Today has been one of those days . . . physiotherapy, a few messages and then home to work on this Open Thread. It didn't take long for my concentration to wane and my eyes to close while at the keyboard. Then my head would snap to, I'd continue until the eyes were heavy again. Snap! I took a Lona cat nap just for an hour and that seemed to work. But now, it really is time for bed. Maybe it is all the euphoria of Trudeau's slaughter of Harper. On the other hand, tomorrow would have been the 124th birthday of my grandfather who I dearly loved. He passed away at 99.5 years and his memorial service was on my birthday. We were so close that when he passed, I could not be sad for him. He was ready.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:43 (average 3:54). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.
Short Takes
The New Yorker — In the aftermath of former Virginia senator James Webb’s announcement that he is quitting the Democratic Presidential primary, a new poll shows his bitter rival Lincoln Chafee surging to two per cent of likely voters.
The former Rhode Island governor, whose path to the White House was predicated on knocking Webb out of the race, could not contain his jubilation as he told supporters in Concord, New Hampshire, that his campaign is now “solidly in the single digits.”
Webb has dropped out and it is time for Chaffee to do the same.
Alternet — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not known for his nuance, but his disregard for historical facts themselves took a new turn today as he claimed, in a speech in Israel, that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler actually did not want to exterminate Jews until a Palestinian religious leader convinced him otherwise.
How typical of "Republicans", Butcher Ben included . . . ignore facts and rewrite history . . . or at least try to. Check HERE to read some about Haj Amin al-Husseini.
Think Progress — The Supreme Court is also complicit in the wave of “curbs on voting rights” that Yglesias notes in his piece. In a party-line vote, a 5-4 Supreme Court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, enabling many voter ID laws, gerrymandered maps and other legislation that would have otherwise been blocked to go into effect. Similarly, the Court in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board effectively greenlighted Voter ID laws — one of the most common examples of state laws that exclude voters likely to support Democrats. The Court’s plurality opinion cited concerns about in-person voter fraud to justify this outcome, even though the opinion could only find one example of such fraud occurring in the United States within the preceding 140 years!
In my opinion, there is much more election fraud than voter fraud, and most of that is engineered by the Republicans or their agents provocateurs. They use gerrymandering, voter ID laws, election day theatrics etc to deny the vote of groups that traditionally vote for Democrats and then have the temerity to call it voter fraud.
Alternet — Texas is many things to many people—a state the size of a medium-sized country; home to several idiot governors, one who became president, and a current one who thinks it’s a good idea for college students to openly carry firearms. To Donald Trump, Texas is the place where a "big, beautiful wall" should be built. To people in Norway, “texas” with a small “t” is a synonym for crazy, bonkers, out of control and wild. As in, that’s totally texas. Or in Norwegian: det var helt texas.
When I first saw this, I had to give my head a shake and try to stop laughing. There are some fine people in Texas, but the Republican craziness of people like Louis Gohmert is really getting around and giving the state a bad rep. I file this under humour!
My Universe — H/t Nameless
TC in his younger years!
I wanted this picture for last Tuesday's Fantasy Football update but I misfiled it.
20 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 22/10/2015”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
3:52 Pity to steal the land from the frogs, though. I like frogs.
New Yorker – Oh, Andy. Tee hee.
AlterNet – My German heritage got quite a chuckle out of this. I can just hear Angela Merkel. What is it about thr Right Wing Crazies (I just cannot call them conservatives today because they aren't) that compels them to re-write history?
Think Progress – Yeah. IOKIYAR. "Republican" and "election fraud" in the same sentence is one of those things that makes Tea Party heads explode.
Lots of wonderful people in Texas. Wendy Davis. Many who post here. Pat B. Please believe we are not making fun of you. We do sympathize. Some of us live around crazies also.
Universe – Yup!
I'd like Chafee to stick around at least long enough to push for more specifics on a foreign policy that uses war as a last resort and to move Clinton more that direction.
Alabama has reopened rural DMV offices to issue IDs for voting one day a month in response to the outrage expressed.
I wonder whether Texas's office of tourism will try to address like Florida's may have to in response to open carry proposed legislation that would include the beaches, Disneyworld and all kinds of crowded family places.
Sorry, your wish on Chafee is not to be.
AlterNet: THAT is hilarious!! And it just goes to show that people all over the world are watching the antics of this!!!!! What a shame that the good people of TEXASS can't see, or won't see, what the rest of the world thinks of some of our esteemed politicians here in the US!!!!
Many in Texas do see – just, alas, not quite enough to outvote all the others.
Clearly your Grandpa meant the world to you.
