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Thursday Night Open Thread

Today was the longest court hearing I've had in years -- 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. I forgot how exhausting it can be at the end of the day. Happily, the TL kid and his fiancee and their new puppy are coming for dinner, bringing Chinese food and all I have to do is make the Mojitos.

I haven't seen any news, so here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    I love mojitos. (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Mar 09, 2017 at 08:04:38 PM EST
    I hope yours are good.

    I got some publicity (5.00 / 6) (#5)
    by Repack Rider on Thu Mar 09, 2017 at 11:46:54 PM EST
    ...a five page article in the current issue of a popular mountain bike publication, plugging my book.  I pointed out to my publisher that five pages of advertising in this magazine is a few tens of thousands of dollars.  Always nice to be friends with the editor!

    (I have a life outside of this website.)

    Here is a .pdf.  Don't click the link unless you want to find out a lot about me.

    That is so cool! (none / 0) (#90)
    by Cashmere on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 09:29:52 AM EST
    That is so cool!    Congrats and thanks for sharing.

    Parent
    Some great talks (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Nemi on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 07:41:15 AM EST
    at a conference arranged by Columbia Journalism Review recently, livestreamed by The Guardian. The full title of the conference: Covering Trump: What Happens When Journalism, Politics, and Fake News Collide.

    The actual talks begin just before the 19 min. mark with an introduction by Steve Coll - love his voice! - the school's dean.

    I've watched/listened to most of the more than six hours(!) talks, and found it both interesting and enlightening. Not least listening to those representing N.Y.T and WaPo talk about the whys and hows and whynots re their covering of OMG! Emails! And I'm quite a bit surprised  that everyone actually seems to agree, that publicing stolen, private emails is both legal and legit. But then I'm not part of 'Media', so ...

    One of the participants in the last debate of the day is Jonathan Peters, attorney and 'CJR's press freedom correspondent' , whose article Putin, Politics, and the Press, is discussed and referenced in the talk. Just a small snippet from his long article:

    Overall, the biggest deficiency in the email coverage, based on my review of it and the interviews I conducted, was the failure to contextualize the contents and to judge their significance. That might not have been a big problem for a frivolous story, because by definition it was superficial--but the implications were big for a serious story, which had the chance to be informative about a legitimate public concern.

    Btw, in the first talk a writer from Breitbart also participates, and as I've noticed memeorandum.com lately making ever more references to that site I'm wondering: Is there a slow, steady move to legitimize Breitbart? Or is that making too much of it ...?

    Breitbart is as legitimate (none / 0) (#11)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:34:49 AM EST
    as its counterparts on the Left.

    Parent
    With one difference (5.00 / 6) (#12)
    by Repack Rider on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:47:40 AM EST
    Breitbart is as legitimate as its counterparts on the Left.

    Of course, there is no "counterpart" on the left of a site that lies about everything.

    The reason I am on DailyKos, user #207 out of over a million, is that I noticed that this site is consistently more accurate than the media, and is six months ahead of them on important stories.  Example: DK was pointing out in 2002 that the fix was in for the invasion of Iraq, and in 2003 that the WMD were a lie.  Both true and missed by the media.

    Breitbart?  They were birthers.  How did that story pan out?

    Parent

    There are several. (none / 0) (#35)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:28:13 PM EST
    MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, et al

    Parent
    So basically, every outlet (none / 0) (#41)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:58:09 PM EST
    that isn't Breitbart and Fox is left wing?

    You're really far gone, aren't you?

    Parent

    single payer (none / 0) (#52)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 05:47:33 PM EST
    Did anyone not think that, 6 months before (none / 0) (#92)
    by Green26 on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 09:58:54 AM EST
    the invasion, it was highly likely that the invasion was coming? It was set up and telegraphed almost non stop, is my recollection. Not saying your source wasn't on it in a big way. To me, the only question was when.

    Parent
    Of (none / 0) (#94)
    by FlJoe on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 11:01:53 AM EST
    course everyone saw the invasion coming, relatively few saw the lies that were being used to sell it and those few voices were  mostly stifled by the MSM.

    It was in a way the very first battle in the war between the citizen journalist hordes unleashed by the web portals a lying Government and their enablers in the MSM.

    Parent

    They weren't lies for the most part (none / 0) (#111)
    by Green26 on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 02:36:11 PM EST
    They were the prevailing views of national and international intelligence for the most part. The Bush administration believed the intel. The Bush people didn't accept the non-prevailing views. Much of the intel turned out to be wrong. Doesn't make it lies.

    Parent
    What and Who determined which views (none / 0) (#112)
    by jondee on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 03:03:14 PM EST
    were "prevailing" is the question.

    There's no question that there was a conscious effort to promote a certain narrative using "intelligence" in the way that corporations who want see a drug approved use their own "scientific research."

    Parent

    The Intel agencies of various countries (none / 0) (#113)
    by Green26 on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 04:13:41 PM EST
    put out their prevailing views.

    "in 2004, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee released a 500+ page report about "Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq." The committee members--including eight Republicans and seven Democrats--unanimously concluded:

        "The Committee did not find any evidence that intelligence analysts changed their judgments as a result of political pressure, altered or produced intelligence products to conform with Administration policy, or that anyone even attempted to coerce, influence or pressure analysts to do so."

    "After a thorough review, the Commission found no indication that the Intelligence Community distorted the evidence regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. What the intelligence professionals told you about Saddam Hussein's programs was what they believed. They were simply wrong."

    "Significantly, this report is not dismissive of the intelligence failures that preceded the Iraq war. It declares that "most of the major key judgments" made by the intelligence community in its "most authoritative" prewar report were "either overstated, or were not supported by, the underlying intelligence reporting." However, as the quote above reveals, the committee found no malfeasance on the part of Bush or his appointees."

    Article.

    Parent

    I beg to differ (none / 0) (#123)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 08:07:37 PM EST
    The Bush administration believed the intel. The Bush people didn't accept the non-prevailing views. Much of the intel turned out to be wrong.

    I don't have a security clearance.  All I did was pay attention to the bloggers who seemed to know more than the media was saying.  So I knew the intel was a lie long before the invasion, even if the president didn't.

    And I was right.  You can't argue that.

    DK presented the evidence to back up the claim that the president was lying, e.g. the observation that Powell had lied to the UN.

    Since I arrived at the true and correct conclusion via DailyKos months before the media did, I have consistent6ly followed the sites that were on the true side of this important issue.  Right wing sites were all for the war, and left wing sites were correct about it being a fabrication.

    Doesn't make it lies.

    The fact that a statement is untrue DOES make it a lie.  The George Castanza defense is not valid.  If I knew it was a lie, based on my extremely limited resources, everyone in government should also have known.

    Parent

    So if I told you the sun will come up every (none / 0) (#136)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 09:11:03 AM EST
    morning and it does, you will accept me as an
    expert on astronomy?

    Do you remember all the predictions in the Left Wing  blogs  that the surge wouldn't work?

    And all the claims that Hillary was a shoo in?

    Parent

    Here is an example (none / 0) (#96)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 11:21:37 AM EST
    ...of good blogging.

    Colin Powell famously spoke to the UN Security Council and displayed a bottle of white powder to demonstrate that you could fill a bottle with powder and scare people.

    During that speech he presented what he called "the latest intelligence" on these matters.

