives to the current and sad events of the week, was too polite to get much of a word in edgewise.

     The other guests, Rebecca Traister, a writer for New York, on women in politics was very interesting and Bill suggested that she return some day as a panelist, while the other guest, Ravi Patel, took some umbrage with Bill on a seemingly mild comment calling him an a**hole, thereby ending whatever it was he was trying to say. Overall, not a loss.

     Bill added a corrective to Miss Miller's obnoxious babble, but was not entirely successful,in that he was not able to control the conversation.  It took Col.Wilkerson to do whatever could be done in that department.  Bill was too immersed in his customary Islam rant, including his curious position that only Islam fanatics have caused lethal harm to gays; other religions are bad, too, but they just hold deadly signs.  

    Perhaps Maher should talk (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by caseyOR on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 05:00:11 PM EST
    to some actual LGBTQ people about their experiences with different religious fanatics. Speaking for me, the gay/lesbian bashers I have encountered in my life have included plenty of Christians, not a single Muslim.

    I would bet my experience is the norm for LGBTQ people in the United States.

    Maher is either shockingly misinformed or lying to bolster his anti-Muslim claims.

    Parent

    ... when it comes to the subject of religion in general, and for some reason he's particularly Islamophobic. Frankly, the reaction of some so-called Christian preachers to the tragedy in Orlando was outright repulsive and sickening.

    The late San Francisco supervisor Dan White was most all accounts a very devout Roman Catholic. Given the logic of some of these yahoos on the cable news networks this past week, could we therefore say that White's Catholicism radicalized him prior to shooting fellow supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone in Nov. 1978?

    And if you want to hear religious homophobia, you ought to take a listen to Chris Butler from Honolulu, who's a Krishna Hindu guru. Homophobic religious zealots, regardless of sect, are often emotionally unbalanced creatures who use their faith as a crutch to compensate for their lack of personal self-esteem or even self-confidence in their own sexuality.

    Those vile pastors from the above-linked clip are no more reflective of Protestant Christianity as a whole, than Omar Mateen is representative of Sunni Islam.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Miller was so treacly sweet in her idiocy (none / 0) (#17)
    by ruffian on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 04:33:01 PM EST
    it was really painful to watch.  She would not shut up and kept touching Wilkerson and Barro. It was uncomfortable. In fact I had to turn it off early, right after Maher's rant.

    I hope Traister does come back. She is such a good writer - glad to see she holds her own in person too.

    Parent

    New season of Endeavour starts (5.00 / 2) (#19)
    by caseyOR on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 04:53:04 PM EST
    tomorrow  night on PBS. Is young Morse still in jail? If not, is he back on the force?

    Following Endeavour is a new series, a political thriller called The Tunnel, that looks promising.

    the Tunnel...starring one Stannis Baratheon... (5.00 / 2) (#64)
    by ruffian on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 05:08:28 PM EST
    ...er, Stephen Dillane. I'm in!!

    iImay be up all night watching that, Penny Dreadful, GoT...just took a power nap.

    Parent

    2 hour season finale (none / 0) (#74)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 07:40:45 PM EST
    Of Penny Dreadful

    Parent
    I gues it was the series finale (none / 0) (#88)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 07:02:07 AM EST
    As far as I can tell, no renewal so far.   If it had a good run and I would say ended well.

    Parent
    I'll watch tonight-. Knew I would not (none / 0) (#90)
    by ruffian on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 07:10:49 AM EST
    be able to last two hours last night. Intrigued.

    Parent
    I binged out on (none / 0) (#92)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 07:19:09 AM EST
    Hemlock Grove yesterday.  Penny Dreadful seems to have ended.  Really glad there is one more episode of GOTs at least.  Feeling sort abandoned.
    And Ray Donavon starts next week.

    AND did you catch the new extended trailer of WESTWORLD?

    It looks amazing.  October.

    Parent

    YES on Westworld (none / 0) (#115)
    by ruffian on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:07:59 PM EST
    It does look great.

    Only wish it had Eva Green....if as it turns out PD is over.  got to find another good role for her.

     I have a show idea - Vanessa and Sir Malcolm move to NYC and meet up with Dr. Thackery at The Knick. I think I would watch that on a permanent loop.

    Parent

    She is great (none / 0) (#122)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:40:13 PM EST
    She was in the 300 sequel and was perfect in Sin City: A Dame To Kill For.   Which is really beautiful t look at.   And has a movie coming this year that sounds great called Miss Peregrins Home For Peculiar Children.

    Parent
    New trailer for (none / 0) (#162)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 09:04:52 AM EST
    Miss Peregrine

    Tim Burton

    Parent

    Watched Penny Dreadful last night (none / 0) (#165)
    by ruffian on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 10:09:16 AM EST
    so sad and tragic, but a good way for the series to end. Or this chapter of the series...we'll see.

    Also watched Endeavour (I'll just use one comment to talk about both so as not to clog the thread). Loved it - was so nice to be back in the Morse world with the music, locations, beautiful photography, people, etc. Loved the Gatsby-like plot of the episode too.  And I see the final Inspector Lewis season will air soon. My summer Sunday nights will still be good after GoT and PD.

    Parent

    When you sent me to (none / 0) (#166)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 10:28:55 AM EST
    Previously tv yesterday I read the piece on PD.  I thought it was prett good.  But basically they still didn't get it.  It was sort of telegraphed there would only be three seasons.  I had forgotten until I read that.
    I thnk it ended perfectly.  It had sort of done its thing.  Any more would just be milking the idea.  IMO.

    It was a great idea.  There are lots of great ideas.

    One thing I read said Preacher may have helped kill the renewal.  Don't know if you have been watching but it's great.  I think it's going to find an audience.  Same with Outcast on Max.  Max has a couple of great looking things coming up.

    Parent

    Agree - I appreciate they told their story (none / 0) (#170)
    by ruffian on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 12:06:23 PM EST
    and finished. Devolving into more battles against creatures of the dark would have been boring to me.

    Lots of other stories to tell.

    So...what is the connection to Preacher? Same producers or something? I have all of Preacher on my tivo but have not started watching yet!

    Parent

    As far as I know (none / 0) (#174)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 01:35:05 PM EST
    Only that it is on the same time and attracts the same audience.

    Parent
    That said (none / 0) (#175)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 01:36:55 PM EST
    I'm good with spinoffs

    Parent
    It was nice to be back in Morse (none / 0) (#168)
    by caseyOR on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 11:50:50 AM EST
    land. I was relieved to see that Thursday did not die, and Morse was released from prison. Whew!

    About Inspector Lewis: I am always delighted when a new season of Lewis comes around. Who knew crime could be so civilized? And maybe this is the final season. But... this is not the first time Masterpiece has led us to believe Inspector Lewis was done and dusted. Maybe this is the end. Maybe it's not.

    Just sayin'.

    Parent

    Maybe it will continue on with (none / 0) (#169)
    by ruffian on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 12:01:08 PM EST
    Sergeant Hathaway...he is kind of a Morse throwback with all of his education and misgivings about the job.

    To tie it altogether, the actor that plays Hathaway is married (or was anyway) to the actress that plays Lily on Penny Dreadful...just the kind of trivia I remember...

    Lewis always has had my heart. Just a sweet teddy bear!

    Parent

    I guess you really only (none / 0) (#78)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 08:16:23 PM EST
    Have to burn one ship.

