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March 25, 2016 07:34 AM UTC

Friday Open Thread

  • 60 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”

–Sir Isaac Newton

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60 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread”

  1. Is the world created in The Walking Dead the perfect world for conservatives?

    The government is non-existent. Everyone has guns. You don't have to deal with other countries. All you need is your faith, family and ammo. It's perfect!

    1. Guess we should start using The Walking Dead as shorthand for 21st century Conservative Paradise. More up to date than Somalia, taking into considertation all the holier than thou guns and Christian family values stuff as well as the Somalia style shrink government to bathtub drowning size and then drown it because privatized everything economics rock.

      1. Genius. 

        Add the crumbling infrastructure, that is barely "good enough", and no Obamacare to their Utopia. Actually, they'd blame Obamacare for the zombie outbreak.

    1. But of course the last thing conservatives who defend to the death every socialized subsidy lavished on the various big business, finance, energy and industrial sectors really want is actual unfettered, every man for himself (sorry… every man or woman for his or herself is a little clumsy) free market economics. They wouldn't be able to have privatized profit subsdized by the public while socializing all the risk. What fun would that be? 

      1. Oooh! This gives me an idea. Since corporations are people now, we should treat people like corporations! Then if we mess up, we can get bailed out!

  3. The National Enquirer, which is the newspaper of record for much of the Tea Party, is reporting today that Ted Cruz has no less than five, count 'em, five, mistresses.

    Timing, of course, is everything. No sooner did Lindsey Graham, JEB!, Mittens and our very own Moderatus endorse Rafael Eduardo Cruz that the feces struck the oscillator and all hell breaks loose. These guys would trip over themselves to get in line for the last tickets for the Titanic's maiden voyage.

    I still feel sorry for Heidi. Not only is she married to someone no one can stand being around and who is indescribably creepy looking, but now she's being cheated on. 

    OTOH, if Ted is getting it with one or more of the mistresses, maybe Heidi gets a reprieve and doesn’t have to sleep with him.

      1. And the Donald thinks getting into the whole adultery rumor thing is a good move? It's not as if his adultery is just  a rumor. Isn't he the guy who divorced his wife and married his mistress with an iron clad prenup pretty much for the sole purpose of giving their child a name and then promptly divorced her too?

        Also heard the beans he was going to spill were about Mrs. Cruz having had treatment for depression, something that she doesn't hide and has become so acceptable that not only would it not be damaging to Cruz but would make Trump look even, yes it really is possible, worse.

        If Trump was as smart as his fans think he is he would have just made a dignified statement after that nude picture of his former model wife came out. Nobody would have believed Cruz had nothing to do with it and Cruz is the one who would have looked bad. He's already known for nasty dirty ticks. This would have been chalked up as another one. Instead Trump completely and immediately erased that advantage by looking a thousand times worse and with no deniability because he says and retweets this stuff himself.

        He's such a complete asshole he just can't can't help himself. He can manage to look a little more presidential for a couple of minutes here and there but that's it. I'm sorry. I keep hearing about how Trump supporters are mainly nice, not stupid, not racist, not bigoted people. That's getting harder and harder to buy.

        1. Your last paragraph summarizes my feelings about Trump. If his views on government matched mine, I still wouldn't vote for him because he's a fucking asshole and I don't want a fucking asshole for a President.

        2. Put yourself in these shoes:  You're a Republican strolling down the aisle today at your local GOPer Megamart — and all you see on any of the shelves are those four-year supply boxes of Cruz Biscuits and Drümpf Flakes …

          … what're you gonna' be serving the in-laws for Passover/Easter brunch ???

        4. It's 'Dog Eat Dog' … and they're out of napkins.  Paging housekeeping: someone spilled the beans in Aisle 3. 

          "Spilling the beans is quite simple when it comes to Heidi Cruz," Pierson said in an interview with MSNBC's Steve Kornacki. 

          "She is a Bush operative; she worked for the architect of NAFTA, which has killed millions of jobs in this country; she was a member on the Council on Foreign Relations who — in Sen. Cruz's own words, called a nest of snakes that seeks to undermine national sovereignty; and she's been working for Goldman Sachs, the same global bank that Ted Cruz left off of his financial disclosure," Pierson said. 

          "Her entire career has been spent working against everything Ted Cruz says that he stands for," she added. 