    BEFORE HE FINISHED SPEAKING DKos bloggers had identified his "intel" as a ten year old post-grad thesis.  This didn't make much news in the US, but the UK papers picked up on it.

    It emerged yesterday that the dossier issued last week - later found to include a plagiarised section written by an American PhD student - was compiled by mid-level officials in Alastair Campbell's Downing Street communications department with only cursory approval from intelligence or even Foreign Office sources.

    Though it now appears to have been a journalistic cut and paste job rather than high-grade intelligence analysis, the dossier ended up being cited approvingly on worldwide TV by the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, when he addressed the UN security council on Wednesday.



    Parent
    "The poor just don't want healthcare" (5.00 / 2) (#15)
    by Yman on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 10:11:55 AM EST
    So says a Republican Congressman who was stupid enough to voice what do many Republicans actually think.

    A doctor, no less.

    Speaking of books.. (5.00 / 3) (#31)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:13:33 PM EST
    isn't it about time we called Climate Change deniers what they are: virtual book burners?

    "Where people start by burning books they end up by burning people"

    Book Burners? (none / 0) (#149)
    by desertswine on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 02:26:20 PM EST
    More like Planet Burners.

    Parent
    Wesleyan University Analysis of the Campaign (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by RickyJim on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 03:59:07 PM EST
    As we will demonstrate (1) Clinton's unexpected
    losses came in states in which she failed to air ads until the last week and (2)
    Clinton's message was devoid of discussions of policy in a way not seen in the
    previous four presidential contests.

    Read the full PDF instead of news accounts.  

    We were (5.00 / 5) (#48)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 04:19:55 PM EST
    running against a candidate that had no stances on issues. He had no healthcare plan other than it's "going to be awesome and cover everybody". Too bad too many of his voters are learning the real facts now that they should have demanded he answer last year.

    Parent
    Actually, you're 100% wrong on that (5.00 / 3) (#154)
    by scribe on Mon Mar 13, 2017 at 09:27:04 AM EST
    If one bothers to take the time to read the linked document, one would find that a substantial portion of Clinton's ads were focused on Trump's character and were NOT policy-driven ads.  In fact the survey authors note that, especially in the WI and MI markets, Clinton hardly ran economic-policy (or other policy-related) ads until the very end of the campaign, while Trump had been running policy-related ads (especially economic policy) from the beginning of the general election cycle at Labor Day.  

    The survey notes that such policy ads are more useful to voters because they give voters a chance to compare the candidates and make a decision.  Clinton gave voters no reason because she presented next to no policy-driven "comparison" ads.  Rather, she focused negatively on Trump's character, something the authors noted can have a backlash effect (as common sense would tell you).  Moreover, my own observation is that too many negative ads may have a perverse non-backlash effect helping the target, in the sense of "any publicity is good publicity - say what you like, so long as you spell the name right".

    The authors also note that Clinton spent money and resources in non-traditional places like Arizona rather than in "base" areas like WI and MI.  And she didn't really advertise in WI and MI until the last week or so, having abandoned the field to Trump.  He advertised in WI and MI, albeit at a low level, from the beginning on.

    It's a scholarly paper and appears to be based on sound numbers and analysis, not come pile of climate-change-denialism.  After all, they got the numbers they crunch from the people who track ad buys for the advertising industry.

    Parent

    Meant to say this in my comment (none / 0) (#155)
    by scribe on Mon Mar 13, 2017 at 09:30:02 AM EST
    While Trump's "policy" ads may have been pitching policies that were/are total bullsh*t, the fact is he was talking about policy.  HTC was talking about what a sh*t Trump was/is.  

    "Not having a realistic/rational/real policy" and "not talking about policy at all" are two entirely different things.  We're not talking horses of a different color there.  Rather, were talking about entirely different species of animal.

    Parent

    Also posted on DKos (5.00 / 1) (#56)
    by Repack Rider on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:00:10 PM EST
    ...where it was roundly beaten and ignored.

    This is complete cr@p.  Don't dignify it by reading it.

    Parent

    I Couldn't Find the Daily Kos Article (4.00 / 1) (#59)
    by RickyJim on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:23:53 PM EST
    Neither of you said anything that refutes the scholarly article from Wesleyan.  The graphs that showed that the Clinton advertising campaign spent much more money attacking Trump's character rather than explaining policy differences were most telling.  The Clinton campaign lost the same way lawyers with a better case lose.  They refused to clearly point out what was wrong with their opponent's arguments. Pointing out Trump's failures as a human being was belaboring the obvious.

    Parent
    I don't think it was as unexpected (none / 0) (#62)
    by McBain on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:28:50 PM EST
    as hyped.  "Experts" weren't looking at the  unrealistic polling samples, the rally crowd size and other things.  In the final week, they should have said it was too close to call or Trump had a slight edge.

    Parent
    "Unrealistic polling samples" - heh (5.00 / 2) (#87)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 09:19:41 AM EST
    You mean the national polls that were absolutely accurate?

    Heh.

    Parent

    That's not "Wesleyan University" (none / 0) (#88)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 09:26:50 AM EST
    That's 3 guys with an opinion, some of whom work for Wesleyan.  They don't speak for the university.

    Parent
    Sorry, it was "Wesleyan Media Project" (1.00 / 1) (#93)
    by RickyJim on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 11:00:50 AM EST
    Posting the link here had the consequence that it gave some leftists the opportunity to show that their attitude towards scientific research, whose conclusions they don't like, is similar to that of climate deniers.

    Parent
    Scientific research is not the problem (5.00 / 1) (#99)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 11:40:08 AM EST
    False claims and silly insinuations pushed by wingers who can't interpret the research.

    That's the problem.

    But happy to help you get your facts straight.

    Parent

    I'm Still Waiting (5.00 / 1) (#115)
    by RickyJim on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 06:16:08 PM EST
    to see a serious analysis of why their conclusions are not correct.  Has anybody else here besides me actually read the pdf file?

    Parent
    People are still clinging to (5.00 / 1) (#121)
    by McBain on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 08:03:08 PM EST
    Russia and Comey as the deciding factors.  I tend to agree with your point (and the authors of the study's point) about the ineffectiveness of attacking Trump as a person instead of his message.

    I also think he significantly outworked Clinton.

    Parent

    No doubt (5.00 / 1) (#124)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 08:10:08 PM EST
    I have an uncle who thinks Trump is honest and the moon landing was staged.

    He's funny, too.

    Parent

    You'll be waiting for awhile (none / 0) (#119)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 07:24:44 PM EST
    I don't particularly care about their opinion or a winger's misinterpretation of it.

    Parent
    ... make an effort to head out to Anza Borrego Desert State Park in eastern San Diego County, which is enjoying its most spectacular wildflower bloom in 20 years, according to park officials. It's a preview to what the rest of California will see in late April and May after one of the wettest winters in memory.

    Quote of the Day: (5.00 / 2) (#133)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 02:58:51 AM EST
    "What's being set up now is a system where there are certain races that are going to be in a second class-type of environment, and there will be a superior race that is running everything. This is the first time that a president has made such a broad, sweeping kind of executive order that bans people purely based upon their nationality. It's saying if you're from one of these six countries, you are presumptively a terrorist. To us, that's bringing us back to a time before I was even born, a time that our prior generation lived under, that's a dark chapter that I don't believe we should repeat. [This lawsuit] isn't a Democrat thing or an agenda thing. It's a racism thing."
    - Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin, speaking to local reporters about the State's lawsuit to overturn the Trump administration's travel ban (March 10, 2017)

    Drop the mic.