    Thank you for the armada

    Pffft

    Parent

    Ha! Was that the advice Tyrion gave her? (none / 0) (#89)
    by ruffian on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 07:06:16 AM EST
    A show of strength rather than slogging back to all the slaver towns? I'm all for it. Get thee back to Westeros!

    How did you like the battle of Winterfell?  Hellacious. I don't think Jon should be in charge of anything anymore.

    Parent

    Agreed (none / 0) (#91)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 07:15:46 AM EST
    After all the warnings and cautions he snaps up the bait like a hungry carp.  

    Did you notice Tyrion AGAIN mentioned in passing all the places set to explode with Wildfire?  That did not seem random.  The finale is supposed to run 70 minutes.   It should be awsum.

    One of the things I love about the series is there is all this amazing stuff happening and still most of the population still seem blissfully ignorant of what's coming.  Mention White Walkers or Dragons to most people roll their eyes and they act like you are talking about unicorns.  Remember the reaction of SAMs family to the mention of White Walkers.  It's going to be like the Walking Dead/Westeros edition.

    Parent

    there is renewed speculation (none / 0) (#103)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 09:40:51 AM EST
    that along with everything else going on next week it will be revealed that the High Sparrow is in fact Howland Reed -

    All we know for certain about the nauseatingly moralising High Sparrow is that he was once a wealthy man who shunned material goods in favour of a life of piety. Now a series of eagle-eyed redditers have posited the theory that the High Sparrow is none other than Howland Reed (Jojen and Meera's father, and the guy who saved Ned Stark at the Tower of Joy).
    ----
    Also, because Howland was present at the Tower of Joy, he could be the only man able to confirm Jon Snow's true parentage -- which would make legions of Game of Thrones fans feel very smug if their predictions turn out to be true.

    and that his stint as High Sparrow was really just a long game of revenge on the Lannisters for what they did to Ned Stark (is it possible Marjery knows this?  and its why she does not seem worried about her brother?)
    also rumored is that Meera is in fact Jon Snows sister from the day in the tower.

    all this and the burning of Kings Landing on Sunday ?

    Parent

    The High Sparrow is a dirtbag (5.00 / 1) (#130)
    by ragebot on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 02:31:26 PM EST
    as far as I am concerned.  Not just him but most of his trusted followers are a little too over the top for me.

    Not saying the Lanisters don't deserve a lot of grief, just that the High Sparrow does not seem to limit his cruelty to the Lanisters; he is an equal opportunity abuser.

    YMMV

    I am also getting a little tired of the cavalry riding in at the last minute to save the day, a little too Mighty Mouse to me.  Gotta say I have lost track of how many times a battle was lost till riders on horse back charged at the last second and turned the tide.  Maybe it is my military experience but that seldom happens in real life.

    Did enjoy Sansa's wicked smile at the end when Ramsey's dogs were enjoying a meal after seven days of no food.

    Parent

    I totally agree (none / 0) (#136)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 03:34:14 PM EST
    But
    Assuming any of that is true his followers might have no idea who he really is and just be religious zealots.  Lancel for example. I don't get the impression he has any higher purpose and if the Sparrow really does have sinister motives he would probably enjoy manipulating a Lannister to help undo the Lannisters.

    Parent
    I remember reading the (none / 0) (#157)
    by ragebot on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 09:10:29 PM EST
    Puritans were against bear baiting not because it was cruel to the bears but because the people doing it were having fun.

    I get the feeling the followers of the High Sparrow feel the same way about the "sinners" they are punishing.  They are not so much upset by the "sin" rather they are upset that the "sinners enjoy sinning.

    Parent

    Also (none / 0) (#140)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 03:51:19 PM EST
    We have giant fire breathing dragons and naked women walking out of burning buildings, white walkers and their army of the dead.  Red women bringing people back from the dead.  Giants, ice spiders, vast halls of peeled and reusable faces and time travel and the Calvary riding in at the last minute is the first time you notice things that don't usually happen in the real world?

    Just sayin.

     

    Parent

    You mean (5.00 / 1) (#158)
    by ragebot on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 09:11:36 PM EST
    there are not ice spiders; I am shocked.

    Parent
    Wow, I love that theory (none / 0) (#106)
    by ruffian on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 10:17:54 AM EST
    Much better than any other speculation I've heard about what the Sparrow's 'secret' is. Makes total sense.

    Yet another reason to look forward to the weekend!

    Parent

    It would justify (none / 0) (#113)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 11:27:00 AM EST
    Their toying with and teasing this for so long wouldn't  it?

    Parent
    Yes. then again it would not be unheard of (none / 0) (#114)
    by ruffian on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:03:05 PM EST
    for them to put focus on something like Howland Reed only to have it not pay off for a couple of seasons.

    Parent
    They have officially renewed (none / 0) (#121)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:34:41 PM EST
    For seasons 7 & 8

    Parent
    Have you noticed (none / 0) (#138)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 03:42:46 PM EST
    The whole place is ending up run by women?

    The dragon queen of course.  Elaria Sand, Yara Greyjoy, the Tyrell team of queen and grandmother.  The Red Women.

    One thing nearly all theorists agree on is that Tommens days are severely numbered.  

    Parent

    Yes, I could not help but notice ... (none / 0) (#141)
    by ruffian on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 03:53:01 PM EST
    It is not like the men did not have a fair chance.

    Question: Is Littlefinger on Arya's list?

    Parent

    I loved the moment last night (5.00 / 1) (#142)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 04:04:03 PM EST
    When Yara hit on the Queen.

    Parent
    It was great. (5.00 / 1) (#143)
    by ruffian on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 04:15:18 PM EST
    I know you don't go to previously.tv much anymore, but their recap of that scene was fun.  

    Parent
    "The Tunnel" (none / 0) (#145)
    by KD on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 05:10:21 PM EST
    is a remake of a Swedish/Danish piece called "The Bridge," and the plot was also used in an FX series about the U.S. and Mexico.


    Parent
    Yes (none / 0) (#146)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 05:19:18 PM EST
    The Bridge on FX was very good I thought.  

    Parent
    Oh....I was not a huge fan of the Bridge (none / 0) (#153)
    by ruffian on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 06:56:13 PM EST
    Mentally bumping this down in my watch list.

    Parent
    I just bought a brand-new ... (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 05:17:24 PM EST
    ... HP Envy m7-109dx latop last Saturday from Best Buy while we were in Honolulu visiting Elder Daughter and grandson. It has a 17.3" screen and I much prefer looking at a large screen to a small one. But if you want something more lightweight and portable, Have you explored the Microsoft Surface Pro models? I was looking at them before deciding to stick with HP.

    What I like about Best Buy is you can examine your prospective laptop prior to purchasing, and the prices are comparable to any other store or online vendor. In fact, the Honolulu store matched the cheaper online cost of the laptop and software, and I ended up saving nearly $500 from the original store list prices.

    Further, because most Best Buys have Geek Squad included in the store itself, you can tell them what programs you want and they'll load them for you, and they'll further port the data from your previous machine into your new one.

    If you're looking for a relatively easy and painless experience, I would recommend that you check them out first. I'm all about convenience nowadays, and my time there last weekend was hassle-free. I bought my laptop on Saturday, had Geek Squad load up my programs and port my data from my old HP laptop, picked it up late Sunday afternoon on our way to the airport to return to Hilo, turned it on Monday morning, and I was up and running without missing a beat.