           

           

          2. Problem for Trump…. Mrs. Cruz isn't running for anything but he is and he's living in a glass house on so many fronts. Just for starters how about all the products he's sold (at least until delaring bankruptcy for the company involved) produced in China and Mexico? How many of his (at least nominally) projects employ imported workers, not Amercans? Him, not his wife.  

            Team Ted or PACs supporting Ted tossing mud at big tough swaggering bully Trump doesn't make Cruz look a zillionth as bad as Trump, personally, with his own twitter account, tossing mud at Mrs. Cruz, a civilian in this battle.

            Another problem…. selling Mrs Cruz as a less appropriate First Lady than his own wife. I'm not saying that being foreign born and a former model should be held against Mrs. Trump but is a battle of who better fits the popular conception of what a First Lady is supposed to be one in which Mrs. Trump has the advantage and Mrs. Cruz the disadvantage? I don't think so.

            This won't hurt him with his supporters (what would?) and probably won't cause him to lose the nomination to Cruz but it doesn't help him either. It doesn't get him more primary support than he already has, does lose him some from folks on the fence and it does hurt him looking forward to the general.

            It just goes back to his inability to stop being an asshole because he's too much of one to have any ability to sustain any effort to cover it up a little.

            1. David Brooks, not exactly a flaming liberal, sums it up best:

              I'll Miss Barack Obama

              No, Obama has not been temperamentally perfect. Too often he’s been disdainful, aloof, resentful and insular. But there is a tone of ugliness creeping across the world, as democracies retreat, as tribalism mounts, as suspiciousness and authoritarianism take center stage.

              Obama radiates an ethos of integrity, humanity, good manners and elegance that I’m beginning to miss, and that I suspect we will all miss a bit, regardless of who replaces him.

               

              1. It's been a tough bunch of recent years for earnestly polite, moderately conservative David Brooks. But see him here in full Pollyanna look on the bright side mode, imagining that in the imminent demise of the present day GOP the seeds for a by golly just swell bigger and better future GOP.  So… this whole Trump thing is really great news for Rs, boys and girls.smiley

                http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/opinion/the-post-trump-era.html

          3. In other Presidential news, Ted Cruz declares that he doesn't want to fuck rats, (at least not rats like . . . 

            https://newrepublic.com/minutes/132084/ted-cruz-gentleman-calls-enemies-rodent-copulators

             

            And the Rat says he hopes the Enquirer's lies (he's probably responsible for) aren't true — be sure to read them though! . . . 

            https://newrepublic.com/minutes/132085/trump-hope-national-enquirer-often-gets-things-right-wrong-ted-cruz-liar

             

            Happy GOPer Easter, Republicans!

             

              1. Only in America could Eduardo Rafael, a Canadian-born Cuban, re-invent himself as a southern, white xenophobe and run for President.  

            2. Ted Cruz's remark about copulating with a rat was the single most WTF-bizarro disgusting comment of this campaign season. How can Republican voters choose amongst these guys? No wonder so many are deserting their party to vote for Democratic candidates.

    3. I'd like to get it with Ted's hands.  I'm not so worried about calculating the motion of the Heavens as the temperature of the water on the stove.

  4. Five! What, a girl in every port? Or are they supposedly his state campaign chairs?

    You’ll have to tell us, Frank, because I would only be caught dead with that rag.

  5. BTW. RCP poll averages including the time frame of Obama's Cuba trip and Brussels show that his approval ratings are improving at a faster steadier clip than before, despite Trump, Cruz and all the other hysterics like Giuliani who claims that his remaining in Cuba after Brussels is just as if FDR had taken vacation time after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

    That's right. Giuliani thinks a terrorist attack in Brussels presents the identical level of threat and should invoke the identical level of panic as Japan, then a member of the Axis waging real, not metaphoric, world war including massive armies, massive invasions and occupations with whole nations defeated, invading our territory to destroy most of our Pacific Fleet. Completely equivalent. Also HRC created ISIS.

    Apparently the public that already hates Obama still hates him but he's rising in positive approval territory and the GOP isn't winning new converts to their let's all run around like chickens without our heads and be just as terrified into doing stupid stuff as the terrorists could possibly ask for approach to dealing with terrorism.

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

    1. Obama's approvals are on a rebound because folks realize what a good thing they've had for the last seven years and he is going to be a FORCE in the general election.  Should be fun.  I'm licking my chops over the prospects of distraught Republicans wandering aimlessly around after November.

  6. it's hilarious how R's have been so sensitive about what their various presidential losers are saying about each other. 