    Ivanka's "Complicit" (5.00 / 1) (#134)
    by Yman on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 08:18:22 AM EST
    For anyone who hasn't seen them - Alec Baldwin's new SNL cold open ("Alien Attack)" and Ivanka's new perfume ad.

    i put this in the (none / 0) (#135)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 08:25:59 AM EST
    wrong open.  amazing.

    Parent
    Finally got to see Moonlight (none / 0) (#2)
    by McBain on Thu Mar 09, 2017 at 08:05:18 PM EST
    It was good.  Not sure it was better than Manchester By The Sea but I liked how the filmmakers moved the story ahead.... they avoided unnecessary scenes.  Some movies are too long (Tarentino).... this one wasn't.  

    Also started watching The Crown on Netlix.... so far, so good.    

    Author Richard North Patterson speaks to ... (none / 0) (#3)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Mar 09, 2017 at 08:05:20 PM EST
    ... the threat that that AM squawk radio poses to both our democracy and our collective American psyche:

    Boston Globe | March 9, 2017
    The tawdry triumph of talk radio - "In the last half-century, driving across America one could hear the screech of anger -- first, as tinny rants amid the static of a fading AM signal, later as the frenzied yet insinuating voices of talk-show hosts who enriched themselves by peddling lies, slanders, paranoia, conspiracy theories, and unreasoning rage meant to create a hothouse of hysteria. But the frenzy has burst its bounds. The malign ethic of right-wing talk radio now pervades the White House.

    "The Visigoths of talk have breached the walls of civil society to implant an alternate reality, in which America's enemies are everyone outside their tribe: Democrats, moderates, Muslims, minorities, immigrants, mainstream conservatives, the media, the courts, Congress, and, until now, the president. In this existential cage match, facts are inimical; ignorance invaluable; reason contemptible; alienation indispensable. For the war can be won only when millions of Americans believe in nothing but their own hatred.

    "The reckoning draws nearer."

    Worth a read.

    i found this (none / 0) (#4)
    by linea on Thu Mar 09, 2017 at 08:20:53 PM EST
    That's a five-year-old article, linea, (5.00 / 2) (#6)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:28:22 AM EST
    That was written in the immediate wake of Limbaugh's big faux pas, in which he viciously attacked a young Georgetown University student named Sandra Fluke on the air, repeatedly calling her a "slut" and making lewd and grotesque comments about her sex life.

    Although he had long been controversial, the verbal assault on Ms. Fluke proved too much for a lot of people, including the management of major sponsors and radio stations, who began dropping Limbaugh's show like a hot potato.

    Our local AM squawk radio station in Hilo, KIPA-AM, very publicly denounced him in an angry press release and has since refused to reinstate him to our local airwaves. It wouldn't surprise me if Limbaugh's audience has shrunk since then.

    The guy is a pig.

    Parent

    Really? (none / 0) (#7)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 07:40:06 AM EST
    In the last half-century, driving across America one could hear the screech of anger

    Picked this up from FNC this morning.

    Samantha Bee.... shaming a young CPAC member for his "Hitler/Nazi haircut"

    The young man has Stage 4 brain cancer.

    He who...cast first stone....etc., etc.

    Parent

    The poor kid has Stage 4 brain cancer (5.00 / 2) (#22)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 12:06:15 PM EST
    I wish he didn't have it. God bless him.

    Now, what's your excuse, Jim?

    Stage 4 Angry Old White Man Syndrome?

    Stage 4 Post-Sixties Traumatic Stress Disorder?

    Let us know if there's an organization that helps people like you.

    Parent

    And (none / 0) (#9)
    by Nemi on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 07:48:38 AM EST
    The Show Apologizes to Writer for `Nazi Hair' Mockery

    Jo Miller, a "Full Frontal" executive producer, said in an email on Thursday: "We've apologized to Mr. Coddington and his family members and we are donating to the GoFundMe account for his treatment. We wish him all the best in his fight against cancer and sincerely, deeply regret offending him and his family."


    Parent
    Nope. Apology not accepted (1.25 / 4) (#10)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:32:49 AM EST
    and the people associated with this nastiness should be fired.

    Parent
    Well, when (5.00 / 3) (#13)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 09:39:03 AM EST
    conservatives start holding their own people accountable for what they say and then you can get back to us. What they did apologizing and helping was more than any conservative has done. So you don't have a leg to stand on here.

    Parent
    GA, suits me. (none / 0) (#32)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:18:47 PM EST
    Who do you want zapped?

    Parent
    Excellent (none / 0) (#33)
    by Yman on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:24:42 PM EST
    Start with Trump.  The guy who mocks the disabled and POWs.  The guy you voted for and helped put in office despite knowing this.

    Parent
    Really, Jim? (none / 0) (#36)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:32:37 PM EST
    you're using big boobs at your blog to what? make Trumpcare seem more exciting?

    If you're trying for subliminable, you've got to be more subliminable than that.

    Parent

    Off (none / 0) (#37)
    by FlJoe on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:34:22 PM EST
    the top of my head, Rush Limbaugh.

    Parent
    Bannon (none / 0) (#42)
    by MKS on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 03:51:26 PM EST
    Actually guys (none / 0) (#51)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 05:10:25 PM EST
    the offer was for GA.

    And really? Bannon? Limbaugh?

    Have you no imagination? Besides, who would you have to worry over and about if they were gone?

    Parent

    Another would just pop up (none / 0) (#53)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 05:48:07 PM EST
    Limbaugh and Bannon are about as unique as two bacterial colonies..

    It's the receptive hosts that are the problem.

    Parent

    Funny how you won't address ... (none / 0) (#85)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 09:00:55 AM EST
    ... your hypocritical double-standard and how Trump should be "fired" for doing what you accuse comedians of doing.

    Wonder why that is.

    Parent

    Why? (5.00 / 3) (#14)
    by Yman on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 10:09:07 AM EST
    Did they know about this before they made the comment?

    Question - Does this same standard apply to the guy you elected POTUS?  Ya know, the guy who mocks the disabled and POWs?

    Parent

    "Full Frontal" (none / 0) (#25)
    by KeysDan on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 12:51:34 PM EST
    apparently has a broad-based viewing audience.  

    Parent
    Enough with the hypocrisy already. (none / 0) (#21)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 12:04:09 PM EST
    First of all, it's not your place to accept or reject an apology that's been offered to somebody else, since you are not the aggrieved party.

    And secondly, we all noticed that you certainly didn't take similar offense when Trump mocked that reporter who had a physical disability. In fact, you laughed and cheered him on.

    So, aside from the fact that you're simply trying to change the subject, you've got no valid point here. None at all.

    Jeez, the sheer chutzpah and ignorance you display is at times breathtaking, not unlike somebody breaking wind after eating a couple cans of refried beans.

    :-|

     

    Parent

    If I make it my place it's my place. (none / 0) (#34)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:26:14 PM EST
    Lemme see. Trump made a vulgar comment about females in general, grabbing them I recall.

    Very bad taste. You hold him and I'll slap his hands.

    He did not mock the news guy and telling a beauty contestant she's too fat may be cruel but it's also honest.