But fortunately you sound like you have come to that point in time that VP Joe Biden so quotably promised would come to all of us who have ever grieved, in one of the most moving and memorable addresses to Gold Star families who lost loved ones in service to our country. (And it was before the passing of his son, Beau)
God, I love Joe Biden! His heartfelt caring and compassion will be missed on America's political stage.
You're correct, he did and still does. Others in my family didn't understand and condemned me for not showing respect and crying at his memorial. But any tears would only have been for me, not him. He was ready. He had outlived 2 wives, a daughter, and many, many friends. Not once did he give up on life, but rather embraced the next chapter when he deemed it time. Funny, when he was about 96, he had a bunch of the ladies in the care centre all atwitter. And the staff always did little things like ensuring he had sports jacket on and his hair combed when he went to the dining room.
The New Yorker: Andy is always right.
It appears to me that is all Bibi does these days, kind of like our Republicans.
Alternet: That is really funny, but the behavior of current and past Texas governors and senators, is not.
My Universe: Cute one!
Amen Edie!
New Yorker: A little laugh goes a long way, Andy.
AlterNet: This is funny, in that, most RePugs here, would think this is an accolade for them. Believe me, it's not.
h/t to Joanne.
My Universe: Adorable! TC is gonna love his picture watching his beloved Broncos.
Your story of love about your grandfather was moving, Lynn. What wonderful memories of your grandfather. Had the fires here a week or so and now we are supposed to get floods today and this weekend. It's so 'Totally Texas!!" Thanks, Lynn.
Thanks, Nameless, for your comment too, Joe is such a Gentleman.
Hope you're not caught up in the floods etc. Maybe the rains will lay waste to the remaing fires and hot spots.
Puzzle ~ 2:29 Lovely sit for a Bonfire! I was too late.
2:57 I fell off the stone
🙂
Hey Jerry, I didn't even make it up onto the stone! 😥
New Yorker ~ Lincoln has already dropped out of the race. He didn't even rgister 1% in the latest CNN poll.
Alternet ~ Bibi's butchery of the Palestinians rivals the Butcher of Buchenwald.
Think Progress ~ The Voting Rights Act need to be reinstituted.
Alternet ~ Sad but true. Texas does have some good people but they better get out and vote if they want to get their reputation back.
Great pic of TC in his youth.
New Yorker: Just as well that Jim Webb has taken himself out of the race. Perhaps Lincoln Chafee will do the same soon once he wakes up and realizes that he has no chance of being nominated for POTUS.
Alternet: Has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost a marble or two…
Think: MoveOn petition to Impeach Supreme Court Justices Roberts, Scalia, Alito, Kennedy & Thomas: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/impeach-supreme-court-2
more petitions to sign at:
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Petition+to+impeach+5+Supreme+Court+Justices&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Alternet: Yes, there are some good people living in Texass but they are overshadowed by the GOP/TP politicians who have gotten the state labeled as "crazy wild west" with their doings.
Universe: Gee… The tail on that kittie is bigger than kittie itself. lol.
Thanks for the links Jim. Signed. That tail doesn't look so long anymore as age related hair thinning has taken over! LOL!
As you may have noticed, Lynn, euphoria is an excellent inducer of sleep. I put just a pinch in my catnaps.
The New Yorker: Funny thing, I know all the names of the Republican candidates and, although I might get some names mixed up now and again, I have a fair idea of what each of them stands for – or not – and most of the nastiness in their past and present. But I've never even seen a list of all the Democratic hopefuls, and I'm really familiar with only two of them: Bernie and Hillary. (Perhaps I should get more involved with a Republican version of Politics Plus, LOL) So I've little idea on how good or bad it was that Webb stepped out of the race. But after reading Andy's column, I think it would be a good thing if Chaffee called it quits too.
Alternet: After reading in my Dutch newspaper about the speech of Netanyahu in which in which he accused the second world war Palestinian grand mufti of Jerusalem of having suggested the genocide of the Jews to Adolf Hitler, I, daughter of a holocaust survivor, was outraged. I've given my emotional comment on this utterly despicable behavior elsewhere on Care2: Netanyahu Has a Soft Spot for Hitler in His Heart and won't be boring you with a repeat.
Think Progress: Unless the many, many ways in which Republicans influence the vote to give the results they desire, are put to a stop once and for all, the next president may well come out of the clown's car and so may the majority in Congress.
Alternet: It's very funny of course, unless you're from texas I suppose, but I wonder if it will still be filed under "humor" if this Norwegian slang word is exchanged for a new European slang word for chaos and madness: america. The presidential elections and the primaries for Congress in 2016 are laying good foundations for that. Nowadays "america" is often accompanied by a smirk abroad, but most Americans haven't realized that yet.
My Universe: So cute.
Lona, Webb is a DINO, not a true Democrat according to TC.
Thanks everyone!