Friday Open Thread

17 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread”

1. Be afraid, be very afraid…..

   https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/business/economy/economy-democrats-business.html?action=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage

   Before you think I am some kind of shill for corporate greed, I am not. One of the first things which Dems should do if they keep the House and take the Senate and White House is to repeal the 2017 tax cuts. And people like Jeff Bezos and others need to pay income taxes.

   But the War on Business declared by Warren and Sander is a disaster and will get Trump re-elected.

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2. Really R&R? Rich white men are afraid someone will come and take their privileges away? I'm shocked. I'm one of them, and I'd rather live simply so that others may simply live.

   There's "no war on business" in the progressive agenda, just like there's no war on Christmas, or for that matter, "war with Albania." It's a disinformation campaign. The Times is but an apologist for the 20th century. Time we started living in the 21st.

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   1. No war on… 
      What about the Confederacy? White supremacists? Gun owners?

      And Freedonia!? do not forget Freedonia!

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   2. Thank you for that, Meiner49er.

      I refer to George Bernard Shaw on the matter of money and wealth. When asked about his rise from modest means to great wealth, he replied…”I’ve been rich, and I have been poor…rich is better.”

      I don’t think it is really necessary to elaborate on that point, but it suggests the chronic misunderstanding from which some of our friends like R&R suffer. He/ they make far too many assumptions about others motives.

      I am not a man of great wealth, but I have been both a very successful home builder and a homeless gypsy. I have been broke as a joke and have been called “the rich guy on the hill”. I have been happy under both conditions..

      Moderates often suffer from the arrogance of certitude.

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      1. We have always been at war with Freedonia.  And we have always forgotten Freedonia!

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      2. Never been rich. I've been poor and middle class.  Middle class is better.

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   3. But there IS a war on vegetables. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/01/17/usda-proposes-changing-school-menus-allow-more-fries-pizza-fewer-vegetables-fruits-reversing-michelle-obama-effort/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_usda-230p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

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3. Well THIS should be interesting …

   President Trump has expanded his legal team to include three well-known lawyers, Harvard emeritus law professor Alan Dershowitz and former independent counsels Kenneth W. Starr and Robert Ray, according to person familiar with the development.

    

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   1. I saw that. Starr's argument will be that without a cum-stained dress or a cigar, there can be grounds for removal.

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   2. Starr and Ray had sworn testimony – something this president does not allow.

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4. Yesterday was opening day in the Hawaii legislature. In the opening remarks they called out my mom to acknowledge it is her last session.

   Everyone started applauding and then a number of the legislators stood up. And then you had every legislator on their feet, and then the people up in the stands. It was a wonderful acknowledgement of her service and how much she's cherished across the spectrum.

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   1. BTW, in the Hawaii Capitol, which is a stunning building that so fits Hawaii, there's a balcony up above the legislature and that's where anyone can sit to watch & listen. It's a cool setup.

      And the back side of it is full glass toward the inner atrium of the building so you have full sunlight coming in.

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      1. Your mom is a beautiful soul from the inside-out David. I’ve worked with a lot of Republican state legislators on hemp bills over the past decade and she is by far my favorite. If today’s Republican party reflected her values they’d have a bright future. She’ll be missed. 

         You’re spot on about the building. It’s stunning.

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5. So, apperently, Rep Susan Beckman is resigning in HD38 to take a job with the Rump administration.

   https://www.coloradopolitics.com/legislature/colorado-state-rep-susan-beckman-to-resign-to-join-the/article_43c6176c-392a-11ea-a6ca-ffcf43205c32.html?fbclid=IwAR1DaKbpvp9v13qjQxwzUFWKrOhYjzKNWfizfA-XIfUsAzjrKANnXyPy8h4

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6. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump-may-be-even-more-unpopular-than-his-approval-rating-shows/

   Interesting. Apparently asking about Trump directly might be like asking Americans if they go to church on Sunday. Ask them what they did on Sunday without mentioning church and suddenly self-reported attendance drops in half. As do studies involving actual sampling counts. ( https://churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.html )

   When asked to compare him to other Republicans, Trump is viewed about as favorably as Sarah Palin.

   This also makes me wonder about the popularity of Obama and his policies. How might Democrats rate the former president if comparing him to other Democrats? Was he, in fact, as wildly popular as he seemed or just a the head of the party that people felt the need to defend?

   Particularly when talking to the press there is a suspicion that the reporters are looking for blood and many people who love their party will close ranks when asked direct questions.

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7. Here is a combination of names I didn't expect to see as authors of a common stance: 

   Reps. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Chip Roy (R-Tex.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) are members of the House of Representatives.

   The eclectic mix of US Representatives  write in the Washington Post that We differ in our politics. We agree on Congress’s power to declare war.

   In the face of geopolitical challenges and transnational threats, it is more important than ever that Congress affirm its willingness to do its job, debate the hardest of topics and vote — expressing the will of the people — on the wars that may take the lives of those we represent.

   At a time of divisive, angry partisanship, the call to do right by our service members, their families and the Constitution is one that can and should unite us.

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8. This is pretty damn solid of Beto…

   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/elections-2020/flipping-the-texas-house-inside-democrats-effort-to-turn-a-red-state-blue/ar-BBZ3i7I?ocid=spartandhp

    

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