    Aloha.

    agree totally (none / 0) (#22)
    by athyrio on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 05:41:56 PM EST
    last few laptop or printer I have purchased were from Best Buy....great advice....

    Parent
    Same experience here (none / 0) (#119)
    by Towanda on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:30:21 PM EST
    with being able to try out machines, get good advice from Best Buy staff, etc.  We're losing our closest Best Buy store but will travel to the next one, when the time comes, again -- as it will, because: computers.

    Parent
    Same here in Hilo. (none / 0) (#150)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 05:59:53 PM EST
    We have to go to Best Buy in Honolulu, and I took advantage of the fact that we were visiting Elder Daughter and family to make the quick trip to town to look at new laptops, since the one I was previously using is five years old. Even though it's still running like a champ, as you know, five years is a virtual lifetime in technological development and advancement, and my old machine was showing its age.

    It was a good thing I brought it with me, because once I found the new one I wanted, I bought it on the spot and turned it over to the Geek Squad to port the data and load the programs. Purchasing computers at Best Buy is such a seamless experience that I'd recommend the store to anyone, and it's really nice to interact with store personnel who actually know what they're talking about.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    WOWEE (5.00 / 1) (#94)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 08:02:06 AM EST
    GOODBYE CLARENCE!  Don't let that govt revolving door hit you in the ass on the way out!

    CLARENCE THOMAS MAY STEP  DOWN AFTER THE ELECTION

    Hmm (none / 0) (#97)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 08:18:01 AM EST
    This just needs to quit (5.00 / 1) (#99)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 09:00:12 AM EST
    Watched Morning Joe, became gleeful. I'm heading into orgasmic.

    Trump just fired his campaign manager though? Is Trump about to blow himself up? He's gotta make it to convention damn it!!!!

    Parent

    Yep, Trump fired Corey (none / 0) (#101)
    by caseyOR on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 09:22:08 AM EST
    Lewandoski, his somewhat thuggish campaign manager. My guess this is Paul Manafort asserting control over the Trump campaign.

    Major donors and supporters must be getting very nervous about controlling Trump. Good luck with that.

    Parent

    Here is the WaPo story on Lewandowski (5.00 / 1) (#102)
    by caseyOR on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 09:24:52 AM EST
    firing. So long, Corey. It was great while it lasted.

    Parent
    Not sure (none / 0) (#105)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 09:47:43 AM EST
    This is necessarily good news for us.  Less infighting.  Probably more organization and real staff.  Not sure it's good news.

    Parent
    It means the attempt, at least, (none / 0) (#112)
    by caseyOR on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 11:10:33 AM EST
    to create a more professional campaign team. Manafort is an old hand in Republican politics. Still, I am not sure he can control Trump. And all the organization in the world will not help if Trump continues to be Trump.

    I do expect we will start seeing actual campaign staffing in various states. And a more concerted effort to court and reassure donors.

    Trump, himself, is the wild card in all of this.

    Parent

    I agree. Manafort is scary smart (none / 0) (#120)
    by Towanda on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:32:09 PM EST
    and the ultimate DC insider.  He was the RNC's requirement, from what I have read, for Trump.

    If Trump actually is going to trust Manafort now -- we will see if that actually lasts -- it is not good news for the Dem campaign . . . or the country.

    Parent

    Just heard on CNN that (none / 0) (#129)
    by caseyOR on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 01:54:20 PM EST
    Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband were instrumental in the ouster of Lewandowski. According to Dana Bash, Ivanka said she would not be part of the campaign if Lewandowski stayed.

    Ivanka is smart. My guess is she is trying her darnedest to turn her father into a credible presidential candidate and realizes that means a professional campaign staff.

    If Trump starts listening to smart people this election campaign will get harder for the Dems. I think Clinton will win, but it be harder

    Parent

    While the goal (none / 0) (#134)
    by KeysDan on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 03:28:31 PM EST
    may be to turn Trump into a credible presidential candidate, the issue is not one of smartness, but rather, what to do about a smart a$$, named Trump.

     And, how to do it.  Trump is flailing.  All the tactics that worked for him in the primary, and brought him to the Republican nomination, are not sticking in the general election. Yet, all his free media and the enthusiasm from his primary voters are a function of his uncredible presidential demeanor.

     The campaign is in a quandary. The few times his campaign tried to make him look presidential, teleprompters and all, he put everyone, including himself, to sleep.  And, an insurmountable problem in making Trump be presidential is the matter of knowledge of government and governance. All his primary voters knew government is not his field, and that he had no interest in it.  However, that was part of the charm.  It made them comfortable in their shared ignorance. But, for thinking Americans, this makes them uncomfortable. And, a presidential campaign is not the place to start learning about policy.

    Trump's only hope, in my view, is to stick with his tried and true: keep up with the outrageousness  and a lie a minute in the hope that it is normalized. And, that all his character flaws and con games that have made him a business success-- the personal attacks that he learned from his mentor, the despicable Roy Cohn, will become endearing to just enough of the electorate to win the presidency.

    Parent

    Josh Marshall at TPM is asking the ... (none / 0) (#135)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 03:32:46 PM EST
    ... one question which the rest of the Beltway media is assiduously avoiding right now: Where is Donald Trump's money?

    The Trump campaign at present is, as Marshall notes, a product of "epic disorganization," with only $2.4 million cash on hand and only 30 field staff in place across the entire country. This is the best effort to be had from a guy who repeatedly claims to be worth $10 billion and has promised to self-fund the entire thing?

    "Trump may be stingy. He may be saying that the RNC should take responsibility for fundraising, which is something it's clearly not capable of doing. (The RNC has massive fundraising capacity but it can't simply take on singlehanded what the candidate was expected to raise.) But as big a disaster as Trump's campaign is at the moment he stands a real shot at being the next president of the United States. It is simply not credible that he is standing on principle in not giving his campaign any more money at such a critical moment when his bid is being so deeply damaged.

    "The only credible answer is that it is difficult or perhaps even impossible for him to produce these comparatively small sums. If that's true, his claim to be worth billions of dollars must either be a pure sham and a fraud or some artful concoction of extreme leverage and accounting gimmickry, which makes it impossible to come up with actual cash. It's true that he's already loaned his campaign over $40 million, which at least suggests a substantial amount of liquid assets to draw on. But we've never really known where that money came from or whether it needs to be repaid to some other party. Indeed, Trump's unwillingness to give up his right to be repaid, essentially reimbursed for the primary campaign, by GOP high rollers has always been a telling but largely ignored detail."

    Trump is increasingly beset from all sides, not only getting royally hammered on an hourly basis by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats but also being chastised daily by prominent (and apparently, increasingly desperate) members of his own party -- and yet, his campaign is paralyzed and incapable of responding to the challenge save for Trump's own bigoted and juvenile tweets.

    Marshall has concluded that far from being a multi-billionaire, Trump is effectively broke. Mrs. Clinton's campaign is effectively going for the jugular early, betting that by the time he and the GOP finally get their acts together and work in concert rather than crossed purposes, this election may already very well be decided.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    The fraudulent "billionaire" (none / 0) (#147)
    by christinep on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 05:40:09 PM EST
    I've sent the TPM column to some friends.  Josh Marshall is zeroing on the key to the undoing of the Trump show via showing that his whole persona and everything about the I'm-so-big & successful--because of my billions-that-I'll-protect & save you all (if you are white) is a huuuuge con and fraud. Maybe, somehow, that point with the many examples of conning charities, workers, small businesses into his business fronts, then stiffing them will be used to reinforce the underlying fact of the con artist.

