15 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread”

1. Today, I want to hear V-ger's opinion on the Designated Hitter Rule.

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   1. The designated hitter rule stinks!

      Donald Trump stinks.  

      Stay upwind, my friends.

       

       

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      1. Thanks.  Needed that laugh. Hope it wakes me up the rest of the way.

          

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      2. Can Kushner be considered the "designated hitter" of the Trump Sad!_ministration? Is around until there is some sort of need, then is thrown into the game without a clear idea of what he would do other than swing away.

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2. 

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   1. Meanwhile, a bunch of people in South Korea would love it if your buddy would stop waving his business (tiny as it is) around.

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   2. So Trump is coming around to my view on NATO.  I assume you now support the alliance, Merkle, Hollande, et al?  Your master changed his mind so you do too?

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   3. For ACHole —  When it comes to war, this is what your boss really cares about:

      

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   4. Poisons Are Us  

      Does Trump want to make American children a little dumber, a little more vulnerable to cancer, especially those in the regions that voted for him? No, of course not. But by being reflexively hostile to science that points out the hazards around us, he’s doing just that.

      The election changed everything. In came a gang that sees all this hyperventilating about poisons in our food, toxins in our water and carbon in our air as alarmist whining. From here on out, public health would take a back seat to Dow Chemical.

      

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3. Doug Lamborn had a town hall last Wednesday. It did not go well for him. I noticed this video by Colorado Springs Action in the Facebook comments under the last Coffman thread. Since CSA hasn't made a diary about it, I'll just leave it here.

   Lamborn is truly an idiot. He thought he'd avoid his constituents by scheduling his town hall on 24 hours notice during the work day in a remote location. Wrong call, Dougie A group of about 50 young parents and seniors found time to show up under those conditions, and asked the Congressman questions he found impossible to answer.

   At around 1900 in this video,he can be seen scolding a young mother: "Quiet! Be quiet!"

   He also says at about 1700, “I don’t work for you – I work for me!” Really.

   Check out young Haymon (sp?) -maybe 12 years old -at about 17:30, pitching for programs to help transition military people into renewable energy
   jobs. She ends by inviting Lamborn to attend her science class, with a not-so-subtle dig for him to learn about climate change.

    

   Great video. Great job by Colorado Springs Action.

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   1. I'm reminded of his encounter with Pols' very own BarronX when Stillborn ran for his first term and shouted, "you, you shut up" during a debate.

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      1. For those who'd like to see it just one more time.

          

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4. Looks like the GOP con game is nearly up with voters:

   Democrats In Illinois Just Unseated A Whole Bunch Of Republicans

   They’re local races, but they fit with an emerging trend that could mean big trouble for the GOP in 2018.

   Of course, Dems need to start laying a strong foundation to push even further:

   In the case of Illinois, a number of Democrats who just won got a boost from a program launched by Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) called Build The Bench. It’s an all-day boot camp that offers nuts-and-bolts details for running a successful campaign. Bustos came up with the idea last year when she noticed a dearth of new Democratic candidates for Congress, and decided the best way to help build up her party’s ranks was at the local level.

   She’s held two boot camps in her district so far ― The Huffington Post attended one of them in March ― and she’s already seeing tremendous payoff. Twelve Build The Bench alumni ran for local seats in this election cycle, and eight of them won. A ninth alum, Rita Ali, is currently down by one vote in her race for Peoria City Council.

   Cue The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" 

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5. What's that old saying — If you sleep with dogs, expect to wake up with fleas?  Or is it rabies?

   If Trump Fired Bannon, Would He Seek Revenge?

   I asked friends and foes alike to imagine how, should Bannon get the boot, the pugnacious populist might exact his revenge.

   Taken together, their suggestions amount to an epic, Kill Bill-style revenge saga that starts with Bannon leaking personal dirt on his enemies to the tabloids, using the megaphone of Breitbart News to exacerbate divisions inside the administration, and siccing an army of internet trolls on his adversaries to harass and defame them. It ends with Bannon using Cambridge Analytica data to identify and primary their vulnerable allies in Congress, then releasing a “Where Trump Went Wrong” documentary on the eve of the November midterms and finally—in this revenge fantasy’s epic climax—running against Trump himself in 2020.

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6. Just imagine, if you will, Presidents Washington and Jefferson being dragged away from their hemp farms in handcuffs by a rogue government agency?

   Colorado was the first state to officially end prohibition of industrial hemp; since 2012, over 30 additional states have followed our lead.  It remains a Schedule 1 substance, thus making it technically illegal, still, under federal law.  I'm proud of the entire Colorado delegation for supporting the federal bill intended to deschedule, sans Lamborn – who has refused repeatedly to become a co-sponsor.  

   Credit where credit is due – and kudos to both of our Senators for being vocal advocates for the cause. 

   Thomas Jefferson: President, Founding Father, Hemp Pioneer

   "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country," Jefferson once reportedly said. That's because it was used to make rope, sails and other textiles that were essential for keeping colonial America's navy afloat. 

   And Jefferson wasn't the only commander-in-chief to cultivate hemp. President George Washington also grew acres of it at Mount Vernon. And he referred to cultivation practices over 90 times in his personal diaries.

   

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