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April 18, 2012 03:36 PM UTC

Wednesday Open Thread

  • 59 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“I am neither bitter nor cynical but I do wish there was less immaturity in political thinking.”

–Franklin D. Roosevelt

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59 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread”

  1. Republicans wish to be authorities regarding drugs, bombs and wombs.

    Democrats wish to be authorities regarding charity, labor and markets.

    Where the fluck is freedom?

    Here is the REAL political spectrum. You are either an authoritarian, meaning you want to control others or you are anti-authoritarian, meaning you want to live and let live. It is really quite simple!

    What side are you on?

    Do you seek to cumulatively expand or cumulatively reduce State power?

    Dems and Repubs are much more similar than either groups cares to admit! You both are trying to control MY life!

  2. Spain Is Doomed: Why Austerity Is Destroying Europe

    To crib from Keynes, Europe’s policymakers have blundered in the control of a delicate machine, the workings of which they do not understand. They’re not evil. But they’re almost certainly wrong. Rather than consider the possibility that the economy might work differently than they think, they have settled on a simple message: The beatings will continue. Unfortunately, morale will continue to not improve. Eventually, you have to think leaders in Europe’s beat-up countries will begin to wonder if life might be better outside the euro zone. Hopefully, the ECB will come to its senses first.

    1. but I’m from the midwest so it’s my heritage — hell we’ll fry pickles or olives and even our “toasted” ravioli is  really just breaded & fried

      1. Incredibly despicable, eh?

        How many abortion providers have been shot?

        What invasive procedures are being legislated across the country?

        Why is  the phrase “war on women” all the rage?

        Open your eyes.

        1. Because it’s a rhetorical technique designed to rile people up. You really think that 50 years of abortion docs getting shot culminated in this, and it’s totally organic? Maybe I’m not the one who needs to open MY eyes.

          And you know what, I find it a little bit gross that this kind of rhetoric is being used when we’re only a little more than a year out from Gabby Giffords being shot. Weren’t Democrats supposed to be all about ending the violent political rhetoric?

          So yeah, if you think that “wingnuts”–a term that’s frequently used to describe people like tea partiers, Eric Cantor and Rush Limbaugh, and not just fucking murderers who go and shoot up an abortion clinic–are close to planning mass poisonings of school children, then you’re despicable.

              1. I never used the word Republicans. I didn’t say anyone was “a step away from mass poisoning”.

                There is a frightening level of extremism in this country, and my post was to bring attention to the drift in that direction.

                Get a grip……:-)

                  1. IS a republican position.

                    Strongly held, unapologetically.

                    That means libertad 2.0 gets just as poisoned by untreated water (like in Louisiana) as the rest of us in a mittens regime.

                    Now it’s serious, right?

                    Think about it

                    1. You don’t seriously buy that, do you? That deregulation is akin to 1st degree attempted murder?

                      And even if it was, how is that remotely related to what Robin posted?

                      This is beyond a stretch, it’s idiotic. You want to vilify your opposition to the point where they’re murderers, and you’re no better than the “wing nuts” you’re so worried about.

                    2. literally take a drink out of your garden hose, kitchen or bathroom sink, without thinking twice about the water being safe?

                      And yes, abolishing the agency that ensures water’s treated, inspected, purified, and made potable will directly result in contaminated water.

                      If you think for a finger snap that “the market will ensure safe water”, you’ve bought into the Koch Brothers’ line.

                      Sir Robin said it perfectly.

                      We’re an election away from exactly that.

                    3. really, really dumb. If you think what you just wrote is even remotely related to the article that Robin posted, and the commentary about the slippery slope from the “war on women” to INTENTIONALLY POISONING WOMEN FOR  WANTING TO GO TO SCHOOL there’s something seriously wrong with you.

                    5. I’m sorry for trying to emphasize something by posting in all caps. I should have italicized.

                    6. I’m sorry, I know you’ve decided to take your joke account seriously, but I still keep expecting to see “brzzzt, Rasmussen, click, silverback” gags. I guess those days are gone now.

                    7. Ok, does this make you feel better?

                      Obama at -58 in latest Rassy poll. Libs are really sweating through their union thug solar panel Solyndra applebees corn flake buzzzzzzztTTTzzzz ERROR ERROR ERROR

                    8. It’s about you not knowing what the stakes are in this election.

                      Sir Robin’s point was that we’re closer than you think to that very mentality.

