Open Thread – Page 766 – Politics Plus

Open Thread–12/21/2012

Posted by TomCat at 4:10 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 212012

I’m feeling slightly better today, so I’m going to try to catch up on overdue housekeeping and see how I hold up. I’m current with replies. Hopefully this weekend.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:26 (average 5:12). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: When You Look At Gun Safety This Way, What We Aren’t Doing Sure Seems Ridiculous

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This is exactly what I mean by reasonable regulations. Also, just as there are special licenses required to drive more dangerous commercial vehicles, there should be special licenses required to purchase more dangerous weapons.

From NY Times: Mr. Boehner had evident problems getting his caucus to support Plan B, and he took the plan off the table Thursday night; it would have modestly raised taxes on the really wealthy, the top 0.1 percent, and even that was too much for many Republicans. This means that any real deal with Mr. Obama would be met with mass G.O.P. defections; so any such deal would require overwhelming Democratic support, a fact that empowers progressives ready to bolt if they think the president is giving away too much.

As in 2011, then, the Republican crazies are doing Mr. Obama a favor, heading off any temptation he may have felt to give away the store in pursuit of bipartisan dreams.

And there’s a broader lesson here. This is no time for a Grand Bargain, because the Republican Party, as now constituted, is just not an entity with which the president can make a serious deal. If we’re going to get a grip on our nation’s problems — of which the budget deficit is a minor part — the power of the G.O.P.’s extremists, and their willingness to hold the economy hostage if they don’t get their way, needs to be broken. And somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen in the next few days.

Once again, I find myself in complete agreement with Paul Krugman. Rachel Maddow and Luke Russert reached a similar conclusion.

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From The Hill: A deficit-reduction deal that includes cost-of-living cuts for Social Security beneficiaries could cost Democrats the support of House liberals who might be needed to pass the bill, a number of lawmakers warned Thursday.

But the liberal Democrats stopped just short of saying they’d vote against a deal that included a move to the so-called chained consumer-price-index (CPI), a concession President Obama offered to Republicans this week.

"It is conceivable that you could have a package that is so attractive in so many other ways that you might swallow it. But here’s the problem: There are going to have to be compromises [by liberals] in other areas," Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told reporters at the Capitol. "And what we’re saying is this one, for many of us, is a deal-breaker — or close to a deal-breaker — by itself."

Since Boehner is unable to deliver his own party on a plan that is completely unacceptable, there is no chance that he can do so on a reasonable plan. To get any plan through, Obama is going to have to have progressive support. Keep up the pressure on Obama, the Senate and the House.

Cartoon:

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Open Thread–12/20/2012

Posted by TomCat at 3:57 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 202012

I did my online grocery shopping yesterday, but returned to bed afterward. I’m current with replies. Soon, I hope.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:58 (average 4:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: Joe Scarborough, Long-Time Pro-Gun Supporter, Changes His Mind After Newtown

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The times when he and I agree are few and far between, but this is one. Kudos to Joe and to Barack Obama for supporting regulations to help prevent such tragedies.

From NY Times: Mrs. Clinton accepted all of the panel’s 29 recommendations and has already begun to make changes. The trick will be enhancing security for diplomats while not confining them so much that they cannot do their jobs. Two of her top lieutenants are scheduled to testify on the report to Congress on Thursday because she has been ill. But, as the secretary, she should also make herself available for public questioning as soon as possible.

If Congressional Republicans are truly interested in protecting American diplomats abroad they should support increased financing for improved security, without forcing the State Department to divert money from an underfinanced budget that has been earmarked for other uses.

Mrs. Clinton is seeking to transfer $1.3 billion slated for Iraq-related expenses to put $553 million into additional Marine security guards worldwide, $130 million for diplomatic security personnel and $691 million for improved security at overseas facilities. Even if the State Department makes the needed reforms, it will not be able to carry them out without a commitment of new money to the project.

Since it was the Republican Party that slashed funding for diplomatic security in the first place, they should stop making unjust accusations and join the Democrats to help fix the problem. I’m not holding my breath.

From MSNBC: Class Warfare Campaign Style

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Had Little Lord Willard been able to lie his way into the White House, he would now be conducting class warfare through vulture capitalism against the American people. Thank God we defeated him!

Cartoon:

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Open Thread–12/19/2012

Posted by TomCat at 3:54 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 192012

Unfortunately, I’m still down. I’m current with replies. Maybe tomorrow.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:35 (average 4:28). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: REMINDER: This Is Why We Voted For Obama

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Switching to chained CPI will not reduce the deficit or the debt by a single penny. Therefore it should not even be on the table, so I made the call. How about you?

From NY Times: An independent inquiry into the attack on the United States diplomatic mission in Libya that killed four Americans on Sept. 11 sharply criticized the State Department for a lack of seasoned security personnel and for relying on untested local militias to safeguard the compound, according to a report by the panel made public on Tuesday night.

