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.
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:
A shame for past Democrats. A plan for present Republicans.
15 Responses to “Open Thread–12/18/2012”
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4:03 I climbed that wall and got the ivy. Thank God, it wasn't poison ivy.
5:05 I'm still at the bottom of the wall looking up.
4:16 I love the look of ivy but it is such a destructive vine! My mother had a barn that had masses of ivy growing on 3 sides and was inching across the metal roof. After she sold the place, the new owners took down some of the ivy whereupon the barn collapsed. The ivy was the only thing keeping it standing. The same ivy had pushed it's way into the basement through the foundation. Fortunately, the buyers didn't notice it and although I told my mother the year before, the dementia was already at work and she forgot.
I'm amazed I wasn't last!
Looks like you have to beat the pants off Mitt's Magic Jock next. Good luck!
NY Times ~ "only the vilest Republicans will not be afraid to oppose reasonable firearms regulation now". Do you mean a$$holes like Loud Mouth Louie?
New gun regulation against assault rifles and the like should pass unanimously in the House and Senate. However, there are always those jerks like Louie.
MSNBC ~ The only prey assault weapons are used against are humans.
US News ~ The brick wall in the puzzle has a better chance of flying than his bill.
Cartoon ~ A terrible shame.
Thanks Patty. On any given day, anyone can win.
Yes, but the rest are almost as bad.
Exactly!
Agree.
Indeed.
Very good Ed Show clip – thanks TC! I quite agree that the Democrats should be taking lessons from Bernie Sanders. Mind you – I nearly vomited when I saw that evil gnome saying in a clip after the end of the Ed Show video that he 'wished to God she had had an MP4 locked up in her room so when she heard gunfire she could have…..' – as my friends all over the world have said – haven't the Americans looked at Canada and seen that they have far less trouble like this (though it could happen anywhere these days) – couldn't they take a lesson from Canada? I do hope they do – though as expected the Far Right's instant action to this is to say 'More guns is the cure to gun insanity' – which to my mind IS true insanity!
Thanks Pat. I fully agree.
Gun Control – By the time Congress gets around to talking about gun control, the immediate shock of the killing of 20 kids and 7 adults by a domestic terrorist will have worn off and the NRA will be back out is full force telling their members of Congress what to do.
At best we will get some talk, but I suspect there will be little action. I hope I am wrong.
I hope you're wrong about that too, Jerry.
Jerry, that exactly what Republicans are trying to accomplish with their phony meme that we need to wait until we have all the facts. I hope that the age of the victims will extend public outrage.
Both Tennessee & my home state of Illinois now have idiotic state legislators who want to officially legislate that teachers be armed with guns.
Why don't they just demand that schools can only hire ex- Navy Seals and Delta Force personnel, and be done with it?
You sure have that right. Arming teachers is idiotic. A teacher with an M4 and no military experience would be a poor match with a shooter armed with a bushmaster.
Puzzle — 4:16 I love the look of ivy but it is such a destructive vine!
Football — Well TC, if you don't defeat Mitt's Magic Jock, I'm going to think you are secretly an elitist Republican/Teabagger! Where is 4th place? Do the losers of the semi-finals play each other for 3rd place with the loser getting 4th place? It doesn't show on your chart. I know that 2nd place will go to the loser of the championship game.
NY Times — I saw an article on Care2 where I believe it was Diane Feinstein of NY that is going to or has introduced a bill to ban assault rifles (my Care2 isn't working properly yet so I can't pull up the article). That is a start, but more needs to be done. Although I felt that a couple of weeks of mourning for the sake of the families and the community of Newtown was in order before tackling the issue, after hearing the likes of Louis Gohmert (aka Louis Goh-merde), the time is NOW! When even diehard gun enthusiasts are calling for change, it is time to strike while the iron is hot. And I agree that the longer this lingers, the NRA will be out in full force and anti-gun control legislators will be out in full force with the NRA at their back. As you said TC, "… only the vilest Republicans will not be afraid to oppose reasonable firearms regulation now."
MSNBC — Listening to several segments of the Ed Show, there appear to be difficulties in the definition of assault weapons. The weapon used in Newtown was not listed as an assault weapon but would a hunter normally use it? In some other comments, there were calls for the review of the 2nd amendment saying that when it was written, the known weapon was a musket. Perhaps, rather than appealing the 2nd amendment, it should be written to be more definitive about what arms can be are legal to own. That way, it would be clearer that the right to own a hunting rifle or hand gun for defense were not being challenged. When I think about the fact that 88.8 guns/rifles per 100 people are owned in the US , that is a chilling statistic.
US News — I hope this bill goes the way of the dodo bird! Why is it that Republican/Teabagger politicians hate their constituents so much that they would deny them basic health care? The people really need to take note of these morons and take care of them in 2014, or the first available election.
Cartoon — SCOTUS upheld what, in my mind, a criminal act. There were internments in Canada as well. Back about 1988, reparations to Japanese Canadians were being made. Were there ever any reparations made in the US?
OK, I'm done today's Open Thread. Hopefully I will be back tomorrow. I am going to install my new computer! Between that and 4 inches of heavy wet snow today, another 5 inches expected tonight before warming up to rain late tomorrow, I hope I keep my power. I had an appointment to service my car and have snow tires put on this morning, but I couldn't even get out of the parking lot which is on a hill. ARRGGGHHHH!
Having done FHA and VA inspections, I could tell you some amazing ivy tales.
On any given day, the weakest can beat the strongest. Yes the two first round losers play for 5th and 6th places, and the two semi-final losers play for 3rd and 4th place.
Most Republicans are stalling, hoping that the public attention is directed elsewhere.
I would consider that sensible regulation. I have no need to own a howitzer.
It will. That it was even proposed speaks volumes about the Republican Party.
There was finally a formal apology, but no reparations.
Good luck with the puter. Our snow was liquid, but just barely. Congrats on your excellent timing. 😉