It’s Independence Day, and here in Portland the killer heat wave goes on. I’d like to wander downstairs tonight to see if I can watch the fireworks at Waterfront Park (11,800 shots) from the corner, by looking down Oak St., but that will have to wait until next year. It will still well over 80°. ARGH! You all have a safe, happy day.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took 3:16 (average 5:38). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Fantasy Football Recruiting:
We still need one or two new players for Lefty Blog Friends, our fantasy football league. We’re trying to get Viv in, but are not sure if it will support her smart phone. How about you? For more information, click here.
Short Takes:
From Alternet: Thursday night, Jon Stewart recapped Donald Trump’s latest PR embarrassment. After calling Mexican immigrants "rapists" last week and suffering the entirely predictable and righteous backlash, Trump went on a media tour to explain his strange, racist diatribe.
Jon is spot on. He has Hairball pegged to the roots.
From Crooks and Liars: While discussing an admittedly flawed online poll asking whether or not the Americans responding would consider leaving the United States to go live in another country (with 55 percent of millennials responding in the affirmative due to the economy) the yappers on Fox’s The Five did their best to try to pretend that the economy hasn’t been improving during the Obama administration, and to push the latest right wing talking points about the declining labor participation rates.
Co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle also used the opportunity to attack millennials as a bunch of lazy moochers who just want free stuff. How dare they want to live in a country where they have a chance to get a good education, have adequate health care coverage and a job that pays a living wage?
Barf Bag Alert!!
Here we have a perfect example of why people who get their information from Faux Noise are more poorly informed that people who have no access at all to news.
From Daily Kos: Looks like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t bowing to the wishes of Scott Walker and Jeb Bush on ending the Senate’s filibuster rule in order to ease the path to repealing Obamacare. Alexander Bolton has the details:
Sources close to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) say there’s virtually no chance he will go along with abolishing the filibuster, something he has strongly criticized in the past. […]
Bush and Walker recently told conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt they would support lowering the threshold for major legislation from 60 votes to a simple majority. Curbing the power of the Senate minority would make it easier to repeal and replace ObamaCare in 2017.
I have to confess that I was wrong about this. I have said many times thaat Bought Bitch Mitch would use the nuclear option, if Republicans took control of the Senate. What I failed to take into account is that the odds that Democrats will retake the Senate in November 2016 are so high that Bought Bitch Mitch fears losing the ability to be a filibastard then. When I’m wrong, I say so.
Cartoon:
19 Responses to “Open Thread–7/4/2015”
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5:53 average 5:48. Another horse. You seem hungrier today, though. Horse barbecue?
Alternet – And this is exactly why I am always scared to predict how an election will go. It is impossible for Trump to get any support for the boustrokopros that spews out of his mouth – and yet he does. Of course Jon is spot on. He is no dummy, and the Donald is not hard to peg. Except for those whosupport him.
Crooks and Liars – Well of course. Of course the Fox yappers will say things like this, and of course their audience will believe it. Another reason for predicting election results to be difficult. BTW, are all those veterans with TBI and other profound and disabling injuries considered to be non-participants?
Daily Kos – This is the best news of the day, maybe of the week. If Mitch expects a Senate turnaround to a Democratic majority, then it is well within the bounds of possibility.
Cartoon – And they do! (BTW, couldn't your Jesus use a gun?)
I posted this this morning – probably everyone has seen it, if not from me, from an email:
http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/3892892
I caught it and thanks for the star!
2:51 I tried to jump hoops and barricades to save that horsie from the ravenous jaws of that Puddy Tat!
If the man in your life (including yourself if you're a male) is wanting to increase his sartorial splendor with a bespoke suit, you need look no further than the Donald Trump Signature Collection Suit line:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026939037
On a more serious – but still on a fun note & apropos for the day – if you're curious how your views match-up w/ the candidates, there's a quick Survey you can take that's pretty good.
BUT I would STRONGLY urge you to always at least open the "Other Stances" choice, rather than just pick the Y/N option. Takes a bit more time, but more nuanced and meaningful.
I got Bernie (97%); Hillary (90%); O'Malley (78%); Bush (27%); Rand Paul (19%); Walker (7%); Carson (5%); Fiorina (1%). (They said you can view them all, but once I got to 1% there was no point.)
http://www.isidewith.com/
Thanks for the links!
Bernie 98%
Hillary 95%
O/Malley 77%
Bernie 96%, Hillary 85%, O'Mallry in the 70's, and the next down was Chris Christie (!)
Sorry I didn't catch it here first so put it in my comments for Sunday. Not trying to steal your thunder.
I got Bernie 97% and Hillary 93%.
