Friday Open Thread
Welcome to your pre-Memorial Day Friday open thread. Do you have any plans for the long holiday weekend? So far I don’t have any. I’m looking for suggestions, if anyone has them.
A new poll in Nevada shows that Reid could win re-election to the Senate:
A new Mason-Dixon poll in Nevada shows Sue Lowden (R) barely edging Sharron Angle (R) for the Republican Senate nomination to challenge Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), 30% to 29%, followed by Danny Tarkanian (R) at 23%.
In general election match ups, Lowden leads Reid, 42% to 39%, and Tarkanian leads Reid, 42% to 41%. However, Reid leads Angle, 42% to 39%.
It looks like the Republican primary there is going to be a real nail-biter. Who do you think Reid wants to go against – the state’s worst legislator (2 yrs. in a row!) Sharron Angle or gafftastic Chicken Lady Sue Lowden?
This will go absolutely nowhere:
House Republican leaders introduced a bill Thursday to repeal and replace the sweeping healthcare law adopted in late March.
According to Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the measure would repeal the current law and replace it with the alternative the minority party offered to the original healthcare legislation last November.
…
In all, 20 GOP lawmakers co-sponsored the repeal-and-replace bill, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), GOP conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.) and Blunt.
I haven’t found a link yet to the text of the bill. Other co-sponsors named in the article are Wally Herger (R-CA) and Charles Boustany (R-LA).
Tags: Open Thread
Hey, Obama agrees with me: “President Obama uttered three words on Thursday that many of his 43 predecessors twisted themselves into knots trying with varying degrees of success to avoid: ‘I was wrong.’”
“He was wrong, he said, to assume that oil companies were prepared for the worst as he tried to expand offshore drilling. His team did not move with “sufficient urgency” to reform regulation of the industry. In dealing with BP, his administration “should have pushed them sooner” to provide images of the leak, and “it took too long for us” to measure the size of the spill.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28obama.html?hp
Sestak leads Toomey.
I’m sure Toomey can turn it around. Just wait until Pennsylvania voters are introduced to the horrible scandal of Sestak turning down an advisor position with the White House. I’m not sure how he can live down this awful scandal.
Nicholas Negroponte (of One Laptop Per Child fame) is back at the drawing board with this concept, except now it is a ,a href=”http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/05/27/negreponte-one-laptop-per-child-is-now-a-75-android-tablet/”>tablet solution running Android.
The One Laptop Per Child target was a connected laptop in every child’s hands that would cost $100 or less, that would try to bridge the technology gap especially between first world and second and third world ones. The laptop effort never got under a $200/unit cost and had other issues. But Negroponte is definitely still out there trying to get computing power into the hands of kids everywhere.
Former child actor Gary Coleman has died.
What you talkin about MJ ?
…I’m not sure how he can live down this awful scandal.
To be clear, I know you were sarcastic there, UI, but it brings up a point I think about every time this comes up in the news. I sit here and wonder how people are trying to say this would negatively impact Sestak, outside of those who feel wronged by him for ignoring their overtures. I see it in the news and he also gets caught up in the negative light. Why? Because he basically didn’t play along with that crappy game? Good for him. What gets me are those who are shocked (SHOCKED, I SAY) that this happened. Like it’s never happened before. What-thefreak-everrrrr. Oh, it is very much not good that it happened, not good at all. However, most of those in Congress, from both sides of the aisle, that are so pissed off about it, better make sure their stuff don’t stink before making a federal case over it, which is what they are starting to do right now. FWIW, any name recognition issue he may have had state-wide in PA, well, forget it now. He’s got it, for sure. He’s not only now known as the guy who took out Specter, but also the guy who told the administration to pound sand. If you ask me, at this stage of it all, he’s money. This doesn’t reflect where I stand on my view of the guy, that’s just my opinion of what I see as the reality of the situation.
I think your analysis is right on the money, Smitty. Obama is basically confirming Sestak’s account of what happened so it’s not going to hurt Sestak.
Gary Coleman was only 42 years old. It’s sad. He was such a big star when I was a kid.
US toll reaches 1,000 deaths in Afghanistan war.
I’m glad that PS doesn’t have a gun, because he cannot shoot straight. All he fires off here are blanks.
Gary Coleman’s Obit. What’s sad is that all 3 of those kids had problems after the series went off the air.
Comment by anonone @ 4:42 pm:
US toll reaches 1,000 deaths in Afghanistan war.
Why I voted for Cynthia McKinney
01/19/09 – Nothing Changed.
You know what’s lame? The rightwing continuing to flog a non-controversy because they have nothing else. It’s not like they’re thinking of ideas or anything.
It’s so cute how you guys all jump to President Prozac’s defense when there’s any hint of stink coming from his direction. I came here to see how you’d spin the Sestak dust-up and – as usual – you didn’t disappoint.