    Parent

    keep the "cruel" (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:39:47 PM EST
    and simply change the "honest" to "dishonest", and you've delineated the credo of Trump, Breitbart, talk radio, and Tall Cotton, all in one fell swoop.

    Parent
    Who cares, Jim? (5.00 / 1) (#44)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 04:00:20 PM EST
    You're just another opinionated right-wing blowhard offering free-flow and uninformed commentary about stuff, often issues of which you otherwise and obviously know very little or nothing. In that regard, whatever you so happen to think about Samantha Bee really doesn't matter either to her, me or likely anybody else here.

    Buh-bye.

    Parent

    That's called sexual assault (4.67 / 3) (#38)
    by Yman on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:35:40 PM EST
    ... and Trump absolutely mocked the disabled reporter.

    Funny how you want the comedians fired for an unknowing mistake that they've apologized for, yet you don't want to fire Trump.

    Doesn't the hypocrisy ever get tiring?

    Parent

    For such hypocrisy to be tiring, ... (5.00 / 1) (#45)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 04:05:26 PM EST
    ... Jim would have to first possess both a clue and a conscience. Defending Trump's vulgarity and sexism as he does shows that he has neither.

    Parent
    my feelings (none / 0) (#55)
    by linea on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 07:34:45 PM EST
    Nope. Apology not accepted

    im not fond of people being offended or outraged on behalf of other people. people being offended or outraged on behalf of first peoples or men being offended or outraged on behalf of women. like when american men are outraged and concerned for my safety and try to convince me that stockholm is the rape capitol of the world.  to me, glasgow feels more dangerous with the drunk boys on the street yeling, "wooo! wooo!" i hate that.


    Parent

    The point that no one wants to (3.00 / 2) (#61)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:27:09 PM EST
    make is that even if the young man did not suffer from Stage 4, there is no Stage 5, cancer, isn't it 100% unacceptable to call someone a Nazi because of their political association?

    Doesn't it belittle all the people who were killed by actual Nazis as well?

    As for rape capitals, I hazard a guess that would be any area just conquered by ISIS. But beheading for sure.

    Parent

    yes - 5 star'd (1.00 / 1) (#65)
    by linea on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:45:10 PM EST

    isn't it 100% unacceptable to call someone a Nazi because of their [oppositional] political association? Doesn't it belittle all the people who were killed by actual Nazis as well?

    yes. unacceptable. the denocrats are instigating people to hysteria no different than pizzagate. in my opinion.

    As for rape capitals, I hazard a guess that would be any area just conquered by ISIS.

    yes. sexual slavery. the rapists assert it is their religion.

    Parent

    Jim has 5 star picture (5.00 / 2) (#68)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:51:32 PM EST
    of Barack Obama standing next to Hitler and Stalin on his blog..

    Just in case you think it's just Democrats who like to exploit Nazi references.

    Parent

    i 5-star posts (5.00 / 1) (#69)
    by linea on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:58:27 PM EST
    on their individual stand-alone merits.

    Parent
    We'll average it out.. (5.00 / 1) (#74)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 09:20:07 PM EST
    a 5 with 3 points off for the most egregious kind of hypocrisy.

    That leaves us with a nice solid 2.

    Parent

    jondee I wear your insults like a medal (none / 0) (#114)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 06:12:38 PM EST

    But could you give us a link to that picture.

    Parent
    Did you take it down?? (none / 0) (#143)
    by jondee on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 11:58:57 AM EST
    how Jim of you.

    Some more inconvenient history goes down the memory hole..

    No wonder you side with the book-burners.

    Parent

    Sorry to disappoint (1.00 / 1) (#157)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Mar 13, 2017 at 10:06:13 AM EST
    but whatever I put up is still up.

    Tell me, does it bother you to make things up or has your moral standards completely been destroyed by your hatred?

    Parent

    Trumpers (5.00 / 1) (#158)
    by Yman on Mon Mar 13, 2017 at 11:43:48 AM EST
    ... should never pretend to lecture others on morals/morality.  

    Parent
    wow (none / 0) (#159)
    by jondee on Mon Mar 13, 2017 at 12:46:15 PM EST
    you could've just said comparing Obama to Hitler and Stalin was just a little conservative poetic license..

    Lying about it now just makes you dishonest on top of being hysterical.

    Parent

    Oh, please, linea! (5.00 / 3) (#71)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 09:09:38 PM EST
    Democrats are not "instigating people to hysteria no different than pizzagate." Nobody's shown up in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago and fired a gun into the ceiling in front of terrified guests, while claiming to look for kidnapped teenaged beauty contestants being held prisoner by Trump in the private club's basement.

    Rather, liberals and progressives are instead finally shaking off the cobwebs that accumulated during their induced quarter-century political slumber.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    im refering to (2.00 / 1) (#120)
    by linea on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 07:56:19 PM EST
    Democrats are not "instigating people to hysteria no different than pizzagate."

    the constant nazi and hitler memes which clearly are designed to whip up hysteria.  on this site i have read "is it ok the punch a nazi?" and countless soft-excuses for the behavior of violent criminals instigating physical altercations.

    so yes. it's exactly like pizzagate.

    Parent

    Fairy tales (none / 0) (#126)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 08:12:05 PM EST
    ... can often be "exactly like" anything the author is imagining.

    Parent
    Tell it to the uninformed (none / 0) (#81)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 07:11:35 AM EST
    Democrats are not "instigating people to hysteria

    All the major news outlets this AM are screaming that Sessions firing the remaining deputy AG's is the end of civilization.

    Yet we know that replacing the previous AG's with your own people is standard operating procedure.

    Parent

    More fake "news" (5.00 / 1) (#83)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 07:26:45 AM EST
    All the major news outlets this AM are screaming that Sessions firing the remaining deputy AG's is the end of civilization.

    Not from "all the major news outlets" - who are simply reporting on it without your fake hysteria but simply noting the facts - but from you.

    But you're right about that being your SOP.

    The very first Google result.

    Parent

    The DoJ officers whose resignations (none / 0) (#95)
    by Peter G on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 11:13:46 AM EST
    were demanded this week were not "AGs" or "Deputy AGs" -- as reading any of the stories would tell you -- but rather the United States Attorneys for various districts. These officials are presidentially appointed and congressionally confirmed, so yes, their replacement is routine with a change of administrations. Offers to resign are conventional, although many (in the past) have been kept on until their successors are named, since the job is mainly to be chief federal prosecutor in a section of the country, which is overwhelmingly but not universally a professional not a partisan position.

    Parent
    Now (none / 0) (#97)
    by FlJoe on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 11:23:08 AM EST
    there's this
    Preet Bharara, a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is refusing the Trump administration's demand to resign, according to multiple reports Saturday.
     Is this even close to normal?

    Parent
    To my knowledge, Bharara's response (none / 0) (#101)
    by Peter G on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 11:55:55 AM EST
    is not at all consistent with traditional norms. However, we defense lawyers have long commented derisively among ourselves that the federal prosecutors in his Southern District of New York seem to consider themselves very "special."

    Parent
    Mr. Bharara has now been fired, ... (none / 0) (#108)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 02:11:55 PM EST
    ... which was inevitable, of course.

    Parent
    Yep (none / 0) (#100)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 11:45:52 AM EST
    I am well aware that this routinely happens, although I missed the part where Jim wrongly called them Deputy AGs.  I was pointing out that his claim - that all the major news outlets were treating this as though it was the end of civilization - was false.