    If you take about 5 minutes on the Googs you could probably find thousands of similar, though usually worse, statements about Obama, his spouse, his kids, his government fabricated by any number of talk show hosts, columnists, and dense and daft politicians, repeated ad nauseam, injected thoroughly into the discourse, able to be invoked with a few words, and never to be removed nor corrected by the facts.

  7. Pointless, harmful posturing by the Colorado GOP:

    Colorado lawmakers move to shut state air quality division

    What does the Colorado GOP win by not not funding CDPHE's work on the President's Clean Power Plan?

    They're not saving the state any money.

    The division's budget is not paid with taxpayer dollars, and if no action is taken the money in the cash fund will sit in an account untouched.

    In fact, by laying off 95 state employees they will cost the state money in unemployment.

    They're also taking away local control…

    "It is an unintended consequence of what they have done that they will be working with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, instead of CDPHE, when it comes to controlling air pollution," said CDPHE director Larry Wolk.

    So what other purpose does this serve besides looking like a toddler temper tantrum?

    1. The irony that these bumpkins wear their self-professed 'pro-faux life' bona fides on their sleeve.  The costs of the negative externalities of coal are horrendous; but-not-for the money from the likes of Koch, Inc., we'd have regulated aromatics out of our gasoline supply long ago (Congress has had the authority to do so under the Clean Air Act for a decade; oil money on Capitol Hill is proven to be a faithful prophylactic).  

      Thanks to the early leadership of Bill Ritter on our energy transition, and structuring our efforts in a way that gives us credit for being an early adopter, we're well on our way of meeting the CCP goals (in most part, again, 'no thanks' to the then-republican caucus minority).  All this, while building one of the most vibrant state economies in the nation and adding billions of new tax base for the eastern plains.

      We can all look forward to this insurgency coming to an end with the November election. As a former Colorado Republican of 32 years, it can't come soon enough. 

       

       

        2. Check this one out…the largest industrial hemp expo in the US (now in its third year) and happening next weekend in Loveland.  http://nocohempexpo.com

          BTW – this video never grows old.  For years our government denied its existence..the same government who thinks Schedule 1 (on par with cocaine and heroine) is an appropriate designation for a plant we co-existed with for 12,000 years. The experiment isn't legalization, the experiment was Prohibition.  Let's just get over ourselves. 

           

  8. Cruz has responded to the allegations, calling them "garbage" and "lies."  In for a penny, in for a pound.  Who knows with these guys.  All the dick talk and everything else, maybe they have to prove to themselves that they're a man every night.  Does seem to happen regularly with right wing religious folks.

  9. As a Catholic, Papa Francis has once-again made me proud to embrace the validity of an authentic, Christian message – one that is instructive on how we should strive to treat our fellow man.  What I love about all of you friends here on CP is that we have a place where spiritual beliefs run the gamut; it doesn't result in the destruction of division, it gives us the power of addition.

    My maternal grandparents were wonderful, small dairy farmers in Minnesota.  Salt of the Earth.  Solid Democrats.  My paternal grandparents, eastern Colorado farmers, were equally as wonderful.  Mostly agnostic.  I learned a great many life lessons from all of them.  I was raised Catholic and honor the lives of my Catholic relatives who came before me; their commitment to social justice is in my DNA.  

    I love the Pagan history, the rituals…and yes, even the ridicule; I won't be silent about the Churches past or present atrocities.  You don't need to embrace any religion to understand the power of resurrection at a personal level; some of my best friends and the finest human souls I know have no religion at all.  I love all of them – and I'm thankful that so many of you on here are part of my daily routine. 

    Happy Good Friday to all of you (which I've already screwed up with my not-so-veggie omelet this morning). 

    1. All the best on Good Friday from a Jewish friend and congrats on the greatest Pope ever. At least that's the way he seems to me and all the Jewish people I know who, frankly, up until now have never cared all that much for any of them.

        1. I'm sticking with greatest ever because he's so inclusive and so much more focused on and connected to people over doctrine, ostentatious display of the wealth of the Church and the trappings and privileges of the office. That makes him a Pope that anyone, Catholic or not, Christian or not, can love and admire even if you don’t give a rat’s ass about Christian doctrine.

          Not to put too fine a point on it but, as an example, everyone in my Jewish family thinks the world of this Pope and we honestly, how can I put this politely… ummmm, can't so here's the plain truth….. never  gave a damn about any other modern one and have serious issues with Popes of the historic past. I'd take Francis over John XXIII any day of the week. If he came to Denver I'd want to go see him and I never would have bothered to cross the street to see any other Pope.