I figured I’d find a post emphasizing that it was an ADVISORY position, not an actual JOB (as tho an advisory position in the administration wouldn’t indirectly line Sestak’s pockets…whatever, excellent loophole!) I thought for sure the post would also highlight the fact that EVERYONE does it (with no specific examples cited, of course) without even mentioning that Dear Leader promised to be different (how did he put it?….Oh, that’s right…Change!) I was pretty sad, but not terribly surprised, to see that the news didn’t even warrant an actual post on the site. I was, however, amused by the fact that you’ve actually managed to spin it into a positive for Sestak. Well played, partisans. Well played!
I don’t guess it could hurt Sestak even a little to be tied to an administration that’s less than forthcoming at best, corrupt at worst. Never mind that (refreshingly) Toomey isn’t a right-wing Jesus freak, which would make it so much easier to pull the lever in favor of corruption.
If you’ll excuse me, I have to peruse the rest of the site to see your hard-hitting stories of Obama’s bang-up job in the Gulf. I’m half expecting him to have a ‘Heck of a job, Brownie’ moment at his next press conference. Something tells me there are at least four posts on this site emphasizing that a) Obama has done nothing wrong, b) it’s unrealistic to think that the President of the United States of America could do anything more than BP in the situation (like, for instance, call the greatest minds in the world into the effort to resolve the issue), c) Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin and d) this is all Bush’s fault.
I knew from the giddy-up that he could never live up to the hype, but I never expected him to be quite this uninspiring. Watching all of the little minions squirm and stammer, desperately trying find excuses for him has been absolutely delicious. So far, his presidency has been way more entertaining that I ever dreamed. It’s like a dream come true.
Former anti-gay CA legislator speaks out in favor of gay rights. This is after he was caught with man he picked up in a gay bar during a drunk driving bust.
Dominique is back? What happened? The batteries in your best friend go dead?
It figures that, of all the things to blame Obama for, you’d find the two with the least legitimacy.
Seriously I don’t understand why the rightwing is worked up about the Sestak thing. There’s no there, there.
Geezer,
The rightwing can’t offer good critiiques of Obama because the things he needs the most criticism for are continuation of Bush policies.
Awesome:
Bingo. Can Republican criticize the lack of regulatory oversight for coal mines and oil rigs? Not credibly, they can’t. Can they criticize a military buildup in Afghanistan? Not credibly, they can’t, which is why they keep up a running whine about not fighting with all we’ve got (which is bullshit, but when did spouting bullshit ever bother a Republican?) Can Republicans criticize the continuation of Gitmo and torture? Not credibly, they can’t, which is why they whine that liberals aren’t complaining as much as they complained about Bush (sorry, but you can only beat your head against that wall so long; voting for Obama was all I could do there, and it didn’t work). On and on the list goes.
Dominique’s fantasy is that Hillary would have done something different. No, she wouldn’t. She’s a DLC Democrat, just like Obama. And I’ll be damned if I now work to return Republicans to power just because Dominique thinks a white woman should have gotten the office before a black guy.
Neal said Paul’s “extreme belief” has made Kentucky “a laughingstock.”
Wrong. Voting for Paul made Kentucky a laughingstock. His comments were just the encore.
To be fair Geezer, Kentucky Republicans voted for Paul. Both Democratic candidates got more votes than Paul.
I don’t guess it could hurt Sestak even a little to be tied to an administration that’s less than forthcoming at best, corrupt at worst.
Unless I missed something, I still don’t see how Sestak gets dragged down by this when he turned on the “encouragement” and sought his right by citizenship, which is to run (primary) for Senate. If guilt by association is all we have, then it’s a fool’s errand to even try.
Dominique, remember that I am a Republican, a pragmatic one. How I feel about this Sestak and administration situation is no reflection or insight to how I feel about Sestak. I will say that unless something tangible comes forth that shows Sestak’s hands are dirty in this (non???)bribe, I emphasize “tangible,” we, as a party, would be damned fools to dirty a man who stood tall in a temptuous situation and walked away.
Where we stand, that being all of us who are commenting on this thread today and tonight, we know no better if Sestak turned because the offer wasn’t good enough or if he turned because he couldn’t stand the stench of corrupting the electoral process on behalf of a career self-serving knob known as Specter or for any reason. As someone who understands the need to preserve one of the judicial traits that set us apart centuries ago, I will choose the latter description I just gave, until the point, IF, tangible evidence should ever materialize.
I have no doubt that someone, somewhere did something wrong in all that job for Spector-protection fiasco. If there was no wrong being done, an intermediary (Bill Clinton) would not have been brought in as the courier. No, I don’t say Clinton did it, either. Until something hard comes forth, I will not sit here and look for ways to say Obama did it, Biden did it, Clinton did it, Sestak, Emmanuel, etc. It’s a waste of breath, sweat, and most of all a waste of dignity to point fingers until something sticks. Creating false villians will elevate no one, just further sink everyone else into the pit of unreconcilable partisanship. That pit, by the way, was built under project manager Gingrich and I don’t have it in me to forgive him for that. The ultimate execution of that project can be called Impeachment 1998.
