Wednesday Open Thread
Well, I’ve had an interesting morning so far. The police knocked on my door at 2 AM to inform us that me and my husband’s cars had been vandalized with graffiti. Apparently some geniuses went through the neighborhood and spray painted a lot of cars and even some houses. My husband and I then spent an hour and half scrubbing the cars down to get the worst of the graffiti off. It’s not all gone (we’re making an insurance claim), but car no longer has a racial slur written on the side and my husband’s car no longer has a giant penis on it. So, I’m hoping your day is better than mine so far. Let’s start an open thread.
In a way, Amanpour, scheduled to leave CNN after 18 years of international coverage and take over the program in August, could be seen as the opposite of the perfect candidate. “This Week” deals mainly in domestic politics and inside-the-Beltway palaver, an area where Amanpour is widely considered to deficient. Consider: Whenever CNN has thrown one of its big election-night, convention, or presidential debate spectaculars, drafting nearly every living staff member to appear, Amanpour has had a conspicuously low profile.
And even though Amanpour has often been touted for her expertise on foreign affairs, she has vocal and passionate critics in that arena as well. Supporters of Israel have more than once charged Amanpour with bias against that country and its policies. A Web site devoted to criticism of Amanpour is titled, with less than a modicum of subtlety, “Christiane Amanpour’s Outright Bias Against Israel Must Stop,” available via Facebook.
Amanpour grew up in Great Britain and Iran. Her family fled Tehran in 1979 at the start of the Islamic revolution, when she was college age. She has steadfastly rejected claims about her objectivity, telling Leslie Stahl last year relative to her coverage of Iran: “I am not part of the current crop of opinion journalists or commentary journalists or feelings journalists. I strongly believe that I have to remain in the realm of fact.”
Shales then cites for evidence the conservative idiot site of Newsbusters. So what is Shales saying, exactly? Is he saying that because Amanpour is Iranian-American that she’s kind of suspicious? I think it’s an interesting choice myself. I think ABC may be trying an experiment to take the Sunday shows in a new direction, which is desperately needed, IMO.
Washington State’s idiot AG forgot to inform the governor that he was joining an anti-HCR lawsuit.
You can hear her here, on the Dave Ross Show from today. She is filing a brief against him. Open warfare in the State House in Olympia! I love it, except that I’d love more for McKenna to back off and stop doing this to Washington State. You can also watch Chris Gregoire’s response when she first heard about this:
I think the GOP is going to totally overreach on the HCR opposition. Right now Republicans are spending hours fighting the reconciliation bill, in effect defending the Cornhusker Kickback. Some Republicans have already started walking back the HCR repeal talk – I guess they can see the commercials about how Sen. X wants to ban you for pre-exisiting conditions.
Tags: Open Thread
In six months when the law takes effect, we can begin covering the first post-HCR rescissions.
Damn, UI, that is horrible. Was it a political attack (like did you have Obama stickers on your car)?
U.I. So very sorry about the vandals that hit your car last night.
I don’t think it was a political attack, they hit several cars and houses in the neighborhood. I was able to wash it off enough so that it’s driveable but you can see the pictures at these links.
My car
Free Radical’s car
I’m taking my car for an estimate tomorrow.
There is a line in Pulp Fiction that this vandalism reminds me of.
It would be worth them doing it, just to catch them doing it.
I have had my car broken into in the wee hours of the night in front of my house and the desire to wring someone’s neck is strong.
U.I., That is absolutely deplorable. Not only is it offensive and you feel violated, but you have no idea of who to be mad at. I am impressed with your clean up work though! Was this reported to the media? It seems if it was a neighborhood, it should be publicized….Were other cars broken into or just spray painted???
There are much worse things that can happen I know, but you cant help but wonder what is wrong with people….
How awful, UI. I’m so sorry.
That is really terrible, UI — I am really sorry about your cars.
Yeah, that’s the cleanup job we managed to do from 2-4 AM with flashlights. It was a relief to get the awful words and images off at least. I guess the damage could have been worse, they didn’t slash the tires or key it or anything. Some of the vandalism in the neighborhood was extremely vile. Our neighbor’s car had a swastika painted on the hood with a message “I hate n*ggas.”
I think everyone’s assuming a group of juveniles or young adults from the neighboring subdivision (judging by their path).