    Parent
    We'll leave that to you (none / 0) (#82)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 07:17:11 AM EST
    When's your next Tea Party/Trumper meeting?

    Parent
    LOL! (none / 0) (#110)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 02:23:34 PM EST
    jimakaPPJ: "Tell it to the uninformed[.]"

    Since you're obviously the most uninformed and hysterical person in this sub-thread, consider yourself duly informed.

    Have a nice day.

    Parent

    That is absolutely ,,, (5.00 / 2) (#75)
    by Yman on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 09:22:39 PM EST
    yes. unacceptable. the denocrats are instigating people to hysteria no different than pizzagate. in my opinion

    ... the most laughable, ridiculous false equivalency I've heard in a long time.  "In my opinion".

    Parent

    i feel you are correct (none / 0) (#77)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 09:51:16 PM EST
    FYI (none / 0) (#84)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 08:02:57 AM EST
    Since you're referencing your blog.. (none / 0) (#109)
    by jondee on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 02:19:37 PM EST
    that trove of scholarship and fair-minded, even-handed analysis..

    Re: your comparing Obama to Hitler and Stalin: Nope. Apology still not accepted.

    Parent

    How many rapes happen in Tennessee (none / 0) (#64)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:34:31 PM EST
    every year? not counting at family reunions..

    They're pretty high on the national list, as I recall.

    Parent

    So you've finally decided (none / 0) (#79)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 11:55:36 PM EST
    to swallow your pride and apologize for belittling the memory of the victims by comparing Obama to Hitler and Stalin on your blog.

    Good for you, Jim.

    Parent

    Not to excuse (none / 0) (#80)
    by Nemi on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 06:43:43 AM EST
    the segment in Full Frontal, but the young man actually seemed to have noticed a certain resemblance himself, as he, according to the link I provided, earlier on had tweeted:

    People who will be attending CPAC, a heads up...my hair style slightly resembles Richard Spencer's but at least I have an excuse...cancer

    Early Thursday morning he tweeted at Samantha Bee:

    Please delete this episode. I look like a balding potato. -- Also, it's not a Nazi haircut. Richard Spencer's is, but mine's from cancer.

    It strikes me as if he personally was less outraged and offended than so many others were ... on his behalf.

    Parent

    it's actually (none / 0) (#125)
    by linea on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 08:11:02 PM EST
    a common hair style in my neighborhood for hipsters. often with full beard and a lumberjack shirt. hipters in seattle are quite liberal.

    Parent
    Kyle (none / 0) (#20)
    by Nemi on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 10:43:05 AM EST
    Coddington's very dignified official statement in response to the extremely unfortunate segment on Full Frontal.

    Parent
    In rerospect, it was very unfortunate. (none / 0) (#49)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 04:25:45 PM EST
    Hopefully, Samantha Bee's and her Full Frontal crew will learn from this mistake and take much better care in the future to first talk to and secure the permission of people of Kyle Coddington, before airing footage that subjects them to potential mockery and / or ridicule.

    Because with obvious hindsight, what first appeared as pretty funny on Wednesday night is now seen in retrospect as something that was horribly and unnecessarily cruel. To be sure, Samantha Bee clearly didn't know about Kyle Coddington's condition at the time the segment aired -- but as executive producer, it's her responsibility to guard her own show against such incidents and occurrences.

    This was an unforced error. Now, she will need to issue a sincere personal apology to the young man and his family on next week's show, and then reassure her audience that it won't happen again. And I'm sure she'll do just that.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    "Stand your ground" (none / 0) (#16)
    by Repack Rider on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 10:27:21 AM EST
    I don't think this was a stand your ground case (none / 0) (#17)
    by McBain on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 10:33:02 AM EST
    despite the media's obsession with it.  I believe it was a regular self defense immunity pre trial hearing that was denied. Anyone know for sure?

    Parent
    Yep - It was ... (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by Yman on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 10:40:26 AM EST
    Irrelevant (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by Repack Rider on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 10:41:53 AM EST
    I don't think this was a stand your ground case

    Immaterial, asked and answered.  The defendant said it was.  He was wrong.  

    I hope the fool rots in prison, after a fair and impartial trial by a jury of his peers (in which he is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty, guilty, GUILTY beyond a reasonable doubt).  

    "Stand your ground" is a license to kill.

    Parent

    Our species needs a delete key. (none / 0) (#23)
    by Mr Natural on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 12:37:52 PM EST
    But I wouldn't trust a human hand to press it.

    Parent
    He's definitely got an uphill battle (none / 0) (#27)
    by McBain on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 01:10:32 PM EST
    He already tipped his hand with this hearing and took the stand. In the Zimmerman case, his legal team wisely choose not to try for pre trial immunity.

    Parent
    i googled (none / 0) (#57)
    by linea on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:06:58 PM EST
    found lots of articles like this:
    Poll: Floridians Overwhelmingly Support Stand Your Ground Law


    Parent
    And? (5.00 / 2) (#63)
    by Repack Rider on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:34:28 PM EST
    Floridians Overwhelmingly Support Stand Your Ground Law

    It's a trend.  They supported slavery in 1861, lynching in 1921 and segregation in 1961 but now those are all illegal.  Any law that lets you shoot a Black person is popular in the South.

    Parent

    my understanding (none / 0) (#67)
    by linea on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:49:46 PM EST
    is that the recent trend has been toward more states allowing carrying pistols and more states passing stand your ground type laws. it even seems a number of democrats on TL are on board the idea of handguns for personal defensive.

    Parent
    The odds (5.00 / 2) (#72)
    by Repack Rider on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 09:15:12 PM EST
    ...that a member of your immediate family will die of a gunshot wound go up exponentially if there is one in the house.  For every legitimate defensive use of a personal weapon, there are a hundred innocent victims.

    I was in the Army.  I have not picked up or felt I needed a firearm since February 15, 1968.  I have spent plenty of time where I am the only white person and the only one without a police record, and probably half of everyone else is armed.

    If you want a firearm, get one, but don't think it makes you any safer.  If you don't want a firearm, don't lecture the blog on how useful they are.

    Parent

    WHY WAS THAT (none / 0) (#122)
    by linea on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 08:06:05 PM EST
    DIRECTED AT ME?

    by Repack Rider:

    If you want a firearm, get one, but don't think it makes you any safer.  If you don't want a firearm, don't lecture the blog on how useful they are.

    i am in the exteme minority of people on TL who wants all handguns banned. i would ban all firearms but i know how popular hunting is; so i would ban all handguns and rifles except double-barrel shots guns. that's TWICE as many shots as they had when the 2nd Amend was written.  

    Parent

    Speaking of things (none / 0) (#137)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 09:18:56 AM EST
    the we didn't have when the Constitution was written..

    Women couldn't vote.

    Slavery was allowed.

    The press didn't have high speed printing presses.

    And yes, some guns had two barrels.

    Parent

    A person who believes Fox News (none / 0) (#145)
    by jondee on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 12:55:29 PM EST
    and AM talk radio is, imo, the type of person likely to believe we live in a dangerous dangerous "multicultural" world, such that it's advisable to never leave the house unarmed..

    Which is somewhat paradoxical, when one considers that so many of them claim to believe in the Book that says "perfect love casteth out all fear."

