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January 20, 2011 04:43 PM UTC

Thursday Open Thread

  • 42 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience, so that they believe they are as clever as he.”

–Karl Kraus

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42 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread”

        1. Have you forgotten everything you learned in junior high, RSB?

          If you talk to the “cool kids” like that, then next thing you know, you’ll become their target.

          1. doesn’t that make me one of the cool* kids

            *cool of course being a relative term as almost everyone who posts here is a geek, dork, nerd, goober, or weirdo.

  2. h/t Dave Barry

    45% Of Students Don’t Learn Much In College

    The research of more than 2,300 undergraduates found 45 percent of students show no significant improvement in the key measures of critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing by the end of their sophomore years.

    Great Dane’s and Man’s ashes snorted by Suspects

    Five people accused of robbing a home in Marion County last month admit they stole and snorted what they thought was cocaine. Turns out, the powder was actually the ashes of a woman’s father and her two Great Danes.

    N.C. man calls 911 to request prostitute

    A 42-year-old man has been arrested and charged with calling 911 to request a hooker, according to an arrest report obtained by the Lexington Dispatch. Records show Lonnie Michael Felts called 911 three times on Sunday.

    MUM Leigh McPherson bought a singing toy puppy for her baby daughter

    It sang: “If you’re happy and you know it f*** with me, if you’re happy and you know it f**k with me, if you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it f*** with me!”

  3. The local right wing blogs are all a twitter about comments Senator Cheri Jahn made to the Denver Business Journal recently:

    “When legislation comes through, the very first thing I am going to look at is:  How will it effect [sic] my business and my ability to operate and to expand and to maintain what I am doing.”

    “And if it is going to hurt me, I am not going to support it.”

    I thought I voted for her to look at how legislation would affect me and the people in Colorado – that should be the “first” thing that she “looks” at. This kind of attitude from Democrats in the state legislature is why we had to pass a state minimum wage by inititive and referendum.

    1. seems you should be happy.

      Of course, without a link it’s hard to say anything about it.  Strange that when I Google the comment all I get are right wing blogs.  No links there either.  Have the original article?

        1. Now go back and read your stupid diary for my comment.

          I’m not a rabid Jahn fan or anything, but you really should get your story straight before getting pissed off at, you know, whatever it is you’re mad about.

          1. I confirmed the quote in the DBJ before I posted this.  The fact that you lack the initiative or intellectual capacity to do it yourself is not my problem.

            As I noted in my the comments to my Diary post, the DBJ provides no context for the quote.  Given the policy here about quoting copyrighted text from other publications, I reprinted only the direct quotes from Jahn. However, there was nothing else in the article which would have changed the meaning of what the quote says on its face.

            I generally do not engage in ad hominem attacks, except when I am attacked first. So, as for you calling me a liar, my only response is that you are obviously a self-impressed idiot.

            1. You said that the quote was in the preview.  It’s not.  Anyway, my problem isn’t that the quote exists, it’s that you’re readiong right wing blogs and forming opinions without reading whole pieces.

              But hey, throw around “idiot” all you want, genius.

  4. Anyone know anything about this guy? There’s an article in the paper that must not be quoted about him. He’s a real-estate guy in ski areas so I’m guessing economic development will mean more ski tourists.

    I wish Hick had appointed someone who would be focused on high-tech, green energy, or bio-tech. Those industries provide much better jobs than ski resorts on average.

    But with that said, here’s hoping Dwayne can help some segment of the business community.

      1. Hick is a pretty damn good businessman…I think he picked this guy for a reason.  Maybe if nothing else he’s smart enough to ask other people for help if he doesn’t know the answer himself….

    3. http://www.related.com/ourcomp…

      In his visit to Fruita last week, Hick already said that he was going emphasize tourism.  It should come as no surprise that he picked someone associated with the ski industry.

      Although the service jobs are crappy, the construction jobs are not.  And tourism brings in outside money–it doesn’t just recycle in-state money.

      So I’m taking a “wait and see” on this.

      Let’s see how this plays out when it’s nut-cutting time and Hick has to choose between hunting and fishing and natural gas development.

  5. ….so, now that the colossal waste of legislative time (AKA the vote to repeal HCR) is over, The Orange Man is free to meander about the various lobbyists outside his office seeking access to various golf courses, and on occasion preen for the cameras and shout “Obamacare!” and “Job-crushing regulations!” for the clueless Fuax News Audience.

    That would imply that there’s actual work going on deep in the GOP Bunker, where a comprehensive, dogma-friendly alternative plan to HCR is ready to be presented on the floor of the House for all to debate.

    (Well, when I say ALL, I mean ALL REPUBLICANS. That whole “open the political process to all members of the House” was just for election season.)

    If only it were so…

    This is just as well with the Republicans, however, as they have not bothered even to begin crafting an alternative. “I don’t know that we need artificial deadlines set up for the committees to act,” Speaker John Boehner said. “We expect them to act in an efficient way, allowing all of their members on their committees to be heard, both Democrats and Republicans.”

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailyb…

    So, to put this into terms that any Repub can understand, the GOP has asked you to sell your car (that, while far from perfect, was running fine) for a car that may or may not be available for purchase in the next two years. And you can’t ask what kind of car it is, what color, or if it’ll even have four wheels and an engine.

    Meanwhile, if you believe the Orange Man and his minions, the threats of Harry Reid to never bring up the bill on the Senate floor are as great a threat to the Republic as a terrorist attack on the House gym.