I had a similar thing happen to me about 15 years ago when I lived in an apartment. Came out one morning to find “ASSHOLE” spray painted across the side of my car, and, bizarrely, what appeared to be birthday cake smeared on it as well. Never found out who did it. All we could figure is that someone with a car like mine forgot someone’s birthday. And yes, my car was then referred to as the “Asshole-mobile” by my friends for what seemed like a disturbingly long time.
a good bodyshop will be able to remove graffiti without damaging the cars paint as long as you act quikly.
ACORN Formally Disbands; May Reform Under New Name
NLPC ^ | March 23, 2010 | Carl Horowitz
If character is destiny, then the demise of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, was almost inevitable. ACORN, or what’s left of it, yesterday announced that it will officially cease to exist as of next Thursday, April 1. The move wasn’t entirely unexpected. Only a week earlier, the nationwide nonprofit anti-poverty group’s Maryland chapter announced it had closed shop, with no plans to reopen; the New York and California state chapters did likewise shortly before, reopening under new names. The national group is currently considering whether to file for bankruptcy.
A virtual adjunct of the Democratic Party’s hard Left, the 400,000-member nationwide nonprofit anti-poverty network had undergone a severe loss of credibility in the wake of publicized investigations into embezzlement, tax fraud and voter registration fraud by its members. As a result, much of its funding has dried up. The ACORN national board on Sunday closed its remaining affiliates in order to secure assets and pay off debts. Still, there is every reason to believe that the organization will reinvent itself under a new name.
Not sure where you live U.I., but there has been a rash of racial graffiti in Bear around Governors Square–Swastikas and racial epithets on buildings, etc. Sad that people having nothing more constructive to do….
I’m sorry, UI. I hope they catch them.
That response by Chris Gregoire to the AG joining in the fanciful lawsuits against HCR was awesome. She made it really clear that he was quite off of the reservation, since his usual clients certainly did not endorse it. The PA AG is doing this too, and I heard Ed Rendell say in no uncertain terms that this was a wasted effort and a waste of taxpayer resources. Fortunately, our AG is not rushing towards this madness, but I hope that there are people in every state where AGs are doing this who are insisting on an accounting of just how much money and time they are spending on this. Because you know that they are giving up on doing real work on behalf of their States just to get their wingnut cred on.
Some more folks just got educated on global warming.
I’m in the Newark area, so I don’t think it’s the same group of people but who knows.
UI–when I checked my phone this morning for texts, I was gonna give you grief for blogging in the middle of the night. I was very sorry to hear the reason.
We had a car vandalized within the first week we moved to a townhouse development in Greenbelt, MD, MANY years ago. We got that 2am wake-up call from the police. It sucks.
The Senate Republicans are ridiculous. Here’s a taste of some of the amendments they’re offering on the HCR reconciliation bill:
Nice to see Republicans have so much time to waste.
Nice to see Republicans have so much time to waste.
It’s not like they’re wasting their time doing menial work like making laws or anything.
good thing Obama is closing Gitmo…
Former Gitmo detainee targeting Afghan charities (released by Obama)
longwarjournal.org ^ | March 24, 2010 | Thomas Joscelyn & Bill Roggio
A former Guantanamo detainee transferred from the detention facility to Afghanistan on Dec. 19, 2009, has already returned to the Taliban’s ranks, according to multiple intelligence officials contacted by the Long War Journal. The former detainee was identified in documents produced at Guantanamo as Abdul Hafiz (as well as an alternative name, Abdul Qawi) and given an internment serial number of 1030.
During the more than six years he was held at Guantanamo, Hafiz was repeatedly identified as “a suspect in the murder of an International Red Cross worker in Afghanistan.” Memos produced at Guantanamo also alleged that Hafiz participated in the jihad against the Soviets, ran madrassas and recruited young men to fight for the Taliban, was “responsible for maintaining contacts with Mullah Mohammed Omar,” and fought in a 40-man militia comprised of fighters from the Taliban and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s insurgency group. [For a profile of Hafiz, see LWJ report: “Gitmo detainee implicated in Red Cross murder transferred to Afghanistan.”]
The video here is funny — George W. Bush wipes his hand on Bill Clinton.
Dear World: We are still really sorry we inflicted this guy on you!
Colorado’s AG joined the suit, against the wishes of the Governor and the General Assembly. My friends out there told me that the Joint Budget Committee is going to put in specific language banning the use of taxpayer money to pursue the suit. Thankfully both the state house and state senate are controlled by rationally thinking Democrats.