    I wonder what Curtis Reeves's listening and viewing habits were?

    Parent

    Not too surprising linea but I don't think this (5.00 / 1) (#76)
    by McBain on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 09:47:26 PM EST
    particular case is a stand your ground case.  At the time the shot was fired, Reeves was seated in a dark movie theater with a big wall behind him. He was 71 years old and didn't really have anywhere to go at that moment.

    As for his chances at trial I think his lawyer will have hype up his fear for great bodily harm and try to get the jury to overlook some of his statements and testimony.  

    Parent

    The court agrees (none / 0) (#102)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 12:36:36 PM EST
    I don't think this particular case is a stand your ground case

    Correct.

    When you pull out a pistol and kill an unarmed guy in a movie theater, it is not self defense, it means you are a cold-blooded, most likely Trump voting murderer.  (Liberals don't carry concealed weapons because we are not paranoid cowards.)

    ...who deserves to rot for the rest of his life after being convicted by a jury of his peers, who presume his innocence until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and THEN sent off to rot.

    Parent

    Lots of assumptions there (5.00 / 1) (#103)
    by McBain on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 12:53:10 PM EST
    As the courts have proved before, shooting someone who's unarmed does not automatically make one a murderer. In some instances, you don't have to let someone crack your skull... you can shoot.  This case is going to be interesting.  

    Plenty of liberals pack heat. Several mass shootings have been by left leaning individuals.  Bad people come in all political party affiliations.

    Parent

    Indeed (none / 0) (#104)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 01:23:27 PM EST
    As the courts have proved before, shooting someone who's unarmed does not automatically make one a murderer. In some instances, you don't have to let someone crack your skull... you can shoot.  This case is going to be interesting.

    You're right.  That IS a lot of assumptions.
      

    Plenty of liberals pack heat. Several mass shootings have been by left leaning individuals.  Bad people come in all political party affiliations.

    Some do ... no idea what "plenty" means.  The last claim was funny.  Always sends up a red flag when someone uses extremely vague and/or subjective qualifiers like "left leaning" or "several".  I remember those silly claims about Loughler,  though.

    Parent

    When someone is so deranged that (none / 0) (#107)
    by jondee on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 01:53:24 PM EST
    they become a mass shooter, the question of what their political affiliations are becomes about as relevant as their taste in fashion or in cars.

    Parent
    Who needs motive? (none / 0) (#127)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 08:14:58 PM EST
    When someone is so deranged that they become a mass shooter, the question of what their political affiliations are becomes about as relevant as their taste in fashion or in cars.

    If the motive for the shooting is religion (e.g. the mosque massacre), that becomes relevant.  If the motive for the shooting is politics (e.g. Dylan Roof), then that becomes relevant.

    If the subject is wearing platform shoes, I would agree that the fashion is irrelevant, but not a bad motive to shoot him anyway.

    Parent

    True enough, Repack (none / 0) (#132)
    by jondee on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 02:29:31 AM EST
    I guess when I hear "mass shooter" I immediately think of deranged people shooting up their former workplaces, forgetting that we now have religious and political movements tailor-made to accommodate such people.

    But then, maybe we always did.

    Parent

    this (none / 0) (#128)
    by linea on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 08:19:30 PM EST
    (Liberals don't carry concealed weapons because we are not paranoid cowards.)

    is not true.  


    Parent

    Which part of the statement, in your opinion (5.00 / 3) (#129)
    by Peter G on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 09:37:49 PM EST
    Linea, is not true? That "liberals" do not carry concealed weapons? That "liberals" are not paranoid cowards? Or that liberals' paranoid cowardice is not the reason for their failure or refusal to carry concealed weapons? I'm confused.

    Parent
    Peter, I suspect (5.00 / 5) (#130)
    by Towanda on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 10:08:17 PM EST
    that it would be fun to watch you in court, questioning witnesses.

    Parent
    it is not true (none / 0) (#140)
    by linea on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 09:55:11 AM EST
    that "liberals" in america do not carry concealed weapons. unless one is applying the No True Scotsman argument.

    handguns seem popular even among many self-described "liberals" on TL.  as i have pointed out, the trend seems to be for more states to allow concealed weapons. including democratic party voting states.

    "I do not want to repeal the Second Amendment. I do not want to take anyone's gun away," - Hillary Clinton


    Parent
    Liberals Anonymous (5.00 / 1) (#141)
    by Repack Rider on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 10:58:50 AM EST
    handguns seem popular even among many self-described "liberals" on TL.

    I'll let the CC "liberals" speak for themselves.  Do you have names of those you are referring to?

    Parent

    you made the overly broad (none / 0) (#148)
    by linea on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 01:56:39 PM EST
    assertion that "liberals dont carry handguns" yet have provided nothing to substantiate your claim.  

    it is actually YOUR responsibility to do research and post studies that defend your position especially one that is so broad.

    instead you act the contrarian playing a "prove im wrong" game and demand that i provide you with a list of names.

    by Repack Rider
    Do you have names of those you are referring to?

    you are wellcome to take a poll of TLers.

    i have posted on the topic of guns before.  not only are there "liberals" on TL who posses firearms and believe in their use for defence but also --- it has been explained to me that this is an issue on which the liberals on this forum are divided.

    Parent

    Here's a start (5.00 / 2) (#150)
    by Yman on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 03:11:45 PM EST
    I'm a liberal.  I own two firearms (rifles), which is completely entirely different than concealed carry of a handgun, which is also different than using a gun for self defense, which is also a separate issue from handguns being "popular", which is entirely different than your HC quote about the 2A.

    Parent
    Always send up a red flag (5.00 / 1) (#147)
    by Yman on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 01:04:59 PM EST
    ... when someone uses subjective qualifiers like "seem" and "many" to make specious claims:

    handguns seem popular even among many self-described "liberals" on TL.  as i have pointed out, the trend seems to be for more states to allow concealed weapons. including democratic party voting states.

    Really?  Is that what it "seems" like?

    No, it doesn't.  Feel free to provide a list and links to the "many" "self-described Liberals here on TL" for whom handguns are "popular".

    But you won't - because you can't ... because you just make it up.

    I "do not want to repeal the Second Amendment. I do not want to take anyone's gun away," - Hillary Clinton.

    Which is, of course, completely irrelevant to your claim.

    Parent

    Linea, you're speaking in (5.00 / 1) (#160)
    by fishcamp on Mon Mar 13, 2017 at 09:07:12 PM EST
    Double negatives.  Why?

    Parent
    i am? (none / 0) (#161)
    by linea on Mon Mar 13, 2017 at 09:27:33 PM EST
    maybe "it is not true that liberals do not..."  is a double negative? isnt it simply a passive grammatical voice?

    Parent
    No, that is not the passive voice (5.00 / 1) (#162)
    by Peter G on Mon Mar 13, 2017 at 09:57:37 PM EST
    But I also disagree with the suggestion that your statement is a double negative, given the question you were answering.

    Parent
    thank you !! (none / 0) (#163)
    by linea on Mon Mar 13, 2017 at 09:59:51 PM EST
    Linea, lay off the Scottish (none / 0) (#151)
    by fishcamp on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 05:04:53 PM EST
    ye sassenach,.  It's thin ice ye be treadin' on lassie.

