I’m hurrying, because I want to finish blogging before my friend gets here. I hope loading the chair goes well, because if it does, I can go to the prison four times a year.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:34 (average 4:53). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Extreme Religious Agony:
Woe! Oh! The misery!! The Ellipsoid Orb has gone dark and its holy light will not shine fully until September. Let the distraught tears of grief flow!
Short Takes:
From CNN: Justice Antonin Scalia’s death immediately triggered a monumental election-year battle in Washington over whether President Barack Obama should choose a successor who could tilt the Supreme Court toward liberals.
Within two hours of Scalia’s death being reported, presidential candidates along with Republican and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill were feuding over whether Obama should appoint a replacement for the eloquent and outspoken Scalia or wait for the next administration to make a decision. The battle lines underscored the huge political stakes in the 2016 election, which could cement the ideological balance of the court for years to come.
Obama said Saturday he would nominate a successor "in due time," but Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted the next administration should make the appointment.
"The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice," the Kentucky Republican said. "Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President."
While decency demands that I express condolences to those who loved him, truth demands that I say his death is a blessing to the American people, and could be salvation for the US Constitution. Bought Bitch Mitch has his head next to Ted’s TRUS. The American People have spoken on who they want to appoint Supreme Court Justices between 1/2013 and 1/2017. Obama should appoint a progressive right away. I do feel sorry for Beelzebub. His abode just became strict constructionist.
From The New Yorker: Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was forced to leave Saturday night’s crucial Republican Presidential debate after suffering what aides called a “low-battery warning.”
Rubio’s abrupt departure occurred immediately following his opening statement, which started in a spirited manner but concluded with the senator uttering the word “Obama” no fewer than a dozen times in succession.
With the other candidates and debate moderators looking on, Rubio’s eyes appeared to roll back in his head, which fell forward and came to rest on his podium.
Dang Andy!! Maybe I need to upgrade his nickname to Border Booter Bot!!
From Washington Post: Six Republican presidential candidates debated Saturday night in South Carolina, just hours after the sudden news of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death.
We’ve posted the complete transcript below, annotated with insight from Washington Post reporters.
If you have an unlimited supply of barf bags, and don’t mind a long, nasty read without a single good idea, click through for Clown Car Destruction Derby IX.
Cartoon:
22 Responses to “Open Thread–2/14/2015”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
4:04 A re-run, but no less attractive for that. Now I need some coffee – or hot chocolate.
Thoughts and prayers with you as you navigate the outing – there's a lot riding on it (pun intended).
Agony – So deprivation of the fix is actually worse than a bad trip? Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Or at least is consistent with what we know.
CNN – I figure God knows her own business best. I'm not going to jump to the conclusion that, just because of a string of evil decisions and evil opinions, the Justice is doomed forever. I will, of course, remind everyone that Catholics believe in Purgatory for a reason.
WRT the American people having a voice, it's not just the 2012 election win that one could point out. It's also Obama having approval ratings higher than McConnell – or Congress – would have in their wildest dreams.
There are a ton of petitions to Obama to nominate A PROGRESSIVE and for the Senate to confirm the nomination, or at least vote on it. Failure to vote, or a vote with failure to confirem – either could be a big election year boost for Democratic turnout. I posted a couple earlier, but there are getting to be so many now that no one should have trouble finding at least one of each.
New Yorker – Almost operatic, really. (No, you don't need subtitles. The lyrics are deliberately vapid. Just think "moon" and "June.") The first two minutes will give you the idea if you don't want to watch the whole thing.
WaPo – Not loading right now, and that may be a blessing LOL!
Cartoon – How right on!
OK, I just had another tought on Scalia (after reading a comment about the possibility of a vacancy appointment which could also be beautiful). This possible scenario is not perhaps a best-case, but it does carry some poetic justice:
1. Obama appoins someone excellent.
2. The Senate refuses to even up or down vote.
3. The nest president, a Democrat yet to be named, realizes there is one of the brightest and best qualified constitutional lawyers in the country, if not the world, who has just become available and appoints him.
4. His name is Barack Hussein Obama.
5. The new Democratic supermajority in the Senate gladly confirms.
CNN: I agree. Obama should appoint a SC justice, as soon as he can.