It’s time to bring substance to this table and not just blame.
I am surprised the Obomba idolizers here haven’t written a screed criticizing Obomba for saying that Obama was wrong for handing the government to BP. Too bad iit will probably take another 1000 lives until he and the dem sheep realize that he is wrong about Afghanistan, too.
Open wide tea bag. You are so anti-gov at the most ridiculous reach (“Keep your government hands off my medicare!” and such bully boys for big business (except when you whine to the feds to create more jobs, private companies that sponsor right wing media sure aren’t ) the logic dictates that the administration is at fault. Drill, baby, drill. Why do conservative insist on staying the course if the course meanders across all borders. Joe Sestak? How about Kathleen Harris! Impeach Obama? Is the standard now higher from the time of Iran-Contra? And speaking of the jelly beaner, 10.8% in ’82 because tax cuts while unprecedented military spending is economically sound. Tell ya what, don’t tread on me.
“(like, for instance, call the greatest minds in the world into the effort to resolve the issue)”
What a pathetic suggestion. You should go into PR for the Republicans. Too bad the facts get in the way of your whining:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/05/critical_perspective.php#more
…he would look like Mr. Integrity now, but he wanted to play coy, using the “job offer” to distance himself from the Obama administration without saying who offered and what job…
Sorry, but this won’t fly. He could have so easily used it as a point in the primary against Specter, but didn’t. I think it would have led to Specter getting pulverized.
There have been many opportunities in the past and very recent years for many a Congressman to blow the whistle on government wrong-doings, but where was the bitching then? Just like I said yesterday:
most of those in Congress, from both sides of the aisle, that are so pissed off about it, better make sure their stuff don’t stink before making a federal case over it, which is what they are starting to do right now…
that can apply here, too. Where has the lack of whistle-blowing outrage been in the past?
This cherry-picking of issues for partisan ping-pong doesn’t fly. It bears repeating:
It’s time to bring substance to this table and not just blame.
Appointments to Presidential Advisory Commissions are a dime a dozen, which is why who knows how many Congresspeople are sitting on them. For this Sestak thing to be especially nefarious, you have to believe that *only* Sestak was subject to a quid pro quo.
Right.
But (and here we come to the fun part of my post), this horsetrading of Presidential Advisory Commission seats isn’t especially new. Even for trying to clear a Party’s Primary field. Even Ronald Reagan did it. There he was trying to get S. I. Hayakawa out of a Senate race in CA that already had Goldwater, Jr, Maureen Reagan and Pete Wilson in it.
So keep checking in. One of the usual apologists will be here to make the case that when Reagan did it, it was OK.
But for me, the appalling thing about this is that Sestak already told people about the attempt to clear the field for Spector months ago. But apparently our media couldn’t be bothered to even deal with this revelation until repubs needed to make some hay out of it. No wonder they can’t get people to trust them any more.
Geezer posts a great link about how the pipeline solutions are being formulated. It is too bad that there isn’t more of this kind of first hand reporting. Because the media coverage that I’ve seen (with the exception of some of the graphics showing scale) has been appalling. I’ve largely retreated to a an industry board where engineers and geologists are live blogging the live feed. Because I suspect that no one else really cares much about the detail and just want a platform to air their frustrations at this.
We are a people who believe to readily on magic and a quick fix. Without ever asking the people who have to oversee this kind of thing to make sure that a quick fix is possible. Lots of Americans (including President Obama) bought the fiction that this kind of drilling could be done safely and that BP (and the rest of the oil industry) was ready to respond to a catastrophe. And, of course, when gas prices are the thing that Americans are concerned with, it is a safe bet that we’ll buy every damn unicorn there is. You can’t get the majority of Americans (or their government, either) to care much about oil spilling up on wetlands or beaches until it — you know — is washing up on beaches or wetlands. And now it is too late. But it was too late the day BP started drilling that well. Because while there are tons of incentives for BP to go get that oil, there are few for them to do it safely and there are no incentives for them to live up their certifications for ability to cleanup a disaster.
“Dominique is back? What happened? The batteries in your best friend go dead?”
Stay classy, Geezer. Stay classy.
BTW, Cassandra, it wasn’t OK that Reagan did it, especially after he swept into office with a blank resume, a pretty smile and a promise of change. Oh, wait…never mind.
Seriously, if your defense is really ‘everyone else does it’, then we’ll run with that. He’s already checked ‘ignore the gulf coast’ off the list. I guess he should just go ahead and cheat on Michelle, lie under oath, take money from lobbyists and appoint his unqualified friends to head different department agencies as well. I mean, everyone else does it, right?
I’ll be as classy as you are intelligent.