I’m writing for tomorrow, day 77. Tonight is Obama’s SOTU address. I’ll write an article on that tomorrow to publish shortly after midnight Thursday. Tomorrow is also a grocery delivery day, and if I wasn’t already busy enough, Thursday is a Prison volunteer day.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:32 (average 5:18). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From NY Times: The first thing to know about the lawsuit brought by two dozen states to block President Obama’s executive actions on immigration is that it is a meritless screed wrapped in flimsy legal cloth and deposited on the doorstep of a federal district judge in Brownsville, Tex.
The second thing to know is that the judge, Andrew Hanen, may well look kindly on the suit. He made news in 2013 with a politically charged ruling accusing the Obama administration of criminally conspiring with Mexican drug cartels to smuggle children over the border (he really [propaganda delinked] said that), which is surely why the plaintiffs like their chances.
The judge held the first hearing in the case on Thursday and could rule as early as next month. If he blocks Mr. Obama’s actions — which seek to protect millions of immigrants from deportation and to grant them permission to work — this would complicate things for the administration, which is planning to start signing people up for the programs in February.
ARGH! Scarier still, the Fascist Five may just back Hanen up!
From Daily Kos: In a laughable display of desperation, the American Family Association is demanding that Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg recuse themselves from the four marriage equality cases it recently agreed to hear. Their unhinged press release [pseudo-Christians delinked] titled Kagan and Ginsburg: Recuse Yourselves! is a study in head-up-ones-ass reasoning.
Both of these justices’ personal and private actions that actively endorse gay marriage clearly indicate how they would vote on same-sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “Congress has directed that federal judicial officers must disqualify themselves from hearing cases in specified circumstances. Both Kagan and Ginsburg have not only been partial to same-sex marriage but they have also proven themselves to be activists in favor of it. In order to ensure the Court’s integrity and impartiality, both should recuse themselves from same-sex marriage cases. Congress has an obligation to Americans to see that members of the Supreme Court are held to the highest standards of integrity. The law demands it, and the people deserve it.
You can be sure that the hate twins’, Standartenfuhrer Scalia and TEAbag Thomas, personal and private actions even more clearly indicate how they would vote on same sex marriage cases, but you don’t hear these Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians whining about them. Click through to see how the author debunks their lies.
From Think Progress: Nebraska landowners have launched two separate lawsuits that, if successful, could serve to delay or even stop the construction of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
The lawsuits, filed last week, represent Nebraska property owners’ second attempt to challenge the constitutionality of a law that gave the Keystone XL pipeline a legal route through the state and, by extension, their property. The landowners claim that TransCanada — the Canadian company that wants to build Keystone XL — made direct threats to use eminent domain and seize their land if they did not consent to having the pipeline run though it.
“We stand with landowners to protect property rights and a constitutional pipeline routing process,” said Jane Kleeb, director of Bold Nebraska, a group that has been at the center of the state’s Keystone XL opposition movement. “While we fight to ensure TransCanada and the state of Nebraska do not run roughshod over farmers and ranchers, we also call upon President Obama to reject Keystone XL now.”
I don’t care how Keystone XL is stopped, as long as it is stopped.
Cartoon:
27 Responses to “Open Thread–1/21/2015”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
The sign at my church says:
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ND Walsch
Something to think about.
3:18 Got the stick! Who's gonna take it away?
3:52 Stick?!? I didn't even get close to the tree.
3:10 Some great snow playtime! I loves me snow playtime!
That would be me Patty!
The Big Foot got my lunch! 🙁
You eat sticks? You'll get splinters in your gullet doing that!
POTUS showed them what a President is like last night. Comedic too. He had 5 zingers last night which were great. I actually laughed out loud. I'm surprised Joe Biden didn't. Joni Ernst didn't have a rebuttal t his speech. She told stories. We wore plastic bags on our feet inside our rubber boots too. Big f###ing deal! I now wait for your take with bated brreath.
NY Times ~ Their frivolous lawsuits against our President are really getting my ire up. Can you tell me how many times this happened to a Repubulican President when he issued an Executive Action?
Daily Kos ~ The neo-con judges shouldn't recuse themselves because of their actions and ties to the Kochs?
Think Progress ~ VETO, please, Mr. President. No Keystone XL pipeline on American soil!
Cartoon ~ The real Jesus is is crying.
Like you, us kids also wore plastic bags inside our rubber boots. It was to make getting into them easier!
In fact I still have my rubber boots AND WEAR THEM! I can remember the struggle of putting them on in the cloak hall if I forgot the bags (yeah, we had cloak halls). And my initials in nail polish that all the Mom's put on their kids' boots to ID them is also still there!
And even if you're not into Nike or New Balance or Adidas or w/e – but want a good chuckle – here's a snapshot of Joni Ernst's Foot Locker back in Iowa:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026115800
Love the Foot Locker!
We had coat rooms in school too. When they built a new school in 1960, they put coat closets in each classroom with hhoks to hang your coat. We had to wear socks over our shoes to prevent scuffing the new floors. Those Catholic nuns were strict advocates of "Cleanliness is next to Godliness
.
Thye problem is that her father didn't where a bread bag in bed.