    Meanwhile, HRC's definition ads will have defined Trump in June well before he gets his $$$$$ and structure together, and in a manner similar to the 2012'd June definition of Romney via early, extensive advertising.  If the election becomes a referendum on Trump, that is a difficult position for him or anyone to be in ....

    Parent

    Did you see Trump's FEC filing? (none / 0) (#161)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 08:27:42 AM EST
    He has only $1.2 million cash on hand, and one of the venders that's listed as paid is named "Sterling Draper." This isn't a campaign, as much as it appears to be a federal RICO investigation in waiting.

    Will this guy even make it to the GOP convention before imploding?

    Parent

    Diverting what little $ he has raised? (none / 0) (#163)
    by christinep on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 09:55:14 AM EST
    Hmmm & yoiks.  About the possible pre-convention or convention implosion, tho ... complicated, as you know, Donald.  

    Here is my goofy theory: What if--as part of a Repub's overall make-up (especially those more libertarian inclined)--the exaltation of self rather than community/government, the almost total elevation of the individual "freedom" motif over egalitarian acknowledgment now works against an obvious strategy.  Guess what? They obviously need a teamwork approach, a consensual approach, a community decision to come up with an alternative candidate.  They needed to do something like that last winter when Donald Trump's divide & conquer approach became clear.  

    I'm curious about how much longer it will take for the party & party structure to put aside their Darwinian preference and agree on a compromise candidate.  The 400+ delegates reportedly working to Dump Trump doesn't approach a majority, so .... The adage "If you plan to kill the king, you better kill the king" seems to apply here. After all this mess, it is even more difficult for that party to showcase nationally a raucous, angry, ugly convention.  

    Parent

    Article by Think Progress on (none / 0) (#171)
    by vml68 on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 12:26:13 PM EST
    wow, that is going to be good (none / 0) (#172)
    by ruffian on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 12:31:57 PM EST
    Medical device company, huh? Think they are perhaps scamming the VA, or just lobbying against Obamacare?

    Parent
    Sounds like a scam. (none / 0) (#173)
    by caseyOR on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 12:40:31 PM EST
    If not, these guys went to a lot of trouble to hide a legitimate business. So, I'm leaning towards scam. Just not sure who the target is. VA? Medicare? Political campaigns and PACs?

    So many possibilities.

    Parent

    Oh Yay!!!! (5.00 / 1) (#123)
    by desertswine on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 01:10:55 PM EST
    Oh Booo!!!

    Parent
    Clarence Thomas (none / 0) (#104)
    by KeysDan on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 09:45:07 AM EST
    is rolling out his availability as Trump's running mate.  He is looking for a new mentor to cuddle with, since he no longer has Scalia.

    Parent
    timing is everything (5.00 / 2) (#139)
    by CST on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 03:50:21 PM EST
    My favorite house in Boston (that I could reasonably dream about) just went on the market.  A year or two from now, I might actually be able to buy it, but unfortunately, I'm not there yet, and by then it will likely be long gone.

    It's the cutest little house, especially in context.

    I lived down the street from there for years and every time I went past it I would think - that's the perfect house!  So bummed.  It's almost worth raiding my retirement over, but by the time I got my paperwork in line it would probably already be sold.

    That is a cute house. (5.00 / 2) (#144)
    by caseyOR on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 04:21:14 PM EST
    And the back yard looks quite big for a city lot. Plus off-street parking!

    I am so sorry you cannot buy that house today.

    Parent

    You really ought to talk to someone ... (5.00 / 1) (#152)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 06:17:43 PM EST
    ... who knows real estate mortgaging, and actively explore whether or not you're able to purchase that house at present while it's still on the market. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained -- right? Or as the pidgin English-speaking kids say in the islands, "If can, can. If no can, den no can."

    In other words, if you talk to someone and figure out that you're in no financial position right now to make the purchase, well, at least you inquired. But if you actually find out that you can indeed afford to do this, then why not pursue your dream? That's what we did last year when we decided to make our move from Honolulu to the Big Island and Hilo and quite honestly, we couldn't be happier.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    I met a lady from Hilo and her daughter at Epcot (none / 0) (#154)
    by ruffian on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 07:02:34 PM EST
    this weekend. Her daughter had just gotten her Masters from U of Oregon and they are on a vacation. We shared a table in a crowded little food place and I really enjoyed talking to them. Tried to explain some of the mysteries of Florida, like why people have these big-a** screens int heir back yard (protect pool area from bugs) and they told me about the rain in Hilo, since it was pouring as we spoke and they were unimpressed by our little deluge! Anyway if they turn out to be friends or neighbors tell them they had a ruffian encounter!

    Parent
    For the uninitiated, the rain in Hilo ... (none / 0) (#159)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 05:44:31 AM EST
    ... does take some getting used to, because we get an average of 270 days of precipitation per year. But honestly, that's why everything is so beautiful, lush and green over here.

    If you're into the resort scene and hellbent on laying out on sunny beaches, Hilo's probably not the place for you. But if you are the adventurous type who loves verdant rainforests, waterfalls, magnificent coastlines and volcanoes, and who further desires to sidestep the typical tourists and hang out with the locals, then the east side of Hawaii island is a gem waiting to be discovered by you.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Sounds perfect to me! (5.00 / 1) (#178)
    by ruffian on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 06:50:53 PM EST
    I remember when I went to the Big Island (none / 0) (#160)
    by jbindc on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 08:06:23 AM EST
    We landed in Kona and I couldn't get over the moonscape all around us - basically no vegetation because of lava paths and desert like rainfall.  The next day, we drove around the top of the island and into Hilo and I couldn't get over the difference - Hilo was so lush and green. What blew my mind further was that night, we stayed in a house in Volcano (someone's "weekend" home) - way up in elevation. It was so cold that night (it was February), we had a fire going all night and I slept in sweats, under a couple of blankets.  Not what I ever envisioned about being in Hawaii!


    Parent
    That's because when you're in Volcano, ... (none / 0) (#177)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 06:14:45 PM EST
    ... you're at nearly 5,000' elevation, where it's not uncommon for temperatures to drop into the low 40s at night in wintertime. I don't care what latitude you're at, if you experience that sort of an increase in altitude, you're going to find it to be a lot colder up there than it is at sea level. I tell people all the time that if they're going to spend the night in Volcano, then dress appropriately for the occasion. Hypothermia is a not-uncommon occurrence during the winter up there.

    I'm sure you've heard me discuss the occasional blizzards we get on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, the two mountains which dominate our island skyline and comprise its bulk. (Mauna Loa is the largest single mountain on earth by volume, and accounts for nearly two-thirds of our island's surface area.) At nearly 14,000' high at their summits, it's not uncommon to see snow flurries up there, even in mid-summer.

    Our island is one of the few places on earth where one can experience 11 of the 13 climate zones, from Tropical to Alpine-Tundra. (We lack only the Arctic and Saharan zones.) And Hilo Bay is one of the few places where you can actually see all those zones at once.

    Personally, while I find Kona to be pretty, it's also much too hot and barren for my tastes to actually consider living there. I much prefer Hilo's cooler humid climate. I'm so glad we have our own airport here, because it's otherwise a 90-min. trek to the recently renamed Ellison Onizuka International Airport at Keahole on the west side of the island. (Onizuka, who was from Kona, was one of the seven astronauts who were killed in the 1986 Challenger disaster.)