The investigation into the attack on the diplomatic mission and the C.I.A. annex in Benghazi that resulted in the deaths of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans also faulted State Department officials in Washington for ignoring requests from the American Embassy in Tripoli for more guards for the mission and for failing to make sufficient safety upgrades.

The panel also said American intelligence officials had relied too much on specific warnings of imminent attacks, which they did not have in the case of Benghazi, rather than basing assessments more broadly on a deteriorating security environment. By this spring, Benghazi, a hotbed of militant activity in eastern Libya, had experienced a string of assassinations, an attack on a British envoy’s motorcade and the explosion of a bomb outside the American Mission.

Finally, the report blamed two major State Department bureaus — Diplomatic Security and Near Eastern Affairs — for failing to coordinate and plan adequate security. The panel also determined that a number of officials had shown poor leadership, but they were not identified in the unclassified version of the report that was released.

Sadly, this report could not be better ammunition for Republicans to use against Hillary Clinton in the event of a 2016 run for the Presidency. Nevertheless, Hillary has not even approached Republican levels of incompetence in national security matters.

From MSNBC: Rewriting the NRA’s stance on gun violence

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I could not have said it better. There are no words that can wash the blood from the NRA’s hands. However, I would add the Republican politicians that continue to place a higher value on gun industry profit than on the lives of American citizens.

Cartoon:

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Open Thread–12/18/2012

Posted by TomCat at 4:38 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 182012

I’m still down. I’m current with replies. Tomorrow I hope.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:04 (average 5:42). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

Here is the playoff bracket from our fantasy football league, Lefty Blog Friends.

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The underdogs (but not the progressive ones), won both games. I hope that trend does not continue.

Short Takes:

From NY Times: So we have found real reason to find hope in the determination to effect change that followed the murders of 20 children and seven adults in Newtown, Conn., last Friday. President Obama said it unequivocally on Sunday — the enormity of controlling the culture of guns and the epidemic of gun violence “can’t be an excuse for inaction.”

Yes, Mr. Obama has said that before, after two previous mass killings during his tenure, and did nothing. The hurdles are just as big as they were before, but there are signs that people are willing to rethink their views.

Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Mark Warner of Virginia, Democrats with “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association, have both said it is time to talk about restrictions on gun sales and ownership. Joe Scarborough, the former Republican congressman and now morning host on MSNBC, said Monday that the Newtown killings had changed his mind about gun control.

This incident is so horrific that the NRA has been mute, too fearful to go to CT and hold a pro-gun rally, like they did after Columbine and Aurora. This is the best time there has been to act, because only the vilest Republicans will not be afraid to oppose reasonable firearms regulation now.

From MSNBC: The Great Gun Divide

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I agree that there need be nothing to threaten the legitimate rights of gun enthusiasts who use them for legitimate purposes. As a former hunter, I can assure you that an assault weapon and an automatic pistol with a 30 round clip make for lousy hunting weapons.

From US News: Pursuing an archaic legal theory that punctuated pre-Civil War disputes between the federal government and states, South Carolina state Rep. Bill Chumley last week pre-filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would criminalize implementation of President Barack Obama’s 2010 healthcare reform law.

If his bill becomes law, any state official caught enforcing the healthcare law would be guilty of a misdemeanor and "must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

Federal officials caught enforcing the law, however, would be given stiffer punishment under the proposal.

Any federal employee or contractor enforcing the law "is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both," the bill proposes.

Nullification and InsaniTEA are still alive and well in SC.

Cartoon:

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A shame for past Democrats. A plan for present Republicans.

Open Thread–12/17/2012

Posted by TomCat at 3:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 172012

Yesterday I got up for a couple hours, and I’m clearly not ready yet. I’m current with replies. Maybe tomorrow.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Yesterday’s took me 4:07 (average 4:35). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Religious Ecstasy:

1215-Broncos34-Ravens17

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: Has Your Family Been Affected By This One Little Word?

To understand the full destructive impact of VS, just consider the Republican War on ______________.

From NY Times: One only has to read the Pentagon’s progress report on the Afghanistan war effort released last Monday to understand how pointless it is to keep 68,000 American troops there any longer. The mounting evidence makes it clear that they should be pulled out as soon as it can be done safely, instead of waiting until the end of 2014, the date set by the United States and NATO.

AMEN!

From Huffington Post: In the wake of the mass killing that claimed 26 children and adults at a Connecticut elementary school Friday, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) made the case Sunday that the answer to preventing massacres in the U.S. is for more Americans to carry guns.

In effect he is saying that the way to keep children safe from motor vehicles is to send them to play on the Interstate.

Cartoon:

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Open Thread–12/16/2012

Posted by TomCat at 5:20 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 162012

I’m afraid I’m still down, but I took a leap of faith and planned a menu to feed folks on Christmas, so I better be better in time. I’m current with replies. Maybe tomorrow.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:45 (average 5:50). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: Young Boy Has A Big, Big Problem With Fish DNA Inside Of A Tomato, And He’s Doing Something About It

What children can understand, criminal corporate farmers can too. They just care more about profit, and they know the Republican Party has their back.