5:23 average 5:18
NY Times – To answer Darren on Care2, the immigration problem with Republicans is brown people who speak Spanish and might walk over the border. Looking at their own ranks should tell you they are not really afraid of terrorists. Plus, no matter how desperately you are fleeing, you really can't walk over the Texas or Arizona border from, say, Syria. Although the prepubescent children fleeing violence south of the border did scare the bejeezus out of them.
Daily Kos – Unfortunately what we find laughable, they are dead serious about. And they seem to be a lot louder than we are. We need to address our volume.
Think Progress – Yes, an all-of-the-above approach is apparently needed to stop it.
Cartoon – as in the Bible, the focus of his weeping is not the powerful who are abusing his (and his dad's) name, but the little people who are controlled by them and who are having everything of value taken away from them and don't realize it.
NY Times – so much for justice and law and order then if the judge rules according to prejudice not evidence or law. Love Joanne's comment!
Daily Kos – you have got to be kidding me – with all the rank prejudice that the others pull – argh!
Think Progress – hooray – stop Keystone XL!
Cartoon – the Right Wingers really need to READ the Gospels – not just quote bits of the Old Testament out of context (or Revelations) but they need to look at how Jesus lived – and put their assault rifles and hatred away and help the poor and the hungry, those who are sick and those who are in prison, just as Jesus did…. well, I can dream!
Pat, Pat, Pat, you know they have their own version of the Bible, not like the one we use. It's the GOPV (Greedy Old Pharisee version) starting with Genesis through Malachi, and then Revelation!
Lynn, I love that GOPV, plan to steal it.
It's there for you to steal.
From Think Progress: Stop this Keystone Pipeline, it's a job killer and environmental disaster in the planning.
Great comments all so I'll just remind folks:
that SCOTUS is exempt from recusals, unlike other courts, and it is their own individual option.
And that GOP in Congress has inserted eminent domain permission for any pipeline into unrelated proposed legislation.
Note from JL A: Jim–last I heard the bill with the addition hadn't passed yet
Replied back: Thanks for the update. Is this a rider to a bill or what… Keep me and others apprised. Hugzzz… lol.
Puzzle — 3:10 Some great snow playtime! I loves me snow playtime!
NY Times — Of course, it would be a holier than thou Texas judge!Republicanus/Teabaggers really piss me off . . . Greedy Old Pharts that come in one colour for the most part . . . white and angry when they don't get their way.
Daily Kos — And the reason for Scalia and Thomas not recusing themselves when they are conservative activist judges on just about anything, including gay marriage? Just goes to show how week their case is when they feel the need to stack the court in their favour!
To paraphrase Jeremy Hooper ofGood As You, the justices are not like the really good silver brought out once a year and then put away for another year. They are part of society, and in the case of Ginsberg and Kagan, a valued part of society with opinions. Scalia and Thomas are members of society, but the trashy end.
Think Progress — And Pig Nuts Ernst is worried about the UN etc coming to take over Iowans land??? What does she and the rest of the Republicanus/Teabaggers thinks is happening in Nebraska. Only differences, it's a Canadian oil/gas company (they probably figure that the US Marines could take over Canada with one hand tied behind their backs, assuming Harper doesn't give it to them first) and their greed-o-metre is in "blast ahead" mode!
Cartoon — You are indeed!!!
NY Times:
Judge Andrew Hanen should "recuse" himself from hearing and deciding on this case. Hansen is, apparently, another nut-case that should be removed from his office as a judge.
Daily Kos:
A completely frivolous claim by the American Family Association that "Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg recuse themselves from the four marriage equality cases it recently agreed to hear" just because both of them are in favor of same sex marriages. What about recusing those that are against same sex marriages on the Supreme Court? The American Family Association are both pitiful and hypocrites.
Think Progress:
How can a foreign company use the power of "eminent domain" to grab land it wants from private owners when they do not have any legal standing? What about other countries wanting to use "eminent domain" to grab land it wants elsewhere in this country? With the recent oil spill in Yellowstone, more and more people are going to want to protect the aquifer from contamination and pollution.
Cartoon:
Had a hard time wrapping myself with this cartoon. Shouldn't the figure be more like a suit & tie guy instead of a long-haired hippy type figure. Guess that Jesus was a "hippy-type". Translated per Google translator, it means that "Je suis Koch whore" = "I'm Koch whore".
Time for Rachel Maddow.
I just put my comments in and hit the go button. I now just saw jla's comment. Hmmm… The GOP/TP inserted "eminent domain permission for any pipeline into unrelated proposed legislation." What and when the heck did this happen? Unbelievable! Arugh!
NY Times: Of course Scotus will back him, they have shown how racist and corporate owned they are for years now.
Daily Kos: Yuck. They WOULD demand that these two justices recuse themselves, thereby blocking any hope of a fair decision on this issue.
Think Progress: I hope the Nebraska farmers win this suit, but I still wonder where were the politicians defending the rights of the individual in this case? Perhaps the Nebraskans didn't carry guns openly, if they had Congress and the NRA would have helped them.
Cartoon: Yes they are.
Prison volunteer day tomorrow. Gotta fly!
I suspect AFA didn't get the memo. I think SCROTUS is going to rule in favor of same sex marriage because it diesn't take any money out of the pockets of the wealthy or affect voting. I think they will do it in order to be able to fool themselves that they are not a radical fascist court, and to hope to fool others. And some will be fooled. But it will just be a bone they are throwing us because it doesn't matter to their owners.
I hope you are right.