I’m writing for tomorrow, struggling with my COPD, watching snow, and enjoying Olympic coverage. The US and Canadian women’s teams won their first ice hockey games. The figure skating prelims have been elegant. A young Russian girl turned in the best short program I’ve ever seen. A European team swept the 5K individual speed skating, but I just can’t remember which one, or whether they have any speed skating history. 😉
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:51 (average 4:42). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: Billionaire Sam Zell today:
"I guess my feeling is that he’s right," Zell said when asked by Bloomberg’s Betty Liu how he felt about Perkins’ stance [which was that minor criticism of the 1% equaled the Kristallnacht by the Nazis]. "The 1 percent are being pummeled because it’s politically convenient to do so."
Zell then said the problem is that all non-rich are just jealous that they don’t have the same work ethic that the country’s wealthiest do.
"The problem is that the world and this country should not talk about envy of the 1 percent. It should talk about emulating the 1 percent," he said. "The 1 percent work harder. The 1 percent are much bigger factors in all forms of our society." [emphasis original]
The big irony here is that the fool actually believes that the money earns, not him, entitles him to evade paying for the things we all built, without which, his money could not make more money for him.
From Right Wing Watch: This week, President Obama nominated five people to federal judgeships in Florida and New Jersey. Three of these nominees are already judges; two are accomplished attorneys. But what is more relevant to the right-wing Liberty Counsel is that, according to the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow, “among the nominees are four African Americans, one of them homosexual.” (That’s not actually true: one of the nominees is African American, one is Latino, and three are white).
Liberty Counsel head Mat Staver told OneNewsNow [pseudo-Christians delinked] today that these judicial picks show “ideological bankruptcy” on the part of a president who is “destroying the judiciary.”
"So he gets a black man, who is a practicing homosexual, and now he wants to put this individual in an appointment for life on the federal bench," Staver lamented, referring apparently to Darrin P. Gayes, a state circuit judge in Florida who Obama nominated to a federal district court.
At no point in the article does Staver or OneNewsNow touch on the nominee’s qualifications, other than to note vaguely that “all five nominees are considered liberals.”
Black, gay and librul?!!? Republican Supply-side Jesus must be cringing in his grave!!
From Crooks and Liars: Last weekend, Gov. Chris Christie’s office circulated an email to friends and supporters slamming David Wildstein, the former Port Authority official at the center of the George Washington Bridge scandal.
Now, citing two people familiar with the matter, a report by Politico.com today claims that aides never ran the memo by Christie — who is entangled in a widening scandal that he says a renegade deputy chief of staff and others are responsible for — and that the governor didn’t read it himself before it went out.
If you actually believe that PIGnocchio did not know everything that was in it, before it went out, even if he didn’t "read" it himself, I’d like to sell you the George Washington Bridge. Since a traffic study revealed some minor delays, I can give you a discount.
Cartoon:
Kudos to Cheryl Maas!
13 Responses to “Open Thread-2/9/2014”
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First of all, I'm HAPPY I don't have the same work ethic the nation's wealthiest have ~ secondly, those wealthiest did not get that way all by themselves…. there were a lot of underpaid and overworked who helped them amass that wealth which they are so protective of.
As for Mat Staver – a skunk smells his own perfume first. Something you want to tell us about your lifestyle, Mr. Staver?
3:37 Cuppa tea anyone?
4:02 Yes, please. I need something to warm me up, too cold to go fast.
3:43 Earl Grey please!
Dsaily Kos ~Get your barf bag here.
Right Wing Watch ~ Give me a break! This jackass, Max Staver, needs a functioning brain.
Crooks and Liars ~ Is Pignocchio's nose growing yet?
Cartoon ~ I find it amusing that all the workers at the Games are wearing rainbow colored jackets.
My gut says that not only did Christie know about that screed – but he wrote the damn thing. It certainly has a bully's tone to it.
And after its juvenile and bizarre character was highlighted by many, he's now trying to distance himself.
It's going to take some time, but I hope the penal system is stockpiling some extra orange jumpsuit material. They're going to be needing it!
YIKES!
I suspect that not too often the Portland weather makes the national news – but tonight it did on NBC.
Let me say (despite the Winter Olympics) I HATE ICE!
And it looked like from the clips that Portland got more than its fair Midwest share.
Hope you are safe, sound and staying inside. It's not a fit night out for man nor beast.
6:28 You wouldn't think an inanimate object could fight so hard.
Daily Kos: When Sam Zell works an 8-hour shift digging ditches, followed by an 8-hour shift selling fast food, and does this every day, for at least a year, then I will give him credit for work. What he does now isn't work. He does get one thing sort of right, but his sentence starting "The 1 percent are much bigger factors" should end with "than they have a right to be or should be."
Right Wing Watch – Good point made in passing – Republican Supply-side Jesus would still be in his grave. He doesn't have what it takes to rise from the dead, as authentic Jesus does.
Crooks and Liars – Not in the market for any bridges today, thanks. 😉
Cartoon – I hear the Greek team has gone all out with the rainbows.
I hope you copd is better and your snow goes away soon. It is snowing here right now, with more predicted every day this week. Cabin fever, here I come.
Daily Kos: The wealthy seem to always take credit for hard work when the majority of them inherited. They have no concept of how hard it is for people who actually have to earn their living.
Right Wing Watch: It doesn't matter who he nominates, they will decry the nomination.
Crooks and Liars: Christie needs to find that anonymous memo writer now! How many times does he think the public is going to buy this? No bridge Needed here.
Cartoon: Love it.
needed here,
Puzzle — 3:43 Earl Grey please!
Daily Kos — And the Republicanus/Teabaggers and the 1% that they represent say that the lazy 47% and the rest of the 99% have an attitude of "entitlement"! Zell proves that the attitude of "entitlement" is alive and well amongst the 1%. I guess the old saying of "it takes one to know one" is alive and well with the 1%.
Right Wing Watch — "…show “ideological bankruptcy” on the part of a president who is “destroying the judiciary.” …" The judiciary is destroying itself, especially in SCOTUS, where it is an activist right wing slime pit. Staver and his ilk are idiots! The bankruptcy is not in the president but rather in the right wing ideologues!
Crooks and Liars — Is it me, but this bridgeghazi seems to be growing exponentially and not because of the MSM. Christie's crew seems to be doing everything to deny bridgeghazi only to make it bigger and worse.
Cartoon — Have to love those unicorn mittens!
Personal — Spent over two hours with my fur kids this afternoon which was good. I won't be able to do much for the next few days as we are expecting more cold, snow and freezing rain. Time to hunker down!
Thanks everyone, Safe, but sleepy!
I agree with HuffPo…! 😳
4:48 – Puzzle
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