    And when the military is conducting training exercises in Pohakuloa and they close off the Saddle Road, it's an over 2-hour trip to Kona Airport through Waimea. We've occasionally had to pick up relatives who are arriving over there, and it's easily a half-day's journey round trip.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    I still remember the "what-if" house (none / 0) (#149)
    by christinep on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 05:52:06 PM EST
    for my husband & me that came along years ago...yep, it went one the market a year or two before we actually bought the place that we have enjoyed for many years.  Yet.. I always wondered "what if," especially on those sometime drives by that location.  

    You seem to be describing more than just a passing fancy or spontaneous "like" about the house.  Can you imagine what it would be like to live there? What are the big pluses?  Is it not doable at all or is it doable with reasonable reordering?  How will you feel if you don't pursue a bit further?  

    Parent

    Jim take a break (5.00 / 3) (#155)
    by Jeralyn on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 07:22:59 PM EST
    You have hijacked another thread to be about you. Your and Jondee's sniping (and a few others who joined in) have been deleted.

    Take your anti-Islamic comments elsewhere. TalkLeft will not host them. They go beyond mere opinion, and you are clogging the thread with them.

    Not surprised.... (none / 0) (#14)
    by ruffian on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 03:59:20 PM EST
    From NPR.org:
    "Mateen had allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS in a 911 call during the attack, as The Two-Way has reported. But as further details emerge about the shooter, investigators say Mateen's profile is more like that of a "typical mass shooter" than an individual radicalized by ISIS, as NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports.

    In fact, intelligence officials and investigators say they're "becoming increasingly convinced that the motive for this attack had very little -- or maybe nothing -- to do with ISIS."

    Someone alert John McCain.

    Yes, and a clue, (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by KeysDan on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 04:37:03 PM EST
    from my perspective, is the fact that Omar Mateen's cell phone calls (e.g., 9ll, wife,) were made during the hiatus between the the initial massacre and police shoot out and his being holed up with hostages in a bathroom. Since the possibility of his being killed at the outset must have occurred to him, he would have taken earlier steps to let his ISIS (al Qaeda, Hezbollah)motivation known.

    Parent
    I believed the ISIS (5.00 / 2) (#29)
    by Chuck0 on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 07:56:44 PM EST
    stuff was a smokescreen from the outset. It is my belief that he was a gay man that could resolve that fact within himself. He, like other repressed gay men, who cannot accept who they are, take that repression out in the form of extreme hatred on those who are what they are. J Edgar Hoover is a classic example of the same afflictiom.

    Parent
    It sure looks that way. (none / 0) (#33)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 08:26:08 PM EST
    There's likely no homophobe as adamantly anti-gay as a gay homophobe. There are all sorts of examples. Look at former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. And U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID). Roy Ashburn, the California state senator who co-sponsored Proposition 8. And Roy Cohn. And probably Cohn's mentor as well, Sen. Joe McCarthy.

    Parent
    Yes he was (none / 0) (#108)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 10:50:18 AM EST
    a Baptist ex preacher who had been flunked out of seminary.

    ;-)

    Parent

    Lots of info on front (none / 0) (#15)
    by oculus on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 04:04:50 PM EST
    page of NYT today.

    Parent
    You mean NPR is carrying water for a (none / 0) (#24)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 06:01:56 PM EST
    radical islamist??

    Who would have thought?

    Parent

    Go sell right-wing crazy someplace else. (5.00 / 2) (#31)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 08:12:16 PM EST
    Someone who claims NPR (none / 0) (#96)
    by jondee on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 08:16:37 AM EST
    "carries water" for radical Islamists has disqualified themselves from further debate on deficient mental health grounds, the way the people who claim Obama is an African-born secret Muslim have.

    It is ironic though that a person whose thinking runs in the direction of impervious-to-reason 1950s John Birch Society paranoia can, out of the other side their mouth, celebrate the Western Enlightement..

    It's a fairly safe bet that the early cave dwellers had more in common with John Locke and Voltaire than the current American God and
    Guns crowd does.

    Parent

    Ugg, There You Go Again (none / 0) (#27)
    by RickyJim on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 07:33:08 PM EST
    Did you know that there are majority Muslim countries with no death penalty?: Azerbaijan, Djibouti, Senegal, Turkey, Turkmenistan.  I am not going to bother with the long list of capital crimes listed in the Old Testament and not abrogated (explicitly anyway) in the New Testament.  If you are going to argue that Islam, as a whole, can't evolve into something about as gentle as contemporary Christianity, go ahead and make a fool of yourself.  But really what you say has little to do with how to make the situation better:

    1. Gun control and plenty of it.
    2. A far less interventionist policy for the US in the Muslim world.  


    RJ, before you bother to list all (none / 0) (#32)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 08:19:05 PM EST
    the terrible acts in the Old Testament you should understand that the Old Testament was fulfilled with the birth, life, death, Resurrection and ascension of Christ. Simply put it is a book of history, parables and prophecies.

    Jesus was a reformer and ended Mosaic Law. He was also a Jew.

    Islam has yet to produce the equivalent. Hopefully it will. And in your rush to criticize you seem to have missed where I pointed out that some Muslims don't follow all the requirements and some Christians kill.

    It is in the numbers that problems exist.

    Now, having pointed out your lack of knowledge re Christianity, I would note that we have all sorts of gun laws that we seem to not get enforced and that, in this case, the FBI was notified of the actions of the radical islamist and did not act.

    As for intervention in the ME, let us go to the daddy of al Qaeda to see what he thought about the matter. I refer to the 3/97 interview with Osama bin Ladin by Peter Arnett, then with CNN.

    REPORTER: Mr. Bin Ladin, will the end of the United States' presence in Saudi Arabia, their withdrawal, will that end your call for jihad against the United States and against the US ?

    BIN LADIN: The cause of the reaction must be sought and the act that has triggered this reaction must be eliminated. The reaction came as a result of the US aggressive policy towards the entire Muslim world and not just towards the Arabian peninsula. So if the cause that has called for this act comes to an end, this act, in turn, will come to an end. So, the driving-away jihad against the US does not stop with its withdrawal from the Arabian peninsula, but rather it must desist from aggressive intervention against Muslims in the whole world.

    Link

    Now if you want to point out we should have not done what we did prior to 1997 I can only note that Apple hasn't invented a time machine so we can't go back but we did help Afghanistan defeat the Soviets, Iraq fight Iran to a bloody draw, intervene to save Muslims in Kosovo and withheld our support from the French and English when Egypt was showing its nationality by seizing the Suez Canal.


    Parent

    Christianism (5.00 / 2) (#37)
    by Michael Masinter on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 09:50:37 PM EST
    You do realize that by your reasoning, Jews are worse than Muslims since Jews still follow the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew bible, have refused to adopt the Christian bible, and unlike Muslims, have produced nothing comparable to the Q'ran.  The more faithful the believer, the more willing he is to kill, whatever his faith may be.  Were it not for the enlightenment, Christians would still be slaughtering nonbelievers, and in their absence, each other.  Of course Jews do not subscribe to biblical literacy; at least since the days of the Ramban, Jewish scholarship has sought to make sense of the Hebrew bible and to reconcile it with observed reality.  So too have most Muslims, who no more embrace scattered passages from the Q'ran than do Jews those found in Leviticus.  So let's get beyond religious babble and recognize political warfare for what it is. We are bystanders in a war within Islam; for everyone of us who has fallen victim to terrorism in that war, thousands of Muslims have died, from Syria to Pakistan and even to the World Trade Center.  Christianity went through the same bloody history; you just had the good fortune to be born after it subsided.