                      Like a red POTUS, House and Senate. One election.

                      The red portion embraces it, as evidenced in their acceptance of death threats, outrageous accusations of the President being this and that, “Communists” in the US House. demands that regulatory agencies protecting YOUR health be shut down, on and on.

                      Gabby Giffords was shot not long after the junk yard attack dog put out the crosshair target symbol on Representative Giffords’ Congressional District.

                      Bachman: Don’t retreat, reload!

                      This is a republican party devoid of conscience, without a constraint.

                      In the end, it doesn’t matter HOW you get poisoned, just if you do!

                      And you’re in denial.

                2. Even the biggest asshole tea partier who thinks Obama is a dog-eating Kenyan muslim who raised all their taxes to spend it on birth control for sluts doesn’t think that 14 year old girls deserve to be poisoned for learning in a school.

                  Does that make sense to you? I want to see if you are understanding why I’m taking issue with what you said.

                  1. I understand the difference of opinion here. I’ll ditto rocco above. The extremist elements in THIS country border on lunatic.

                    That’s my point.

                    3. You think that the extreme right wing tea partier I described above thinks that girls who go to school deserve to die?

                    4. Why should I answer to someone, or something you described, when we’re talking about what I described?

                      I described “wingnut” extremists who do looney things…..in this country….that all reasonable people should not be silent in the face of.

                      Americans are so very tolerant, sometimes at their peril.

                      Your rhetorical question is irrelevant.

                      Thanks for the discussion Libertad. All done now.

                    5. I’ve seen people describe tea partiers, Republicans in Congress, media personalities, and other Republicans as “wingnuts”. If you wanted to say psychopaths who are capable of murdering innocent students and teachers, you wouldn’t have used a term that gets floated around here to describe regular people who have, admittedly, some incredibly poorly thought out public policy.

                      You asked

                      How close are the wingnuts in this country to this barbarity?

                      As if to say that there would be schoolgirls getting poisoned left and right in a few years or something. I answered your question, which you claim isn’t rhetorical, with the truth. Not even fucking close.

                    6. at this point the symptoms resemble that of poisoning and the water is currently being tested. No one actually knows if the water is poisoned, or if someone did it on purpose.

                      Anyway, while this has happened once before, it wasn’t so long ago that there wouldn’t have been a girl’s school at all. Turns out there was some kind of “invasion” that is largely credited for the change. I bring this up for two reasons; first that going from no school to a solitary incident is not that bad in the big picture and suggests a small group (or individual) of extremists (which every country has), making the initial comment even more… extremist, second that sometimes violence is apparently some kind of good. ?? Seems life isn’t always so black and white, although it would be easier if it were.

                      I echo RedGreen’s comment below. And I’d like to add that the extremist screams about extremists are not only irritating, but also hurt the discussion, while doing nothing for intelligent policy.

                      But I’ve been wrong before. Anyway, no one here actually means what they write. You misunderstood, they didn’t write that at all, or something else.

      2. There are people in this country (like there are people in Afghanistan) who are willing to bomb abortion clinics, drag gay people to their deaths.  That they haven’t managed to target 140 people at once yet here in this country is IMHO either the result of sheer luck or better law enforcement, or both.

        You want to argue that SR means Republicans.  Fine, I’ll go there.  How many women are going to die an early death because they are poor and cannot otherwise afford contraceptives to treat their medical conditions, or will go undiagnosed for cancer because these morons are trying to shut down Planned Parenthood root and branch?  How many women will suffer through life (or even die) not knowing that they could have chosen differently because they are denied a real sex education class?  How many deaths can we prevent by striking a strong statement against bullying, especially against LGBT people – and who is preventing that?

        You’re acting like there’s no moral equivalence between a small group of extremists in Afghanistan who poison a women’s school and what goes on here.  But I submit that the only difference between today’s news there and tomorrow’s news here is a matter of timing and chance, and that the same forces are at work in both countries, but with different levels of acceptance.

          1. But Sir Robin and others have a point and it’s not just Timothy McVeigh and the various people who have murdered doctors, bombed abortion clinics, etc. – but the many who support the efforts of those terrorists.

            But as you point out, that is a few people out on the fringe and it is not an effort that is supported by most in the Republican party.

            As to policies that harm people, a lot of political choices harm people. When there is a fundamental disagreement about the role of government, that impacts people’s lives. But that does not mean that anyone who wants to reduce the role of government is evil.

