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October 15, 2009 03:21 PM UTC

Thursday Open Thread

  • 60 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“To revenge reasonable incredulity by refusing evidence is a degree of insolence with which the world is not yet acquainted–and stubborn audacity is the last refuge of guilt.”

–Samuel Johnson

Comments

60 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread

  1. “To revenge reasonable incredulity by refusing evidence is a degree of insolence with which the world was not yet acquainted–and stubborn audacity is the last refuge of guilt.”

    With apologies to Samuel Johnson.

    1. Thanks for the link, AA2.

      Two noteworthy races–check out how much Joe Wilson raised. Apparently, it pays to scream at the President of the United States.

      And the Governor of CT? Oh my God. A stunningly low amount ($15,000) raised. Could be a nice pick up for the Dems, if she decides not to run in 2010 and from the look of her fundraising, that seems to be likely.  

  2. I’m waiting on Another Skeptic and others who were saying the Dow Jones falling below 7,000 was Obama’s fault to come out and give the President credit for this incredible accomplishment!

    In reality, it’s just the Dow. It’s a strong indicator that the economy is moving in the right direction again, but just like it wasn’t Obama’s fault that the stock market tanked, it’s not his accomplishment that it picked up again. I just wanted to point out that it was a large part of the GOP attack on the President back in January.

    1. I’ve had the feeling for the last year that the DOW is a strong indicator of how well money hungry, pin striped, bastards with perfect hair cuts are doing.

      Not so sure anymore that the DOW reflects much more than that.

      But, I’ve always been down on those whose sole purpose in life is to make mo’ money without contributing something in return.

          1. This is a video from UCTV.  This woman did such original research about reasons for the decline of the middle class that are cutting edge original.  And many of the points made are classic “hidden in plain sight” types. Also, that dastardly boiling frog.  

            I saved it to my hard drive so that if I want to get really depressed I can watch it.  

    2. First I hate the “Dow” I prefer broader indices, but they are all pointing the same way.

      What they are telling us.

      1. Obama is not a crypto socialist bent on destroying america.  Unlike the RushBeck wing of the party, my old colleagues of the plutocratic wing of the party can’t afford to be complete and obvious idiots (CDOs built on z tranches excluded).  It kind of puts to lie the whole “Obama is destroying America meme.”

      2. We have turned the banking system from driving off the cliff.  For those of you who thought the bank bailout that Bush initiated was unnecessary, you are wrong.  Speed in a banking crisis is critical.  You can’t it spread.  The reason why it got so bad (and expensive) is that the Fed and related agencies didn’t step in earlier and had removed so many regulatory obstacles that the government had no idea the train was going over the cliff until the big engines were already over the cliff.

      3. the ’00’s were a lost decade.  Granted the stock market had been inflated by the tech bubble of the late ’90’s, but there was real innovation and productivity gains during that period.  Stocks are below where they were when Bush took office.  Housing is better (as long as you are not talking spec exurb).

      What the stock market has wrong.

      The recovery is going to take a long time, not the quick that the stock market is indicating.

      Banks may have been bailed out, but the individual household balance sheets are in trouble and they won’t get any better until people a. get jobs b. start paying down their credit balances.  Because of this the recovery will be slooooow.

      1. the only reason the stock market went down while Bush was still President is because investors were afraid that Obama would become President.

        Now that Obama is President, investors are looking toward 2010, and they’re confident that Republicans will take over the Congress. That’s the only reason the market is going up.

        Of course investors are also afraid the world is going to end in 2012, which means they’re ESPECIALLY happy about the 2010 elections to make up for it.

      2. …was stop the banking crisis.  It was painful, but in short order he restabilized our financial system.

        Arguably, this was more important than the relief programs that most think of him for.  

      3. Energy is required to capture capital and capital is required to capture energy. The capital we’re creating is like the air in that kids balloon, and just like that balloon, this stock market will fall. The question will be how fast and how far. Guesses anyone?

        1. Energy is not a problem, we waste more than enough to have that be a long term problem.

          Water is a problem: drought, coastal flooding.  There is no fungible substitute where you don’t have it and there isn’t much you can do when you have too much of it.  This is why rapid climate change is a big problem whether it is caused by greenhouse gasses released from human activity as most scientists believe or caused by one of the other emergent theories such as Leprechauns breeding too many unicorns (I don’t follow the non-science theories as to the cause of global warming closely).

          Climate change is climate crisis because of its impact on water. (I didn’t even mention water temperature on ocean ecosystems-but again water).

          I have great confidence in this country, both because of its power to innovate and relatively superior geographic fundamentals.  I might prefer to be Canada, Brazil or Russia based on geography, but the only thing Russia seems to innovate on is organized crime and repression of dissent.  Canada has a lot of innovation and Brazil is rapidly emerging, but I’d still bet on the US (as long as we can get control of health care).

          1. You’re right, we waste a lot. The challenge is to change behaviors. Fat chance. Excuse the pun. Serious people are stating we need to reduce our energy consumption by 80-90%! The ties between energy and water, and energy and food, are enormous and complex.

            I’m an eternal optimist. It’s served me well, and hope my luck continues.

            Hold on to your hat, but don’y hold too tight to your vision of the future.

    3. From Thom Hartmann:

      In Strange News…

      For months conservatives have blamed President Obama for the plunging stock market. Now that the Dow has gone over 10,000, what are the conservatives saying? On his Fox News today, Neil Cavuto claimed the stock market rebound is evidence of a “Bush recovery”

      Republicans have no shame.  

        1. The right wingers tried to claim that the Clinton economy was due to what Reagan had put in motion.

          It’s really, really strange that Americans, rich or poor do better under Dems, yet allegedly it’s due to Republican terms of office.