    Meanwhile, the folks on Fox can pretend, with Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, that (all of a sudden) it is an outrage that the Democratic Senate is playing a dysfunctional role in our democracy. “The American people deserve a full hearing,” Cantor said, “they deserve to see this legislation go to the Senate for a full vote.”

    Nancy Pelosi’s House majority passed fully 300 bills that, as David Weigel reports, “never got anywhere in the Senate,” and that was under a supermajority of the same party. Now all of a sudden one meaningless bill is bottled up and it’s a national emergency. Still, it will sound just great on Fox News…

    Keep it up, Repubs. You’re tenuous hold on the House is dependent on at least appearing to get things done. And you set a high bar for yourself with the flurry of results during the Lame Duck session.

    Please, spend a year hooting and screeching in committee while the White House and the Dems present the good stuff in HCR….

    1. Or wedgie?

      Either way- this kind of theater will be played out in 4-8 week intervals on a variety of issues right up until the first week of Nov 2012.

      If after that, they have a majority in both houses, it will end. If not- it will go on until 2014. And etc.

      1. I’ve ranted on this before – if they introduce a fix (much like the awesome GI Bill 2.0) that address such things as Health Care Costs and removes the penalty for not having Health Ins with an option to open a Health Savings account, they’d have an issue to beat the Repubs with all the way to Nov 2012.

        1. several weeks ago on either MSNBC or CNN.  I believe it was Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC which has some interesting discussions if you have time to watch at 11 a.m.-noon.

  8. Just for Laughing Boy and his steadfast clinging to the talking point that “the stimulus failed.”

    Stimulus kept millions out of poverty: study

    The stimulus bill of 2009 was intended primarily to get the economy going again. But according to a recent study, it had another major benefit: keeping millions of Americans out of poverty. That finding comes just as Congress considers cutting many of the spending programs at issue.

    To get a sense of what appears to have been accomplished, consider this: In 2008, the number of Americans living in poverty rose by 1.7 million, to nearly 47.5 million, according to census data. You’d have expected that number to keep rising in 2009, as unemployment kept going up, and many Americans lost their homes to foreclosure. But in fact, it held steady.

    Why? According to a study released this month by the progressive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, it was thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus bill. The Center found that the bill kept more than 4.5 million people out of poverty in 2009.

    How? In addition to funding infrastructure projects, the stimulus bill also bolstered existing government programs that support struggling Americans, and created new ones. It did so because, as we’ve written, putting more money in the hands of poor people has a greater stimulative effect on the economy, since they have little choice but to spend the money quickly, rather than save it.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_…

    Or, more plainly, Tax Cuts for Millionaires don’t do jack shit.

  9. http://www.washingtonmonthly.c…

    Not that I expect anything less from a ridiculous si9te like The Daily Caller, but I just thought I’d pass this along to anyone who thought that the right had run out of things to blame on anyone with the last name Obama.

    WHEN THE ‘BLAME OBAMA FIRST’ CROWD GOES OVERBOARD…. Visitors to the Daily Caller’s website today were greeted with a remarkable headline: “First Lady’s Anti-Obesity Campaign Could Be Causing More Pedestrian Deaths.” The accompanying piece was entirely serious.

  10. From NBC News First Read, analyzing the results of a recent NBC/WSJ poll:

    But the bigger warning signs in the poll appear directed at the party that’s been in control of the House for just two weeks.

    Only 25% say the Republicans in Congress will bring the right kind of change (versus 42% who said that about the Dems in Jan. 2007, and 37% who said that about the GOP in Jan. 1995). In addition, a majority (55%) believe congressional Republicans will be too inflexible in dealing with Obama, while an equal number (55%) say Obama will strike the right balance.

    And then there’s this: The GOP’s fav/unfav has gone from a net positive in December (38%-37%) to a net negative now (34%-40%). “I think this has been a pretty short Republican honeymoon,” Co-pollster Bill McInturff (R) says. NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart (D) adds, “I think the president has the benefit of the doubt, and the Republicans — based on this data — have the burden of proof.”

    http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com…

    1. Although our favorite righties insist that the GOP victories were about HCR and Obama, they were, as always, about the economy and few believe stopping HCR is going to do anything to fix it.

      It’s the economy, stupid. Grandstanding won’t do a damn thing to fix it.

          1. Supporting Bush in bailing out the banks and going along with Paulsen and Geithener’s recommendations? Sorry, but ever since Obama has taken office Republicans have been awash in schadenfreude every time the unemployment numbers come out.

            Since the economic freefall didn’t even really get going until the fall of 2008, the Democrats certainly saw an opportunity–especially when McCain stumbled over himself in the way he handled it–but they weren’t as smug about the stock market plunging as Republicans have been about unemployment.

  11. Tonight on HBO was the Kennedy Documentary A President to Remember, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his “New Frontier” inauguration speech, in which he rallied a nation falling behind Russia in science and military might. He called for a moon shot, which was accomplished in just 7 years.

    Historically, we face a similar situation, with our country in a seeming free fall economically on the global stage. It is difficult to argue that China and India are serious challengers economically.

    Obama has a chance to rise to the occasion and challenge this country to do better. Oratorically, I believe he has the ability. The real question in my mind, is whether the country, as deeply divided as it is, would come together to match his challenge (which I believe is coming Tuesday night) with the type of unified effort that will be needed.

    I am, uncharacteristically, pessimistic. I hope I am wrong.

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