    Parent
    I am supporting no one (none / 0) (#45)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 07:50:46 AM EST
    just stating facts.

    And where is the Muslim "enlightenment?"

    Christianity went through the same bloody history; you just had the good fortune to be born after it subsided.

    So, your point is that it is okay for radical islamist to kill because Christians did so hundreds of years ago?

    Parent

    Strawman Alert (none / 0) (#50)
    by FlJoe on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 09:55:32 AM EST
    nobody here is excusing this vile act, unlike multiple so called Christians who applauded or did some serious victim blaming.  In your rush to put everything into your clash of civilization narrative you blind yourself to any kind of nuanced examination of the facts.

    You and the rest of the "words matter" crowd are so infatuated with the efficacy of labeling, that you dangerously miss the diseased tree in the mostly healthy forest.

    Your anti Islam rants always boil down to it is somehow a flawed religion, unique in conducting, inspiring or at least condoning brutal evil actions. History has proved over and over again there is nothing unique about Islam , but every time anyone points that out you scream out your silly assertion that citing historical fact is somehow using PC to excuse extremism.

    .

    Parent

    Of course not (none / 0) (#55)
    by Michael Masinter on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 11:20:15 AM EST
    My point, clearly stated, is that Islam is at war with itself, not the west, and that we in the west are collateral damage in that war.  That's not a defense of terrorism; it's a suggestion for how to deal with it. Obama gets the central lesson that the war is not a clash of civilizations, but a clash within a civilization.  It does not serve our national interest to rebrand the war within Islam as a war between Islam and the West. There are well over a billion Muslims, and there are a few thousand terrorists.  Do the math.  Make this a war with Islam and you'll do the work of the terrorists by exponentially raising their numbers.

    Perhaps Obama could have done more, especially in the early days of the Syrian civil war, but his central understanding remains sound; Islam is at war with itself, not with the west, and our national interest is to contain that war, not to redefine it as a war with western civilization.

    Parent

    If radical Islam is not (none / 0) (#70)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 07:00:04 PM EST
    at war with the West then  you need to tell the victims of those killed in the US, Spain, France, Germany and England. Here is a link to the successful US attacks.

    And here is a list of unsuccessful attacks.

    And yes I have heard the argument that we are just collateral victims.  But reading Osama bin Ladin's  comments to Peter Arnett...see comment #32...

    So, the driving-away jihad against the US does not stop with its withdrawal from the Arabian peninsula, but rather it must desist from aggressive intervention against Muslims in the whole world.
    The US is very much a part of the "whole world" as is our friends in Europe.

    And after noting all the calls for death and destruction of the west I am convinced that "at war with the west" is exactly what we have here. And as silly as we may find their plans to establish a Caliphate over the world I am reminded that North Vietnam won, albeit with help from our own Left, pacifists, fellow travelers and some very misguided people.

    There is every reason to believe that this will, in the radicals view,happen again.

    Your point on "don't stir them up" has been made  over and over with the result is they keep winning and winning.

    And if all the "moderate" Muslims were truly moderate and there is only a thousand radicals you would think the moderates would get them under control.

    Unfortunately there are many thousands and the moderates have yet to do much beyond the odd condemnation of the latest attacks. And you can note that the brother Islamic theocracies are not accepting refugees...and the radicals see them as troops to be used when they can. That's Trump's point and he is right.

    Beyond that, here is what Muslims in America have to say about extremism as found by the very mainline Pew Research group.

    "A significant minority (21%) of Muslim Americans say there is a great deal (6%) or a fair amount (15%) of support for extremism in the Muslim American community.

    That's 1 in 5.

    So while I wish you were right I see nothing outside of claims to support it. What we should do right now, before the problem gets bigger, is declare war, assemble what allies we can and rid the world of these evil people.

    Parent

    Osama bin Laden is Dead (none / 0) (#75)
    by Michael Masinter on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 07:52:36 PM EST
    Whatever he said no longer matters. As I noted upthread, count the victims.  The vast majority of terror victims are Muslims.  If you want to fight a war with Islamic terrorists, convert to Islam and move to Pakistan or Syria.

    Parent
    So your proof is that bin Ladin is dead? (none / 0) (#77)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 08:03:46 PM EST
    And no longer matters? Well Bush ran him into hiding and the Left demanded that he mattered very much.

    And counting victims is meaningless unless you are saying that we can expect to endure endless attacks and deaths with no real effort at stopping them.

    Parent

    "Bush ran him into hiding.." (none / 0) (#98)
    by jondee on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 08:32:29 AM EST
    into a big compound in Pakistan that could've been spotted by the Goodyear Blimp on a clear day.

    But then, the secret-terrorist-sympathizer Bush did say he didn't care that much about finding and neutralizing Bin Laden, so at least he proved himself to be a man of his word.

    Parent

    Then why did it take Obama 3 years? (none / 0) (#109)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 10:52:31 AM EST
    The point is Obama did something (none / 0) (#176)
    by jondee on Tue Jun 21, 2016 at 03:08:05 PM EST
    while your apathetic hero Dubya applied his limited mental powers to destabilizing the entire ME.

    Parent
    Let me see (none / 0) (#186)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Jun 24, 2016 at 12:25:14 PM EST
    Obama had the people who had tracked down Osama kill Osama and peace has broken out all over the ME.

    Oh......wait a minute...

    Parent

    The (5.00 / 1) (#187)
    by FlJoe on Fri Jun 24, 2016 at 12:58:10 PM EST
    world according to Jim; The history of the ME only began in 2009.

    Parent
    No it began when the peace freak hippies (5.00 / 1) (#188)
    by jondee on Fri Jun 24, 2016 at 01:25:50 PM EST
    brainwashed Jimmy Carter into "midwifing the modern terrorist state"

    Dr Laura and Joe the Plumber covered it all in an in-depth talk radio expose.

    Parent

    No (none / 0) (#190)
    by FlJoe on Fri Jun 24, 2016 at 04:03:38 PM EST
    Obama used his secret Muslim time machine to take care of that, before he planted his birth certificate in Hawaii. Or was that after? Darn those paradoxes.

    Parent
    What was so wonderful... (none / 0) (#56)
    by unitron on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 11:31:59 AM EST
    ...about our helping Iraq fight Iran?

    Parent
    Huh? (none / 0) (#28)
    by TrevorBolder on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 07:52:55 PM EST
    I thought the Catholic Church was against the death penalty? Think you might be a tad over the top here.

    Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punishable by death:

    Yemen: According to the 1994 penal code, married men can be sentenced to death by stoning for homosexual intercourse. Unmarried men face whipping or one year in prison. Women face up to seven years in prison.

    Iran: In accordance with sharia law, homosexual intercourse between men can be punished by death, and men can be flogged for lesser acts such as kissing. Women may be flogged.

    The Islamic State's horrific history of persecuting gays Embed  Share Play Video1:02
    The Islamic State's war on homosexuals is another shocking examples of the group's brutality. (TWP)
    Mauritania: Muslim men engaging in homosexual sex can be stoned to death, according to a 1984 law, though none have been executed so far. Women face prison.