          Yeah. Right.  

  3. http://www.law.com/jsp/article

    A “stop the shot” campaign has hit federal and state courts. This past Friday, a group of New York doctors and health care workers asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to order the federal government not to distribute the H1N1 vaccine. Specifically, they’re challenging the legality of the licensing of the swine flu vaccine, alleging it was approved too quickly without appropriate testing for safety and effectiveness.

    Furthermore, the plaintiffs, who filed their suit in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, are seeking an immediate court order to halt mandated H1N1 flu shots in New York state. New York has ordered that all health care workers receive the H1N1 vaccine or risk losing their jobs.

    I’m not an anti-shot person, but I am a little leery of how rushed the process was, and I’m only partially reassured by the news that the H1N1 vaccine was made by the same process as the seasonal flu vaccine which I always get.

    I only mention this because I’m anticipating a lot of shots taken at the messenger and would rather that the discussion (if one is provoked)take a different course, namely, why isn’t this being covered in a meaningful way in the MSM, who seem to be passing on the CDC’s  points without critical comment; something that of course has been true for years.

    1. I was under the impression that this flu vaccine was developed the same way as the seasonal flu vaccine.

      Does anybody know if it’s any different? If not, what’s the hullabaloo?

    2. …if some of the Birthers start claiming that the H1N1 flu virus isn’t real but is a ruse to allow Big Government to inject everyone with the serum that turns us all into devoted followers of The One!  (Much like the Borg on Star Trek:  Next Generation would inject their subject with nanoprobes.)

    3. Nothing to Fear but the Flu Itself

      PAUL A. OFFIT

      http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10

      “The good news is that for the first time in more than 50 years we’ve made a vaccine against a pandemic strain of influenza before the onset of winter, when lower temperatures and humidity allow the virus to spread more easily. Distributing this vaccine to those who need it most – pregnant women, health care workers, children older than six months and people with compromised immunity – will be difficult enough. But the task is made harder by the various myths, spread on TV talk shows and Web sites, suggesting that Americans have more to fear from the vaccine than from the deadly disease it prevents. Here are some of those myths, and why they’re wrong: “

      1. I just looked at about a dozen of the 89 pages of contributors, and everyone I looked at came from an individual. I’ll admit I think this is impressive. But what do I know?!

        That’s about it for my free time to look into this.

        1. I did notice that candidate Steve King (SD-7, current Rep for HD-54) did contribute $70 from his Senate campaign funds to Penry, but he forgot to report his occupation and employer!.

            1. Outlays on salary = $15,758

              But my favorite expenses are:

              $112 for “dental insurance”

              $6,224.36 for “credit card payment”

              So much for demands for “transparency” when Candidate Penry obscures over $6k in expenses behind the Payee Name of “Card Center.”

    1. And as long as Penry puts a “Penry for Gov” sticker on it, the grill is a campaign sign expense.

      “In the meantime, if you see a grill with a Penry bumper sticker call the police!” -Josh Penry

    1. broke the story — apparently the father of the little boy called KUSA right after the boy went aloft — and devoted its entire noon newscast to it. Now it’s on both CNNs, Fox, and all the local stations except for Channel 4.

  4. A A Louisiana Judge refused to issue a marriage license to a couple because they are interracial and he’s so very “concerned for the children.”

    Thirty-year-old Beth Humphrey and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.

    Story continues below

    Humphrey told the newspaper she called Bardwell on Oct. 6 to inquire about getting a marriage license signed. She says Bardwell’s wife told her that Bardwell will not sign marriage licenses for interracial couples.

    “It is really astonishing and disappointing to see this come up in 2009,” said American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana attorney Katie Schwartzman. “The Supreme Court ruled as far back as 1963 that the government cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry.”

    The ACLU was preparing a letter for the Louisiana Supreme Court, which oversees the state justices of the peace, asking them to investigate Bardwell and see if they can remove him from office, Schwartzman said.

    1. Except, you know, when it comes to teh gays.

      That’s a stunning story. I’m sure the usual “there’s no racism!” apologists will jump to the justice’s defense and demand videotape of actual racist intent.

      1. By not allowing them to marry, he’s possibly preventing a young boy from being brought into the world who might grow up and…become the next President of the United States.

    2. Just curious about that. It’s a late-breaking story, so it seems Jindal hasn’t been cornered for a quote yet.

      What’s your guess? Will Jindal suggest the judge be fired or merely reprimanded? Or will he hope that no one asks him, and say nothing at all about whether the judge ought to keep his job?

        1. No statement issued by Jindal yet. Perhaps the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper will eventually get around to asking him, since they’ve only posted an Associated Press report so far.

          Comments at the Times-Picayune on the A.P. report:


          I need to see Bobby Jindal act on this foolishness. Get rid of this official. He’s either paid by the State or there is a local politician who can remove this idiot.


          This is Hammond after all. Klan country. Racist, hanging onto the past, rifle rack in your pickup, republican, haters of people of color…….Louisianans.

          1. That second comment sort of hurt my heart a little. And considering that this is now making national news, I suppose it would be too much to ask that Jindal actually take the initiative here and just make a statement instead of waiting for someone to ask him.  

        1. “When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the Republic.” –Ben Franklin.

          Any source for that? No? Really, not even one respectable citation? A letter he wrote, maybe? An issue of Poor Richard’s Almanac?

          I remember you promising to look that up a while ago. How’d it go?

          1. “When the People find themselves in need of health fixing, allow not the Public Treasury to hire out yon leeches, or the very Foundations of the Republic be threatened.” — Ben Franklin

            1. that when yon British cricket teams engage, it resembles a battle betwixt the Cherokee and the Iroquois, without the arrowheads? There, I hath writ it.” Ben Franklin

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