New Yorker: LOL, Andy! LOL.
WP: Ick. Just plain Ick!! They're a hateful, lying lot, aren't they?
Cartoon: Absolutely!!
I hope that the chair fits. That would work well for your anticipated prison visits. WooHoo!! Enjoy your day, take care, and Thanks, Tom.
Oh, TC! That cartoon was right on TARGET!!!
THE Great Peyton has his moment, and then has his trip to Disneyland. I wish he would pull his head out of his ass and come over to the BLUE side!!
Andy was great and I got a belly laugh out a that one!
Still keeping my fingers crossed, and when not walking my toes, that the chair fits in the trunk of your friend's car and that you get to visit your guys four times a year, TomCat.
CNN: Some Republican (I already forgot who) said today that if Obama appointed a new justice now, the balance in SCOTUS would be upset (and they need to continue with eight of them until after the elections). Yeah, I would certainly hope so!You sometimes wonder what planet Republicans live on, thinking that 5 Republican against 4 Democratic appointments is a perfect balance but a 5 to 4 in favor of Democrats would put it out of kilter. Sad thing, the House will not even consider any appointment Obama makes, rather preventing SCOTUS from doing any job for almost a year than not having a Republican SCOTUS doing the bid of their masters. The system is truly rotten to the core.
The New Yorker: By impersonating Ben Carson's robot-on-low battery act Rubio has tried to imitate almost all candidates left in the race to find himself an act that gets voters on board: Trump's ant-Latino (Mexican) act, Cruz's super-Christian act, Jeb's stumbling-answers act and now Carson's I'm-not-asleep,-my-bateries-are-low act. Only Kasich is left. I wonder what Rubio has in store for us there.
Washington Post: The reports on this "debate"here today were enough for me. A low, even for Democrats, with Trump attacking everyone but he and Cruz tearing into each other like fishwives. The only one that had a sane and sensible moment was Kasich when he said: "Before I get to that, this is the ninth or tenth debate. What I've been watching here, this back and forth, and these attacks, some of them are personal. I think we're fixing to lose the election to Hillary Clinton if we don't stop this."
Oh, no. Please don't listen to him, gentlemen and continue. You're doing fine..
No doubt Scalia was an intelligent man, but he was a pox on the Court and the American people. All I can say is good luck to Obama. This is going to be a really contentious mess!
If anyone watched last nights debacle, you should be frightened ~ very frightened! I cannot ever remember seeing behavior like that in a presidential debate. To imagine one of them in the White House is terrifying! Such adolescent remarks, name calling,and accusations from men who want to hold the highest position in our country is beyond my comprehension. I needed another shower by the time it was over.
See my post on Scalia, at C2- https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/2/13/1484955/-Let-s-Not-Twist-It-My-Differences-with-Scalia-Were-More-Than-Political
McConnell is soooooo full of shit, that when he dies, if there is a Purgatory, it will have to be put under the supervision of Mr. clean! He, and his ilk, would gleefully look for rationalizatiions to exhume, and re-constitute Hitler if the technology allowed, then put him in the race for the presidency! I am not surprised, but nonetheless blown away by their phenomanal capacity to jump on the slightest hint of a chance to deprive the American people of a government that might seem to give damn for them! My hope is that the need to fill the SCOTUS vacancy will alert the Democrats, Progressives to the vast importance of getting out to vote! With Scalia on the court, it is lsomewhat ike we've had St.Reagan as shadow president all this time.
The cartoon is, indeed, right on!
Andy conitues to be cool!
My brain goes into survival mode before each GOPIG excuse for a debate, and will not allow my fingers to find the related TV station, on the remote.
Load that chair!
I do not believe it appropriate to dance on the grave of the departed. But I WOULD do a little jig right next to Scalia’s sod.
Besides, my Mom taught me we should only speak good of the dead.
Good … he’s dead.
I actually LOVED last night’s GOP playground maul …er, "debate". It was gutter-sniping as only Rethuglicans can do. There were some great clips that will work nicely in Democratic ads, come this Fall.