Kanye was right! He was also right that Beyonce is better than Taylor Swift. Free Kanye!!!!
Put that in the form of an amendment, and I’m sure David Vitter would be happy to submit it.
I would like to put in an amendment that Republican Members of Congress have to put in full working days. No more goofing off after 2 PM.
No. Separate it out, and write it up as the Get the F#@k to Work Act of 2010. I’m sure Grayson would sponsor it in the House.
I would like to see an amendment that Republican Members of Congress be banned from sleeping in their offices instead of renting an apartment in DC.
Or living on “church grounds”. C what I mean?
It appears that the Dear Leader has signed the Stupak bribe..er.. I mean, the Anti-Abortion EO in private without the press or 22 pens.
Link?
Speaking of vandalism, it seems the teabaggers are taking up the gauntlet – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/24/tom-perriello-tea-party_n_511874.html
ABCNews.com > Politics > Health Care Reform
Obama to Sign Executive Order on Abortion Today
Health Care Debate Is Far From Over, Republicans Say
By JAKE TAPPER and HUMA KHAN
March 24, 2010
President Obama today signed an executive order banning federal funding for abortion, as he had promised to anti-abortion Democrats. But even though the health care bill is signed, sealed and delivered, Republicans across the country are plotting a strategy to repeal it by challenging the law’s constitutionality in court.
James Carville and Kevin Madden discuss the Republicans push to repeal the law. The executive order is intended to ensure that current law limiting federal funding for abortion is maintained and it will extend the restrictions to the newly created health insurance exchanges. Under the current law, federal funds cannot go toward abortion except in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the pregnant woman is at risk.
Unlike yesterday’s bill-signing celebrations in the East Room and the Department of the Interior, the president signed this executive action behind closed doors, with nary a camera present and no reporters allowed.
Obama pledged to sign it in exchange for the votes of anti-abortion Democrats, led by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who will be present at the signing today.
Obomba was against the Hyde amendment before he was for it.
UI–that just stinks w/ the vandalism–used to be spring meant the games of doorbell ditch to start again–not doorbell, and real policeman standing there. SORRY–is Earl Scheib still in business?
When we (my bride and I) lived in Pike Creek, someone broke into our Jeep, stole the radio and peed all over the inside. We got a new Jeep.
Robert Culp died today. Culp, along with Bill Cosby, came to fame in the hit detective series “I Spy” in the 1960’s (one of my favorites growing up. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postmortem/2010/03/actor-robert-culp-dead.html?hpid=artslot
Why the Bond Auction Fizzled: Fears of a ‘Fiscal Train Wreck’
CNBC ^ | March 24, 2010 | Steve Liesman
The results of today’s Treasury auction were a shot across the bow of the government.
And, according to David Zervos, head of fixed income strategy at Jeffries, may be an indication of just how skittish some investors are feeling about the fiscal soundness of the United States, in light of big government spending for health care and other costly programs.
“It’s the health-care realization trade,” Zervos told CNBC, post-auction, from the firm’s trading floor. “We’re coming to grips with the fact that we have a Congress that’s ready to go, and spend.”
Zervos, who worked at the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC last year as a visiting advisor, also characterized the government’s recent initiatives as a “fiscal train wreck” that shows a lack of restraint. He predicted the health-care bill will yield trillions of dollars in debt (marketable).
Investors showed scant interest in the latest round of debt auctions: Depressed demand today in five-year note sales pushed Treasury yields up. The $42 billion sale drew a yield of 2.065 percent, full 10 basis points, or 0.10 percentage points—up from the where the five-year was trading when the results came out at 1 p.m.
Jefferies’ Chief Financial Economist Ward McCarthy agreed with his colleague and told CNBC, “There’s a lot of concern about what’s happening on a fiscal basis. We have enormous budget deficiencies, and Congress and the Administration really have done nothing to address that. In fact, the recent legislation on health care is going to increase our budget deficits by over a trillion dollars.”
In a related discussion, McCarthy also told CNBC the economic rebound is moving forward, but his expectations were muted: He predicted a “fair to middling” recovery, and added that “it’s going to take some time before we generate strong growth.”
Reported by Steve Liesman, written by Michelle Lodge
Who knows the answer to this: HB 60…who were the sponsors? Who voted for it.
JK: YOu can look that up at the General Assembly web site.