Friday Open Thread

12 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread”

1. Good news, of sorts, for the Centennial State…..

   We have lost our not coveted places as home of two of the most bloody acts of terrorism by gun nuts.

   https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/us/columbine-texas-mass-shooting.html?module=WatchingPortal&region=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=thumb_square&state=standard&contentPlacement=1&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2017%2F11%2F10%2Fus%2Fcolumbine-texas-mass-shooting.html&eventName=Watching-article-click&_r=0

    

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2. This morning's Roy Moore update from CNN……

   http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/09/politics/mcconnell-silence-moore/index.html

   The look on McConnell's face is priceless. Hatch, Grassley and McConnell look like something right out of Jurassic Park. 

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3. VOX WOTD: One more round of “messaging” won’t do it.

   (Long, boring article before you get the the insights; Skip all the way 3/4 down, and it gets really good:)

   Addressing the causes of climate change is a fight, not a debate.

   If it's a fight rather than a debate, then the Science is irrelevant. Science is never going to convince the Republican Donor Base, because their interests are financial, not intellectual.

   If it’s a fight, not a debate, then intensity is what matters. The second premise, deeper and more foundational, is that politics works through agreement — that getting everyone on the same page is a prerequisite of political progress. We must “meet in the middle.” Especially among US center-left elites, this belief is practically preverbal, a truism.

   But history, especially recent history, contains much evidence to the contrary. Just about every substantial policy shift in the US in the past 20 years has been a matter of one side overwhelming the other — of conflict, not consensus. Some were “bipartisan” in the sense that a few legislators crossed the aisle, but partisan unity is more and more the rule in US politics. We have “weak parties and strong partisanship,” as political scientist Julia Azari puts it, which makes substantial compromise more and more difficult.

   …

   Sometimes the right strategy is to grab and own an issue, to exclude (not invite) the other party, to tie the issue to core coalition values and use the intensity to increase the political power of the coalition.

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   1. What's your elevator speech for "Democrats Believe In:"?

      Democrats believe in:
       – The middle class is getting screwed by the rich and the Corporations.
       – We deserve good schools, healthcare, and jobs with good wages
       – $15/hour is a livable wage
       – Health Care for All is a right, and it will protect me from bankruptcy if I get sick
       – We need a guarantee against pre-existing conditions, and age is a pre-existing condition.
       – Energy from Solar and Wind saves money and saves the planet
       

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      1. Not obvious to me.

         Go here https://www.coloradodems.org  and tell me what Dimocrats beleive in.

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         1. To be fair, they have a decent statement on the About Us page. To agree with you, the first paragraph from About Us should be bold, front and center on the Front Page:

             

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      2. You know, I just noticed that my list didn't even get into "identity" politics.

         Not that I'm against Identity Politics. It's ALWAYS identity politics, even when it isn't. Maybe this helps:

          – Fair & Equal treatment for all Americans, including Citizens, Visitors and Immigrants

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4. 

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   1. Well, back when those rights were written there were two hospital in the whole country.  Probably not front and center of every ones mind but getting shot by the Brits was.

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      1. There were 2.5 million Americans at that time and the latest, greatest firepower was a musket. Try again?

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5. Deleted.

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6. The walls that have been hiding this behavior at the State Capitol for years are starting to come down.

    

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