    Parent
    {{ hugs }} (none / 0) (#152)
    by linea on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 05:12:06 PM EST
    Your Trump Derangement Syndrome (none / 0) (#138)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 09:44:01 AM EST
    knows no bounds.

    you are a cold-blooded, most likely Trump voting murderer.

    Liberals don't carry concealed weapons because we are not paranoid cowards.

    So it is okay for entertainers, such as Brad Pitt, an avowed "liberal" to have gun totting guards but not for the rest of us?

    Link

    Link

    Parent

    Jim, Jim (none / 0) (#139)
    by Repack Rider on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 09:54:19 AM EST
    So it is okay for entertainers, such as Brad Pitt, an avowed "liberal" to have gun totting guards but not for the rest of us?

    Is that how you interpret my statement, "If you want a firearm, get one?"

    Just so we're clear, IF YOU WANT A FIREARM, GET ONE.

    Parent

    You protest too much (none / 0) (#144)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 12:50:26 PM EST
    and you are wrong when you say having a fire arm doesn't make you safer.

    In 2010 in the U.S., 19,392 people committed suicide with guns, compared with 11,078 who were killed by others.

    Link

    That's a false dichotomy. It assumes that if a gun wasn't available the person wanting to kill themselves wouldn't use some other method.

    It also assumes that if the person killed had a gun s/he would not use it for self protection.

    As to a gun in the house making you less safe it ignores the fact that it is much more likely to have a gun in the house if the house is in a high crime area.

     

    Parent

    Math is not on your side (5.00 / 2) (#153)
    by Repack Rider on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 08:36:15 PM EST
    you are wrong when you say having a fire arm doesn't make you safer.

    If there is a gun in the house, and someone gets shot with that gun, the victim is many times more likely to be a resident of that house than anyone else, e.g. an attacker.

    I knew a teenage girl who found her grandfather's pistol in a closet and killed herself with it a few minutes after finding it.  Maybe she would have jumped off a bridge, but maybe she would have had second thoughts on the way to that bridge, or maybe it was accidental.  But she died because she found a gun.

    I have known a dozen people who have been shot, most of them killed.  I haven't known anyone who was stabbed to death or strangled, or in fact murdered by any means other than a firearm.  I have never heard a personal story of successful armed self defense.

    Accidental or even deliberate shootings of residents are nonexistent in homes that do not have firearms in them.

    Do the math.

    Parent

    And maybe she would not have (none / 0) (#156)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Mar 13, 2017 at 09:41:29 AM EST
    ...but maybe she would have had second thoughts

    And then...

    Accidental or even deliberate shootings of residents are nonexistent in homes that do not have firearms in them.

    And crimes by undocumented persons do not happen if they are not allowed here.

    Qualifiers are hell, eh? ;-)


    Parent

    I think he said "get one" (none / 0) (#146)
    by jondee on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 01:00:37 PM EST
    just don't mistake trick-or-treaters wearing sheets for midgets working for Al Queda.

    Parent
    Dystopian Fiction Selling Like There's No Tomorrow (none / 0) (#24)
    by Mr Natural on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 12:44:45 PM EST
    I never thought I'd say this (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 12:59:16 PM EST
    after his flirtation with the Rasputin-like Paul Wolfowitz, but I wish Hitchens was still here..

    This administration would be for him what Joe Frazier was for George Foreman; what ten pounds of butter and sugar and a sunlit French kitchen would be for Julia Child..

    Parent

    can you provide a link please? (none / 0) (#58)
    by linea on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:12:19 PM EST
    im very interested. i googled "Hitchens vs Paul Wolfowitz video" but i didnt find it.

    Parent
    Not "vs".. (5.00 / 1) (#60)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:27:08 PM EST
    quite the opposite..

    At one point, Wolfowitz seemed to have some sort of Svengali power over Hitchens..

    Christopher couldn't write about the War of the Roses without mentioning "regime change", "preemption", and "moral equivalence."

    Parent

    thank you (none / 0) (#70)
    by linea on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 09:00:47 PM EST
    Trumpets lose the most ... (none / 0) (#28)
    by Yman on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 01:23:12 PM EST
    ... under the repeal of Obamacare, because it hits the poor, elderly and rural populations the hardest.  Hard to feel sorry for them.

    "Trumpers" (none / 0) (#29)
    by Yman on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 01:23:53 PM EST
    Hate typing on my phone.

    Parent
    No need to (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by Peter G on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:42:25 PM EST
    toot your own horn over it. Besides, Trumpets may need valve replacement surgery, or have Bell's palsy.

    Parent
    Another great pick (none / 0) (#30)
    by KeysDan on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 02:02:47 PM EST
    to drain the swamp.  Sonny Perdue (not related to the Chickens), former Republican Governor of Georgia, is being held up as Trump's nominee as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture by the federal Office of Government Ethics.

      Sonny, whose name is not necessarily related to his disposition, was an "ethics reform" governor who put in place ethics laws that he often failed to honor himself.

     Sonny continued to own or help run his family farm/farm-related businesses while governor--apparently, making him a good fit for the Trump Administration.  By the time Sonny's tenure as Governor ended in 2011, 13 complaints were filed against Perdue by the State Ethics Commission and on two occasions ruled that the governor violated state ethics laws, and fined him (the executive secretary of the State Ethics Commission was fired in Jan 2006).

       Also, with the benevolence of his lawyer/state legislator, a special legislative provision gave Perdue $100,000 in state tax relief. He also managed a deal for use of state ports for family businesses.  

    However, Trump is not Sonny's only fan, Zippy Duvall, a Georgia cattle and poultry farmer and president of the American Farm Bureau, stands up for Perdue as being "as ethical as they come."

    My favorite Sonny Perdue story ... (5.00 / 1) (#66)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 08:48:50 PM EST
    ... was from his 2002 campaign for governor, during which he had pledged to restore the old Georgia state flag as it existed between 1956 and 2001, when it included the Confederate battle ensign. On the night he won, he derisively mocked the memory of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., much to the delight of his crowd of supporters in Atlanta, of whom over 95% were white. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (November 9, 2002):

    "As Perdue borrowed Martin Luther King's famous oratory - 'Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I'm free at last!' -- to underscore the end of Democratic Party dominance in Georgia, one of Perdue's supporters, standing in the background, waved a flag emblazoned with the Confederate battle emblem. The clash of symbols was startling. The moment also served as a reminder of Perdue's unfortunate decision to include in his campaign arsenal a bit of race-baiting demagoguery."

    Gov. Perdue never did restore the more familiar Confederate ensign to the state flag. Instead, Georgia voters in 2003 adopted a variation of the former CSA "Stars and Bars," which was the Confederacy's flag from Nov. 1861 to May 1863, when it was replaced by the flag that served as the Confederate naval ensign.

    The flag that we most commonly recognize as the "Confederate flag" in fact originated as the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, which was purposely designed so rebel soldiers could readily identify their own units on the battlefield. Prior to that change, the CSA flag frequently got confused with the U.S. Stars & Stripes during the heat of early battles in 1861, which led to a not-insignificant number of soldiers on both sides being taken prisoners when they wrongly identified the enemy's flag as their own.

    The flag flown at Klan rallies and many Confederate cemeteries is actually the Confederate Navy Jack which was used by rebel ships from May 1863 until the South's surrender two years later, after the old Confederate naval ensign became the CSA's new quasi-national flag.

