Wednesday Open Thread

17 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread”

1. At least the Colorado GOP has dodged the Nazi bullet.

   https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/us/politics/arthur-jones-illinois.html

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   1. Thanks for the link, Dave. This'll make my Chicago native wife's blood boil.

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   2. At least the Colorado GOP has dodged the Nazi bullet

      So far……

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   3. Luv it….

      I hate Illinois Nazis!

       

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulCw7RJ5eE8

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      1. Saw that coming, SamCat. It was my first thought upon seeing this story.

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   4. They've just changed the labels, and expanded the categories of people to hate.

      They (mostly) don't call themselves Nazis anymore, but believe most of what the Nazis believed. 

      On Pols, if you see a banner ad for CRTV shows (Conservative Review TV) hosted by Gavin McInnes "Get off my lawn" or Graham Allen, (Rant Nation)these are modern day Nazis.

      Gavin McInnes was the founder of the alt-right hate group Proud Boys. Graham Allen is a "populist" talk show host.

      Do us all a favor – click the X to stop showing these ads. When the Google menu comes up to ask why don't you want to see these ads? Say whatever – the content is bad, it's repetitive, etc.

      I'd like to make it unprofitable for Google to keep promoting these hate groups.

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2. And the Austin bomber has apparently blown himself up once cornered by police.

   23 year old Mark Anthony Conditt has been named as the suspect. No motive is known as yet.

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   1. If only the Deep State had allowed The Dumpster® to build his wall. This could have been prevented.

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3. Remember: If you aren't paying, then you are the product, not the customer.

   The Denver Post business model is selling readers to advertisers.  Actual news content is irrelevant, other than trying to keep your eyes on the prize (i.e. on the ads).  TV & Computer and TV screens are more effective (addictive) than paper. Notice how Facebook throws up a cute kitty gif about the third time you scroll down?

   Speaking of Facebook and Big Data. Once your data is dumped/sold/breached it can go anywhere, and it is of particular interest to corporations who want to know what to sell and how to sell things to you. Your credit card data and buying habits are packaged, linked and sold to corporations everywhere.  Every purchase plus all the related purchases, plus all the related personal connection.

   This doesn't bother me if it is just Amazon recommending me a new book. But, when my purchasing history is linked up to my Facebook likes and friends, then Big Data algorithms are very good about sifting through the connections. 

   Personally, I use Facebook minimally and only for casual connections. LinkedIn for business/career connections. 

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   1. The ad model isn't such a problem – at least not the one I'm familiar with at Google. Give them terms or a description of the target and they do the ad distribution.

      The abuse of Facebook profile information, including collection by a third party without anonymization and aggregation, is a different level of "being the product"

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4. Another fine member of the GOP: Party of Hate®.

   https://www.denverpost.com/2018/03/20/katie-barr-fremont-county-embezzlement/

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5. More on the Austin bomber. Now this is real hate. With a link to his blog posts:

   http://www.towleroad.com/2018/03/mark-anthony-conditt/?

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6. Call to action from Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times:

   American voters have to go to the polls and deal a resounding electoral defeat to this Republican Party, which Trump has taken over like an invasive species. America needs a healthy conservative party in our two-party system. But this G.O.P. is not a conservative party and it is not healthy.

   It’s an intellectually and morally corrupt coalition that sells its soul to whoever will energize its base and get G.O.P. candidates elected — deficit hawks one year, deficit doves the next; free traders one year, protectionists the next — whoever pays the most in votes or money gets to choose. Only a resounding defeat might get this G.O.P. to look itself in the mirror and ask, How did we lose our soul?

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7. Another conservative with a conscience calls out Faux News for "wittingly harming our system of government for profit"

   In a searing farewell note sent to colleagues on Tuesday, Ralph Peters, a Fox News strategic analyst and a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, castigated the network for its coverage of President Trump and the rhetoric of its prime-time hosts.

   “In my view, Fox has degenerated from providing a legitimate and much-needed outlet for conservative voices to a mere propaganda machine for a destructive and ethically ruinous administration,” Colonel Peters wrote in his message, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times.

   “Over my decade with Fox, I long was proud of the association,” he added. “Now I am ashamed.”

   Without citing them by name, Colonel Peters, 65, wrote that Fox News’s prime-time anchors “dismiss facts and empirical reality to launch profoundly dishonest assaults on the F.B.I., the Justice Department, the courts, the intelligence community (in which I served) and, not least, a model public servant and genuine war hero such as Robert Mueller.”

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8. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to fire Robert Mueller. . . 

    “I am a big fan of Hindu, . . . 

   . . . (pssst, hey, these guys don’t look Norwegian to me???)”  Stormy’s john — October 2016

   https://newrepublic.com/article/147351/political-corruption-art-deal

   . . . he’ll be long long dead and gone 100 years hence before all the Trumpswamp dealings are even mapped.

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9. Defiance…..

   That's what Mississippi's governor did in selecting a woman who was a registered Democrat until 5 years ago to fill the vacancy Thad Cochran is leaving early next month. The White House is not happy.

   https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/mississippi-governor-appoints-cindy-hyde-smith-to-the-senate–and-draws-a-backlash-from-the-white-house/2018/03/21/0d88e03c-2d22-11e8-8ad6-fbc50284fce8_story.html?utm_term=.4b750f662274

    

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10. Look who didn’t get fired for “lack of candor” . . . 

    WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. investigated Attorney General Jeff Sessions for possible perjury last year over congressional testimony in which he said he had no contacts with Russians, according to three people familiar with the case.

    In fact, Mr. Sessions later acknowledged, he had personally met the Russian ambassador to the United States during the campaign and was aware that George Papadopoulos, a campaign adviser, had developed Russian ties, too. F.B.I. agents were aware of both inaccuracies in real time. And last March, when Congress asked the F.B.I. to investigate the attorney general, agents began doing so, two of the people said.

    Andrew G. McCabe, the F.B.I.’s deputy director at the time, authorized the investigation, the two people said. Mr. McCabe himself was recently fired for showing “lack of candor” in an internal investigation. Mr. Sessions rejected Mr. McCabe’s appeal and fired him hours before his retirement was to take effect, jeopardizing his pension.

    F.B.I. Investigated Sessions for Possible Perjury Over Russia Denials

    https://nyti.ms/2uaKiuk

    . . . and, I keep seeing news about this “Russia.” What could Russia possibly have to do with anything? . . .

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