            2. are on the fringe.  And no, I don’t think that those efforts are openly supported by most in the Republican Party.  (Though they’re unfortunately more silent than I think they should be when such things happen…)

              But is the banality of going after Planned Parenthood, contraceptive access, and other similar actions any less detrimental in the end?  And isn’t it ultimately for the same reasons however more rationally framed?

              The problem with political policies however you want to look at them is that so many of them are unwilling to stand up and proclaim themselves for what they really support, or even admit that they understand their side-effects.  The Republicans have become more blatant about it this past couple of years, but they’ve got legions out their spinning away the real consequences.

              And, I’m sorry David, but writing laws that specifically target Planned Parenthood isn’t about reducing the role of government.

        1. There are plenty of things to be outraged about. They’re rival cable networks, a jab here and there is par for the course, it’s not misogyny or racism or a form of hate, it’s a joke.

          1. … I feel that a double standard is being applied.

            Jokes can be mean spirited. I believe that’s the case here. Maybe it’s just hate for a rival, instead of some worse evil, but we are talking about Roger Ailes here.

            1. Another day, I might take offense at Ailes’ joke, but I’m getting tired of everyone always turning it up to 11 on the outrage about everything. (You’re not a culprit, but for heaven’s sake …) There are substantial things  to go after Ailes for, I don’t want to raise my blood pressure over a remark that would seem fairly innocuous if someone else made a similar crack about, say, Roger Alcatraz or Joanne Attica. Not to mention David Supermax.

  7. not sure if any Romneybot did actually asked ignorant cornhole Rep. Louie Gohmert to opine but then Mitt needs “friends” wherever he can find ’em

    At a meeting between media and conservative legislators today, Tea Party firebrand Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) shared his opinions on Mitt Romney, his party’s presumed presidential nominee. Gohmert is a bit apathetic, if not outright disdainful.

    According to Dave Weigel at Slate, Gohmert said of Romney, “whether you’re liberal, or whether you’re very conservative, you ought to be excited, because he’s been on your side at one time or another.” Realizing that the reference to Romney’s prodigious flip flopping may be problematic, Gohmert tried to smooth things over. “So I’m not completely understood,” he said. “I’m not as excited as I am desperate.” -emphasis mine

    there’s a bumper sticker for GOP flock:  “Romney 2012 – we’re not excited, just desperate”

  8. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04…

    Ushered in amid promises that it would save taxpayers money and deter drug users, a Florida law requiring drug tests for people who seek welfare benefits resulted in no direct savings, snared few drug users and had no effect on the number of applications, according to recently released state data.

    I am sure that you are surprised by this.

  9. Senators Heath and Williams are trying to add it back in.

    If this fails I plan to propose they cancel Military appreciation day in 2013, because I will go full teabagger and scream thru the session until they drag me out.

    F**kers. I can’t wait for October when they start preening and posing with vets trying to get votes.  

  10. This belongs more in Afghanistan, where they just poison women for wanting to improve their lot in life.

    Using Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) budget blueprint, Ohio Republicans added language that takes away all federal funding to “abortion providers,” including Planned Parenthood. But Planned Parenthood does more than provide abortions (that’s only 3 percent of their work). The amended Ohio budget would strip away much of Planned Parenthood’s ability to fight domestic violence, and deny them funds for cancer and HIV/AIDS prevention as well:

    In addition to restricting the flow of federal “family planning” funds, House Bill 487, sponsored by Representative Ron Amstutz and adopted without a recorded vote by members of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee, completely prohibits the distribution to Planned Parenthood of Ohio or any of its affiliates from any of the following federal programs:

    •Violence Against Women Act

    •Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act

    •Infertility Prevention Project (US Dept of Health & Human Services)

    •Minority HIV/AIDS initiative funds (Centers for Disease Control)

    In 2010 (the latest year available), 105 victims of domestic violence were killed in Ohio. There were a total of 40,283 arrests of people who physically harmed their partner or family members. The Violence Against Women Act works to prevent incidents of rape and sexual assaults, and ensures that people who are victims of domestic violence get the health care and legal protection they need in the wake of a domestic violence incident. It’s wrong, and harmful, for lawmakers to drag domestic violence victims into their political vendetta against Planned Parenthood.

    Bolds are mine. How many of the 105 were men killed by women do you think?

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