As someone commented, I’m not sure which is sadder: That millions of people are stuck with these jerks, or that millions of people are GLAD to be stuck with these jerks.
THe former is tragic, the latter is both tragic and ironic. It's neither tragic not ironic to see you commenting – it's great, as it means you survived your trip safely.
Thanks for your kind concern!
As always, it was great to stay and visit w/ my Mom at her Assisted Living Apartment. (And we also got to have lunch w/ my Aunt.) But sadly the air mattress I use to sleep on sprung a slow leak, so I had to get up ~ 3-4 times a night to re-inflate it. Fortunately Mom can sleep through the inflating air pump I turn on, even though she told me it’s pretty noisy. (The cat, who sleeps w/ me? Not so much … but he LOVES when the bed starts inflating.)
And I had NO idea how many hoops we had to jump through to get her the self-propelling manual wheelchair! As a pediatrician, arranging for wheelchairs didn’t happen all that often – but I wonder what happens to people who do NOT have someone as an advocate working for them.
My guess is that’s where Sarah Palin’s “Death Panels” come into play.
Or the Internet. I can assure you that neither Medicare not any other insurance company paid for my chair (or maybe I should say "chairs" though one is little used since I no longer work outside the home – I used to work in it.)
Glad to see you back
2:36 That cup of coffee is all yours Puddy Tat! I am allergic to the stuff so I won't even arm wrestle you for it!
I am sorry for the agony, but basketball season is in full swing, I can teach you about. The players actually grab the ball without grabbing each other around the waist and dragging them to the floor. Imagine that.
I hope the chair fit.
CNN: They are counting on getting a Republican in the White House so they can appoint another Scalia. Even if Obama nominates someone, they will block it. When Hillary or Bernie take the oval office they are going to be so po'ed. In the meantime, there are numerous cases before SCOTUS that need a decision, so waiting another year to replace Scalia certainly obstructs justice.
The New Yorker: Andy does it again, Rubio does sound like a robot.
Washington Post: I have all ready seen the "lowlights" from the debate. If the American public is not convinced they are all liars all ready, they seemed anxious to prove it themselves.
Cartoon: Wise donkey.
Puzzle — 2:36 That cup of coffee is all yours Puddy Tat! I am allergic to the stuff so I won't even arm wrestle you for it!
CNN — McTurtle has already said that the Senate will not consider a nomination put forth by Obama. Always the obstructionist! Beware Beelzebub, one more will be coming your way . . . looks like a constipated turtle!
The New Yorker — And this is the great hope of the Republicans? . . . the anointed one to wrest the leadership from the claws of Hairball Trump and the pseudo Christian extremist, Cruz? Man is the US in trouble if one of these wingdings wins the WH!
Washington Post — The Republican South Carolina debate was the Saturday night episode of "As The Stomach Turns"! What a pile of horse pucky!
Cartoon — Amen!
I am curious about what Rubio said Obama was right about that pudits say destroyed him, but not sufficiently to put up with the rest of the debate horrors.
I am sort of enjoying the pundits being wrong on how a SCOTUS death would tilt the court. What happens in case of a tie vote? Or is Roberts not supposed to vote unless it is to break a tie now?
Hope the wheelchair fit so those four trips can happen.
Just read that a tie means the lower court ruling stands.
Rubio said that "Obama knows what he is doing." I'm not sure how that got twisted to imply he said Obama is right about anything, since Rubio, along with other GOP, thinks Obama is destroying the country, and to say he knows what he is doing implies it is deliberate. Perhaps all it really shows is how determined the GOP candidates are to destroy each other.
Ever since I heard that Scalia died I've been hearing "Ding Dong! The witch is dead." It just keeps resounding in my head.
Looking at the last six Repug ,wannabees, I thought that they are the ultimate "Ship of FOOLS". How else could one describe this group who have neither the intelligence nor the presence of a "World leader" Who,could possibly take any of them seriously? I,for one would not vote for any of them if they ran for "dog catcher/road kill supervisor.!
Too bad that the general public is not informed re. their lies,bigotry,etc.etc.I could go on and on!, but I shall spare you . OPEN your eyes America.
Stay Well T.C.
Thanks all! Hugs. So pooped it hurts.
be well T C .