    Nigeria: Federal law classifies homosexual behavior as a felony punishable by imprisonment, but several states have adopted sharia law and imposed a death penalty for men. A law signed in early January makes it illegal for gay people countrywide to hold a meeting or form clubs.

    Qatar: Sharia law in Qatar applies only to Muslims, who can be put to death for extramarital sex, regardless of sexual orientation.

    Saudi Arabia: Under the country's interpretation of sharia law, a married man engaging in sodomy or any non-Muslim who commits sodomy with a Muslim can be stoned to death. All sex outside of marriage is illegal.

    Afghanistan: The Afghan Penal Code does not refer to homosexual acts, but Article 130 of the Constitution allows recourse to be made to sharia law, which prohibits same-sex sexual activity in general. Afghanistan's sharia law criminalizes same-sex sexual acts with a maximum of the death penalty. No known cases of death sentences have been meted out since the end of Taliban rule in 2001.

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    Somalia: The penal code stipulates prison, but in some southern regions, Islamic courts have imposed sharia law and the death penalty.

    Sudan: Three-time offenders under the sodomy law can be put to death; first and second convictions result in flogging and imprisonment. Southern parts of the country have adopted more lenient laws.

    United Arab Emirates: Lawyers in the country and other experts disagree on whether federal law prescribes the death penalty for consensual homosexual sex or only for rape. In a recent Amnesty International report, the organization said it was not aware of any death sentences for homosexual acts. All sexual acts outside of marriage are banned.

    the two comments above yours (none / 0) (#30)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 08:06:51 PM EST
    have been deleted. Jim's was deleted for false statements about what Islam "teaches." The response was deleted for including profanity.

    If you are going to discuss sexual orientation, please do not use graphic words like b*stiality or p*rn without asterisks. They are magnets for spam and for censor software used by businesses and law firms to block sites.

    Parent

    Sorry about (none / 0) (#34)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 08:29:30 PM EST
    the b*stiality comment I forgot the problems you reference but I did not write "p*rn."

    As for Islam's teachings re death, I reference the Quran 7:80-84.

    Link

    Parent

    That's just asinine, Jim. (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 11:42:20 PM EST
    You should no more cherry-pick four controversial verses of one chapter in the Quran to define all of Islam, than I should quote the grotesque passages of Leviticus 20:7-27 as reflective of the entirety of Christianity.

    Shame on you.

    Parent

    Why don't you read before typing? (none / 0) (#46)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 07:56:00 AM EST
    than I should quote the grotesque passages of Leviticus 20:7-27 as reflective of the entirety of Christianity.

    As I noted to RickyJim:

    ... you should understand that the Old Testament was fulfilled with the birth, life, death, Resurrection and ascension of Christ. Simply put it is a book of history, parables and prophecies.

    Jesus was a reformer and ended Mosaic Law. He was also a Jew.

    Islam has yet to produce the equivalent. Hopefully it will. And in your rush to criticize you seem to have missed where I pointed out that some Muslims don't follow all the requirements and some Christians kill.

    It is in the numbers that problems exist.

    Christians follow the New Testament.

    Parent

    That's one of the more (none / 0) (#51)
    by Chuck0 on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 10:16:23 AM EST
    ignorant things you have ever posted. Every single homophobe and so-called 'christian' I have ever heard goes straight to the old testament to as substantiation for their anti-gay rhetoric.

    Parent
    Of course they do (none / 0) (#71)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 07:09:47 PM EST
    Just as every radical islamist goes to the Koran.

    In this I give no forgiveness to the Christian because they know better and have the New Testament.

    OTOH The radical islamist has no reformer to his religion, but he hates just as much.

    Of course it is possible that you have no exposure to Christians and just read what the idiots have said thru the multiplication of the media.

    Parent

    What Chuck0 said, Jim. (none / 0) (#67)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 05:58:13 PM EST
    Please stop further making a fool of yourself by claiming personal expertise on the subject of comparative theology. You're clearly no more knowledgeable in that realm, than you are on the topics of climate change and immigration.

    Parent
    Donald, read what I wrote (none / 0) (#72)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 07:11:31 PM EST
    to Chuck0 and try to apply it to the real world.


    Parent
    There's a first time for everything (none / 0) (#52)
    by ExPatObserver on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 10:19:45 AM EST
    and  I have to say I'm with Jim on this one.
    While many Christians talk the talk of executing gays, all of the governments which actually implement this punishment are Islamic, or in Islamic countries.

    In general, I find the "tu quoqute" variety of response to condemnations of practices in some Islamic countries unconvincing and useless. Various Christian sects are quite guilty of human rights violations, but they differ in kind and degree from what we see in terms of Islamic sponsored violence.  
    A very big exception to this general rule, already noted  (by CH I think) is the absolutely disgusting collaboration between some Christian churches and African governments to curtail the rights or even end the lives of gays.
    Yet one more reason to end all tax subsidies for religions. Let them get corporate sponsors. I'm not kidding.

    Parent

    But that's not what Jim is talking about. (none / 0) (#68)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 06:33:52 PM EST
    He's been on his "clash of civilizations" bender for years now. As far as LGBT-discriminatory Muslim countries are concerned, it's only been in my adult lifetime that the United States finally decriminalized homosexual relations between two consenting adults in Lawrence v. Texas.

    When I was a high school senior in Southern California in the fall of 1978, my mother was actively campaigning against the Briggs Amendment, which not only would have stripped LGBT citizens of any right to work in public schools, but would have also rendered any attempt by straight public school personnel to shield gay men and lesbians from public discovery a terminating offense.

    While we may not have any laws currently on the books which explicitly classify homosexual behavior as a criminal offense, we need only look to that San Francisco jury which let Dan White off on a lesser charge of manslaughter in May 1979 for the murders of Supervisor Harvey Milk and gay-friendly Mayor George Moscone, to note only how recently LGBT lives were considered by our own society to be of inherently lesser value.

    So, it's not as though our own comparable enlightenment on the subject of LGBT rights is really all that much further advanced or any more longstanding than other places in the world. We've one helluva long way to go ourselves, before we start labeling other countries or cultures as morally inferior to our own.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Donald, in case you missed this in (none / 0) (#76)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 07:55:10 PM EST
    your educational and life time experience it is perfectly possible to see this as a war against the west by radical Muslims while noting the differences between the base religious texts.

    As I noted to Chuck0 the  radical Christian uses selected passages from the Old Testament. The radical Islamist uses selected passages from the Koran.

    Of course as ExPat observes there are significant differences in the response that the radicals give. So far the radical Christians haven't been see killing gays. ISIS has.

    And the murders of White and Moscone happened 37 years ago last month. I suggest to you that there has been a huge change in society in those 37 years but I will agree that tolerance and acceptance needs continual stressing.

    Parent

    Have you forgotten Eric Rudolph, (none / 0) (#79)
    by Peter G on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 10:20:05 PM EST
    the white Christian terrorist, who perpetrated not only the Olympic Park bombing but also an attack on a lesbian bar? Only by accident did the latter attack injure rather than kill its victims.

    Parent
    Peter, yes I did miss Rudolph (none / 0) (#125)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 01:22:41 PM EST
    so it has been around 18 years since a radical Christian made a mass attack on gays and lesbians.

    Perhaps the societal and cultural changes in America are responsible for this, which was my point to Donald.