Puzzle — 2:51 I tried to jump hoops and barricades to save that horsie from the ravenous jaws of that Puddy Tat!
Alternet — Jon is definitely spot on and makes his point with such humour! It is utterly amazing that The Rug is getting more attention and rising in the polls of Republicanus/Teabaggerum presidential wannabes! But not only that, it is disgusting that Faux and others like Cruz are interpreting his words into ideas that he did not even express. Trump is a national disgrace!
Crooks and Liars — I suppose if you're trying to cull your audience and make yourself even less relevant, then follow the example set by these idiots. Obama bashing, no understanding of the economy or of the role played by the previous administration, bashing millenials and characterising them as moochers . . . please, this drivel is at least a 2 barf bag alert!
Daily Kos — Is it possible that McTurtle sees the writing on the wall, and as such, is trying to leave himself some wiggle room? Well he certainly is devious and self serving enough!
Cartoon — Ain't it the truth though!
Faux is defending Trump…and Glenn posted an analysis on C2 that finds Faux is wrong more than half the time.
I guess Mitch is just plain scared since he's lost the capacity to lead the GOP Caucus in any meaningful way and instead follows orders.
Independence from sanity means taking risks and making a real positive difference.
We still have Portland's weather, high today was only 75, should have been 85 or 90, and yes it is still raining.
Alternet: Jon plainly showed what a doofus Trump is. I am not surprised that Fox news and King defended him, but I am dismayed that he had a surge in the polls.
Crooks and Liars: A barf bag alert is needed anytime a Fox news segment is shown. I believe they get paid extra every time they show disdain for Obama, why else would they keep hammering him?
Daily Kos: I am suspicious any time McConnell does something to help Obama. His support of Fast Track for the TPP was suspicious enough, now this? We never know what kind of bargaining goes on behind the scenes.
Cartoon: That is their biggest wish!
Sorry to hear you're going to miss out on a nice firework display, TomCat. Let's hope the heat doesn't make setting off fireworks even more dangerous than ususal and you get to enjoy the sirens of fire brigades and ambulances all night instead.
Alternet: Brilliant show Jon put together there. But you can see the real anger rising in him during the segment on Trump. Not because Donald Trump has said these things; it was to be expected from this "ape" that he'd say things like that and you don't get angry at an ape either if he does the things you invite him to do. No Jon is angry at the (Faux) media for excusing his outrageous statement by havin him say something altogether different, the Republican way. And Jon is truly outraged by the fact that Trump is no longer 2nd in the polls in only one state, but has risen to 2nd position in TWO MORE states now because of his racist banter, the way he refused to appologize and by even added insulting racism in later statements to explain the one he was attacked on. I felt my anger rising with Jon's: this is utterly disgusting! Do you have any idea how harmful this is to the American image in the rest of the world?
Crooks and Liars: I've got to stop watching these Faux Noise video's, besides losing my Sunday brunch I feel I'm losing both my mind and all trust in anything that comes from American media. For at least five minutes afterwards all I can do is just sit there attending my bruised forehead from hitting it on my desk and saying "but…but…but". I won't even go into the contradictions between first interviewing completely uneducated millenials about the 4th of July, admitting the poll was seriously flawed, bashing Obama and then beating millenials up for voting wrong and wanting a better life.
Daily Kos: Looks our turtle is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Poor Mitch. Of course he may also consider repealing Obamacare in 2017, after even SCOTUS has failed to beat the ACA down further because the lives of more than 8 million people were involved in 2015, a bit ludicrous, even for Republicans? Naaahhh. Le's hope because as you say, TomCat, it is because the Republicans will lose their majority again in 2016 and your cartoon has lost its meaning.
Just out Today 7/5.new study from Europe in British .papers. America is an Oligarchy NOT a Democracy.
AnyOne suprised.!???.If you doubt this,read in BBC News.(also PLEASE WAKE UP AMERICA!.)
Thanks for the heads up!
There are no Democracies.
TY TC – sorry about your heatwave, I hope you can get some kitty sunbathing in now and again, and that the fireworks aren't too loud. [Sorry – too poorly to comment properly, though I loved the articles and everyone's comments].
For those who don't yet get emails from Bernie–this good news came yesterday:
" Yesterday afternoon, I shared the news that our campaign has already received nearly 400,000 individual contributions from more than a quarter million supporters. We raised a lot of money to build our campaign in these first two months, but what’s more important is that we did it the right way.
We aren’t begging for money from billionaires and we’re not endorsing a Super PAC. More than 99% of our contributions came from people who gave $250 or less and the average donation was $33."
Thanks all. Hugs!