From NY Times: The subject of deceptive restaurant menus took on new life last week when Oceana, an international organization dedicated to ocean conservation, released a report with the headline “Widespread Seafood Fraud Found in New York City.”

Using genetic testing, the group found tilapia and tilefish posing as red snapper. Farmed salmon was sold as wild. Escolar, which can also legally be called oil fish, was disguised as white tuna, which is an unofficial nickname for albacore tuna.

Every one of 16 sushi bars investigated sold the researchers mislabeled fish. In all, 39 percent of the seafood from 81 grocery stores and restaurants was not what the establishment claimed it was.

This is yet more proof of the importance of knowing what we eat, but Republicans want to cut and slash funding for the enforcement of even the inadequate safeguards we have.

From Think Progress: Rock Hill Herald, a newspaper in South Carolina, printed a large ad for a big gun sale in Rock Hill on the same page as its coverage of Friday’s massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. The ad, which touted Christmas discounts on Smith & Wesson assault rifles, ran in Saturday’s edition on pages A4-A5:

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The paper has to be Republican owned and operated. They alone could be this insensitive.

Cartoon:

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Once again, the US needs to follow Canada’s example.

Open Thread–12/15/2012

Posted by TomCat at 4:21 am Open Thread, Personal, Plus, Politics

Dec 152012

I’m still down. I’m current with replies. Maybe tomorrow.

Special Note:

My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of the Sandy Hook victims. Please join me in thoughts and prayers for comfort in their time of grief.

I second Barack Obama’s call for meaningful action to prevent such tragedies. Rachel Maddow discussed the need for gun control with Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)

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The list of these incidents boggles the mind and they seen almost unique to the US. The Republican culture of hate-based violence has to be a major contributor, but still, tighter gun control laws do reduce gun violence. It is not too soon to talk about gun laws. Furthermore, the NRA represents the arms industry, not their own membership, so NRA positions must be considered antithetical to America’s best interest. Contrary to Republican lies, this is about sensible regulation, not taking away guns from law-abiding citizens.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:07 (average 5:03) To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: The US Constitution Has A HUGE Flaw, And Justice Ginsburg Is Not Impressed

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Needless to say, the opposition to the ERA comes from Republicans.

From NY Times: The Obama administration said Friday that more than half the states had rejected its pleas to set up their own health insurance exchanges, dealing a setback to President Obama’s hopes that Republicans would join a White House campaign to provide health insurance to all Americans.

Friday was the deadline for states to notify the federal government of their plans, and administration officials had been hoping that Mr. Obama’s re-election would overcome resistance to the new health care law.

Federal officials said they knew of 17 states that intended to run their own exchanges, as Congress intended.

It strikes me as completely hypocritical that these Republican Governors, whose sniveling about perceived federal intrusion into issues they consider State rights never ends, should grant so much authority over their citizens’ health care to the federal government.

From Gallup: Thirty-two percent of Americans say they have had to put off medical care for themselves or their family in the past year due to the cost — the highest percentage since Gallup started tracking this annually in 2001. The percentage reporting they are putting treatment off is up significantly from the 19% found 12 years ago.

That’s a terrible place to be. I know, because I was there for several years, and still would be, were it not for Medicare.

Cartoon:

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Open Thread–12/14/2012

Posted by TomCat at 5:33 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 142012

I’m getting so sick of sick. I’m current with replies. Tomorrow, I hope.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:03 (average 5:08). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: We’d Just Like To Say ‘Ditto’ To Everything Jennifer Granholm Says In This Clip

Mathematically, Herr Snyder:Governors::Herr Scalia:Injustices. Republicans are trying to convert the 98% into just another third world country they can exploit with ease.

From NY Times: It’s important to make this point, because I keep seeing articles about the “fiscal cliff” that do, in fact, describe it — often in the headline — as a debt crisis. But it isn’t. The U.S. government is having no trouble borrowing to cover its deficit. In fact, its borrowing costs are near historic lows. And even the confrontation over the debt ceiling that looms a few months from now if we do somehow manage to avoid going over the fiscal cliff isn’t really about debt.

No, what we’re having is a political crisis, born of the fact that one of our two great political parties has reached the end of a 30-year road. The modern Republican Party’s grand, radical agenda lies in ruins — but the party doesn’t know how to deal with that failure, and it retains enough power to do immense damage as it strikes out in frustration.

Before I talk about that reality, a word about the current state of budget “negotiations.”

Here is another can’t miss editorial by Paul Krugman. Click through. See also Bernie Sanders take on the negotiations.

From MSNBC: Pope Grover’s Demonstrates Republican Love

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If anyone needs a short leash, it’s Norquist, with a spiked choke collar. Like the Republican party, he is flailing desperately to stay relevant and failing miserably. But his grotesque characterizations exemplify what Republicans love.

Cartoon:

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Republican Theocons attribute this discovery, without which modern electronics would not be possible, to the devil.

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