    Parent

    What (none / 0) (#137)
    by FlJoe on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 03:41:31 PM EST
    about Christians like this
    And I'll take it a step further, because I heard on the news today, that there are still several dozen of these queers in ICU and intensive care. And I will pray to God like I did this morning, I will do it tonight, I'll pray that God will finish the job that that man started, and he will end their life, and by tomorrow morning they will all be burning in hell

    Or this guy calling for bibilically sanctioned murder of gays. By your metrics and logic we could only assume that Christianity is at war with the LGBGT community.

    When do we start the profiling and surveillance of churches? We certainly should ban immigration by Christians until we get this figured out, amirite?

    Parent

    Or, to put it another way, in the course of (none / 0) (#156)
    by Peter G on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 08:08:12 PM EST
    the last 20 years, there have apparently been two such attacks, one by a deranged "Christian" and one by a deranged "Muslim." Neither of whom exemplifies the actual values of the religion that he purports to embrace.

    Parent
    Take your Crusades someplace else, Jim. (none / 0) (#80)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 10:24:27 PM EST
    You've been preaching an anti-Muslim message for years now. Jeralyn even had to remove one of your comments in this very thread for slandering Islam. From the moment U.S. troops hit the ground in Saudi Arabia back in the fall of 1990, our military involvement in the Middle East has been nothing but a prolonged snipe hunt, and all you offer is a further double-down on stupid. I'm through discussing this with you. I'm content to let the upcoming election sort it out.

    Parent
    Referencing the Koran is (none / 0) (#110)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 10:56:20 AM EST
    not slandering anyone... But if you want to go down that road I never want to hear about Leviticus again... You do want to be fair...don't you?

    As for specious claim please be so honest to note that refer to "radical islamist" when writing of terror.

    Parent

    As I said before (none / 0) (#189)
    by jondee on Fri Jun 24, 2016 at 01:35:30 PM EST
    when all is said and done, as far as I know there's only ONE person posting on this thread who votes for people who subscribe to a literal interpretation of Leviticus.

    Which is why he gets so touchy whenever anyone brings up Leviticus.

    Parent

    Geez (none / 0) (#53)
    by Chuck0 on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 10:21:09 AM EST
    you conveniently left out Uganda, where the christian backed law calls for life in prison for simply being gay. (The original proposal was for the death penalty.)

    Parent
    My guilty pleasure (none / 0) (#40)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Jun 18, 2016 at 11:45:10 PM EST
    ...since I spend a lot of time driving these days, is listening to radio preachers on the local all-God all the time station.  Picked up the practice when I was driving cross-country for the rock band, listening to mid-America radio in the wee hours.

    I'm an atheist myself, although I am pretty well-read on the Bible and have a couple for reference.

    One of my radio favorites is J. Vernon McGee, dead now for decades, and "Through the Bible."  He reads and interprets the entire work, one chapter at a time.  He has been in re-runs forever, since it takes literally thousands of broadcasts to cover the entire work.  Dr. McGee has a mellifluous delivery and a liquid Southern accent.

    I recently found the website where you can pick any chapter in the Bible and get Dr. McGee's take.  BINGE!  The other day's radio broadcast referred to Genesis 38 as the "worst chapter in the Bible."  Had to look it up.   It's about Onan and his eponymous sin, along with some harlot stuff and some "went unto her" which means wink-nod-you-know-what-I-mean?  So I checked the website for that chapter and listened to that recording.  Dr. McGee left out the all important detail as to why Jehovah chose to smite Onan.

    Sure was a lot of smiting in the OT.  If Jehovah says, "Go unto her," it's a good idea to do it.

    Smiting and begetting. (5.00 / 1) (#41)
    by oculus on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 02:15:35 AM EST
    The Smite button (5.00 / 4) (#42)
    by jmacWA on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 05:46:11 AM EST
    This is likely my all time favorite Far Side

    Parent
    Maybe God has gotten (5.00 / 2) (#43)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 06:44:40 AM EST
    A tablet.  It would explain a lot of inexplicable smiting.

    Also, weird that the past tense of smite smitten.

    Parent

    I (5.00 / 1) (#44)
    by FlJoe on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 06:57:17 AM EST
    figured God was an X-Box type.

    Also, smitten came to mean falling madly in love, humans are weird.

    Parent

    The past tense of smite is "smote." (none / 0) (#69)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 06:43:16 PM EST
    "Smitten" is a past participle.

    This has been your Useless Biblical English Lesson for the day. Now, go forth and smite no more -- unless, of course, it's some heathen who's currently in possession of something you really want.

    ;-D

    Parent

    Trump channels Popeye (none / 0) (#66)
    by Repack Rider on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 05:57:48 PM EST
    "A yam, what a yam."

    Congratulations to both the Cavaliers on their first NBA championship in the franchise's 45-year history, and series MVP LeBron James for a storybook performance. Not only did the Cavs become the first team in league annals to win the NBA Finals after trailing in the best-of-seven series 3-1, they did so by winning twice in Oakland in six days, where the vaunted Warriors had only lost four times during the entire season and post-season.

    Jeez... 103 degrees today, (none / 0) (#82)
    by desertswine on Sun Jun 19, 2016 at 11:36:08 PM EST
    102 in Santa Fe. The air is lousy with smoke from a nearby forest fire, and my street was closed thanks to a swat situation down on the corner.  At least the rellenos at El Bruno's were good.

    Fiesta Flamenco has come to an end and I did manage to take in a couple of shows, including Manuel Linon, who was amazing.  What an incredible art form.

    My mother said that it was ... (none / 0) (#85)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 02:40:02 AM EST
    ... 108 in Pasadena, CA today -- and it's forecast to be even hotter tomorrow. Summertime has arrived.

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    Not sure if (none / 0) (#84)
    by ragebot on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:57:10 AM EST
    I think it's perfect (5.00 / 1) (#87)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 07:00:17 AM EST
    A perfect way to end the old farts quest.    BYOF, bring your own freshener.

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    RIP, Anton Yelchin (1989-2016). (none / 0) (#86)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 05:03:58 AM EST
    The Russian-born actor, who came to the United States as an infant with his parents and was perhaps best known for assuming the role of Mr. Chekov in the 2009 reboot OF the "Star Trek" franchise, died sometime before 1:00 a.m. early Sunday morning in a freak auto accident in Studio City, CA.

    According to LAPD investigators, Yelchin was apparently leaving his hillside home to meet friends, and had driven up his steep driveway in his Jeep Grand Cherokee, before alighting from his 5,000-lb. vehicle to return to his security gate, apparently without having securely put it in park. It then slipped into neutral, rolled quickly backward down the driveway and crushed him against the gate. When he failed to show up, his friends came looking for him and found him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

    Yelchin first came to prominence as an actor in 2006 when at age 17, he played a kidnap victim in director Nick Cassavetes' critically acclaimed crime thriller "Alpha Dog." He was cast as Mr. Chekov by director J.J. Abrams for the 2009 film "Star Trek." He had recently completed work on the rebooted franchise's third installment, which is due for release next month.

    This was a tragic end to a promising talent.

    Very sad (none / 0) (#100)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 09:04:30 AM EST
    Just watched him in Broken Horses

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    Fiat Chrysler, which owns Jeep, ... (none / 0) (#116)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jun 20, 2016 at 12:11:20 PM EST
    ... announced that it will investigate the crash because his 2015 Grand Cherokee had been recalled in April for a gear shift defect, after a number of incidents in which the vehicle rolled away after the driver exited, an issue that's been directly linked to 41 injuries thus far. The company had previously said that it hoped to remedy the problem by the fourth quarter of this year.

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