    2. I'm a pagan leaning atheist going to a Jesuit college with an evangelical Christian daughter thanks to my Sunday School teaching mother-in-law (and we all get along great). This pope makes me proud to choose a Jesuit college.

      Whether you're in it for the bunnies or Jesus or just the chocolate and jelly beans, Have a good Easter Sunday.

      Why is it called "Good Friday" anyway? Is it because Jesus dying turned out to be a good thing?

        2. It's pretty obvious that religions build on what came before so ancient customs, especially those surrounding spring fecundity and winter gratitude for the sun making a comeback, get coopted by newer religions. Let's piss all the fundamentalists of all religious persuasions off and call it …..evolution.

    3. Happy Easter to you too Michael.  Agree that this pope walks the walk.

      Below is my Facebook post to my friends and family today.  Happy Easter everyone.

      Today is the 2nd anniversary of my date of diagnosis for Parkinson's Disease. My son Eric kidded me this morning about making a big deal about it but just like a birthday there times when it feels right to pause and look at my past, present and future and reflect on what it is that my life is about now post-diagnosis.

      Obviously things have changed in my life since my diagnosis and it has been a humbling experience filled with fear, frustration, focus and yes even fun. I'm am so thankful for my friends and family who have comforted me and helped me deal with all the physical and emotional aspects of my disease. I've found that hugs and humor are as important to living with my disease as medications and procedures. To all of you who have helped me get through the tough times including my CP literary buddies, my sincere thanks.

      I am still in what is considered early stage and am embarked on a regimen of exercise and take a drug that extends the dopamine that is still being produced by my body and a drug that acts as a neural protector for my remaining brain cells that produce dopamine. I am also engaged in some clinical trials at the University of Colorado Health Center. I feel like l owe it to those Parkinson patients who came before me and volunteered and to those who will come after me to help find cures or better treatments for dealing with this debilitating disease. Whether these new drugs work or I get a placebo, I have a lot of respect for the dedication of the researchers and have no problems participating in their research. It looks like they are now focused on Lewy Body's and deformed Alpha-synuclein proteins.

      The biggest thing that I have learned over the last two years is to not take the present moment for granted. The long term prognosis for my health is not pretty but after obsessing for an inordinate amount of time about my bleak future and mourning about not being the person I was, I realized that it robs me twice. It robs me of my future and it robs me of being alive in the present moment. I decided not to waste the time still available to me to express all the great eternal human attributes in my life like kindness, courage, cleverness and a passion for living.

      It turns out that I faced a binary question. When you get knocked down are you going to stay down or get back up? It is your choice what you decide to do. Wallowing around in self-pity and self-hatred is a pretty lame way to live compared to being mindful of the opportunities in every moment that are still available. I'm much more focused now on being in the present moment and being at my best regardless of my physical condition. I heard it described as practicing the discipline of gratitude. We all die some day and we all face the challenge of making the most of our moments. I still have low moments and physically hurt but I feel like I'm not sleep walking through my life anymore distracted by the frivolous.

      "This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it". Psalm 118:24 – Attributed to King David 1040-970 BC.

      3. Best wishes for your recovery, Gilpin Guy, and we can all use the reminder to live in the present.

        Last week, I had a blast coloring a bunch of eggs for my Unitarian church kiddos to find. Then we had a brief ritual for Ostara, which was the original fertility – goddess for spring equinox, and the origin of the bizarro Easter rabbit and egg motifs, with a sacramental chocolate bunny. Yum.

        This week, I'm going to color more eggs and share them with family in Aurora, some of whom profess to be various flavors of Christian, agnostic, or Jewish. I'll leave y'all with the lame religious analogy a Lakota friend shared a few years back (right before he totalled my car):

        "God is like the opening to the sky at the top of the tepee, and all of the different religions are like the tepee poles. They all go up to the light."

    4. Very well said, Michael.

      There is only one thing I know for sure… I know nothing for sure. But I have faith. The object of my faith is the business of no other. Nor is it an imperative for any soul but my own. 

      Love your neighbor as yourself… judge not that you be not judged…don't eat too much chocolate…love to you all

       

       

    1. I'm looking at that, and I have to ask myself …

      … being a Republican, how could you not vote for this guy!!!!!

      Roll, Charlie, roll !!!

      (ps. Love the color palette, must be the 32-count box?!?)

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