    Confused yet? Don't worry about it. All you need remember is that during the Confederacy's short four-year life span -- which curiously and rather neatly coincides with the life span of the Nexus 6-class replicants who were on the run in Ridley Scott's classic science fiction noir film Blade Runner -- the rebels probably had as many different flags running up their friggin' poles as there are countries in Central America.

    And that concludes your vaguely interesting but otherwise useless historical trivia lesson for today.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Sonny (none / 0) (#47)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 04:18:17 PM EST
    the Goobenor is what he was called. He is a perfect pick for a position in the Trump administration for sure.

    Parent
    "Rot With Trump" in New Jersey (none / 0) (#46)
    by Mr Natural on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 04:12:04 PM EST
    According to plans filed with local and state authorities, the Trump Organization has proposed to build a pair of graveyards at the site of its tony Trump National Bedminster golf course.

    Rot-a-Lago:

    One would be small, 10 plots overlooking the first hole. It was intended -- or so they said -- for Trump and his family. "Mr. Trump . . . specifically chose this property for his final resting place as it is his favorite property," his company wrote in a filing with the state in 2014.

    The other proposed cemetery would have 284 lots for sale to the public. There, buyers could pay for a kind of eternal membership in Trump's club -- even if it isn't clear Trump himself would ever join them.



    Where's the imaginations (none / 0) (#50)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 04:34:19 PM EST
    of these people?

    It should be a half-time long burial mound like the kind the Ohio mound-building people used to construct. In the shape of Melania in the buff.

    A construction crew of deplorables could be assembled to happily do the work, after which they would be sacrificed to the God of Make-America-Great-Again and then interred at a separate location at relative little cost to their families.

    Parent

    half-mile long.. (none / 0) (#54)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 05:50:38 PM EST
    A pyramid.. (none / 0) (#73)
    by desertswine on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 09:15:25 PM EST
    it should be a great pyramid built by the poor who need to build it for their health care.

    Parent
    maybe that will end up (none / 0) (#78)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 10, 2017 at 09:54:26 PM EST
    being Trumpcare.  work as slave labor on the wall and get catastrophic coveage.  no pre existing conditions please.

    Parent
    "Rot-a-Lago" (5.00 / 1) (#142)
    by Mr Natural on Sun Mar 12, 2017 at 11:29:55 AM EST
    Y'know, it ain't like anybody else here is coming up with this stuff.

    Parent
    Trump adviser had contact with Russians (none / 0) (#86)
    by Yman on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 09:15:23 AM EST
    Roger Stone - Trump friend and campaign advisor - has contact with Gucifer 2.0 - the Russian hacker(s)behind the illegal DNC hack and interference in the US election.  Oh, yeah ... and also Julian Assange.

    Looking forward to him being asked questions under oath.  Any guesses on how faulty his memory becomes?

    Yes (5.00 / 3) (#91)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 09:31:50 AM EST
    and Flynn was a foreign agent of Turkey that he failed to report until this week but apparently Trum and Pence both knew he was a foreign agent.

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    Hi Jeralyn - I had jury duty this week, 2 days (none / 0) (#89)
    by Cashmere on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 09:27:59 AM EST
    Hi Jeralyn - I had jury duty this week, 2 days.. This is in Multnomah County, Portland, OR.  I was never called for anything, but I really appreciated how a judge, who gave opening remarks, and the staff in the jury room kept us informed about why we have to wait so long, and also made us feel very appreciated for our service.  Something I was dreading was not so bad at all.  Fortunately they had wifi and I was able to connect and work a lot.  I called yesterday and thanked them all and have a contact to send a letter, which I plan to do.  

    That's a relief (none / 0) (#98)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 11:32:16 AM EST
    Rookie Doctors Will Soon Be Allowed To Work Up To 28 Hours Straight

    What would they have done if they hadn't been granted the privilege of working 28 hours in a row?  Refused to stop working?

    Who wants to the the patient in the 28th hour of that shift?

    I predict that whoever makes Adderall (none / 0) (#106)
    by jondee on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 01:44:57 PM EST
    is going to see their stock price go through the roof.

    Parent
    Senior State Dept. diplomat Daniel Fried ... (none / 0) (#105)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 01:24:09 PM EST
    ... has opted to retire from his post in the face of ill winds, and thus close the book on what's certainly been a stellar if not actually remarkable 40-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service. His farewell address to colleagues not only offers us a prescient warning to us regarding the storm clouds on the horizon, but also shows why our country is now much the poorer for his departure:

    "America's Grand Strategy did not come from nowhere: it followed from our deeper conception of ourselves and our American identity. Who are we Americans? What is our nation?

    "We are not an ethno-state, with identity rooted in shared blood. The option of a White Man's Republic ended at Appomattox. On the contrary, we are 'a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.' We say this more often than we consider its significance. Our nation is based on an idea that, when embraced, makes us Americans. We fought a Civil War over whether that sentence - that all men are created equal - was meant literally." (Emphasis is mine.)

    It's worth a read, if only to consider what's being lost by the Trump administration's current shortsighted efforts to hollow out the U.S. Department of State, perhaps at the behest of its Russian benefactors.

    This is what resistance looks like:

    "For those of you remaining in government service, I say this: serve your nation and this Administration as you serve all Administrations: with loyalty, dedication and courage. Help Secretary TIllerson. He deserves it. And he needs it. And help the President as well, putting your backs in it.

    "And as you serve, you will, as I did, always remember your oath to the Constitution, and to that principle behind the Constitution: our nation is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

    "Have faith in our nation, in our Constitution and in that proposition. Have faith in yourselves, thus inspired, and in each other.

    "And therefore, as Lincoln said, 'Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.'" (Emphasis is Mr. Fried's, and not my own.)

    Aloha.

    its been an unbelievably warm winter here (none / 0) (#117)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 06:42:48 PM EST
    there is, this minute, about two inches of snow on the ground.  the first of the winter and just like last spring perfectly timed to kill everything that had begun to bloom.  for the second year in a row none of the spring flowers will bloom and all the fruit trees will be so confused there wont be any fruit.

    its very sad.  this place is normally spectacular in the spring.  and i have two apple trees, a pear tree, a peach tree, a plum tree and a grape arbor.  they will produce nothing.  for the second year in a row.

    i intended that (none / 0) (#118)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 06:43:58 PM EST
    as a reply to Donalds comment above.  two stories of weird climate.

    Parent
    Good thing I scrolled down. (none / 0) (#131)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Mar 11, 2017 at 10:45:50 PM EST
    Your old haunts in Sunland and Tujunga had a lot of flooding a few weeks ago, thanks to that big storm that ripped through SoCal. Even Burbank Airport was closed for 23 hours.

    My mother ripped out the lawn last year and xeriscaped with more eco-friendly plants and shrubs that are native to the region and require less water. But because all the rain, the native grasses have quickly gotten overgrown, so her grandsons were over there today to help her trim everything back.

    The snowpack at Mammoth, CA is over 200% of normal. And the ski season at Big Bear has been great. So, people in California are generally happy, because the reservoirs are almost all filled back up to capacity.

    We're going to be in L.A. in late May after school lets out, so we hope to catch some of the wildflower bloom up in the Antelope Valley. Springtime in Southern California was always my favorite season while growing up there. It's just a riot of color when everything starts flowering and blooming.

    Aloha.

    Parent