Monday Open Thread
Welcome to your Monday open thread. I’m back in Canada this week so posting may be a little thin
Census takers have encountered double the number of threats than they did in 2000. I’m sure it has nothing to do with Glenn Beck or Michele Bachman trying to scare their gullible followers.
This is the scary season for the nation’s census takers.
Since they began making follow-up house calls in early May, census takers have encountered vitriol, menace and flashes of violence. They have been shot at with pellet guns and hit by baseball bats. They have been confronted with pickaxes, crossbows and hammers. They’ve had lawn mowers pushed menacingly toward them and patio tables thrown their way. They have been nibbled by ducks, bitten by pit bulls and chased by packs of snarling dogs.
Some days, being cursed at seems part of the job description.
So far, the Census Bureau has tallied 379 incidents involving assaults or threats on the nation’s 635,000 census workers, more than double the 181 recorded during the 2000 census. Weapons were used or threatened in a third of the cases.
Luckily, no one has been seriously hurt. I hope the good luck continues.
Probably one of the most embarrassed men in politics, Vic Rawl, conceded the Democratic Senate nomination in South Carolina to the hapless Alvin Greene:
Former South Carolina judge and ex-state legislator Vic Rawl has officially conceded the Democratic primary for Senate, after he had attempted to contest his upset loss to unemployed veteran Alvin Greene.
…
In his statement, Rawl thanks his supporters, and announced that he will not further contest the result: “We hold our heads high, and know that the friendship of people like you is far more important in life that the outcome of any election.”
I think that’s it’s probably likely that there was a bit of funny business in the race (I’ll be really interested in learning where Greene got the $10,400) but even funny business can’t force people to vote. Rawl ignored campaigning and paid for it because no one knew his name when it came time to vote.
Tags: Open Thread
Given anything to Greenpeace lately?
“The Supreme Court has upheld a federal law that bars “material support” to foreign terrorist organizations, rejecting a free speech challenge from humanitarian aid groups.”
Any organization that the government doesn’t like can now be labeled a “foreign terrorist organization,” effectively barring them from receiving contributions from Americans and jailing those who do or try.
The census visits would make an awesome reality TV show.
“Given anything to Greenpeace lately? ”
The finger.
White House: Senator Kyl Not Telling Truth About Immigration Reform Conversation
ABC News 06/21/2010
White House officials challenged the veracity Monday of an account of a private conversation Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said he had with President Obama.
On June 18, Kyl, the Senate Republican Whip, told a North Tempe Tea Party town hall that in an Oval Office conversation between the two of them about securing the US-Mexico border, “here’s what the president said: ‘The problem is,’ he said, ‘if we secure the border, then you all won’t have any reason to support ‘comprehensive immigration reform.’ In other words, they’re holding it hostage. They don’t want to secure the border unless and until it is combined with ‘comprehensive immigration reform.’”
The White House Monday rejected Kyl’s account.
“The President didn’t say that and Senator Kyl knows it,” White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer told ABC News. “There are more resources dedicated toward border security today than ever before, but, as the President has made clear, truly securing the border will require a comprehensive solution to our broken immigration system.”
….
“But Kyl’s office stood by the senator’s account. Kyl spokesman Ryan Patmintra said, “There were two people in that meeting, and Dan Pfieffer was not one of them.” He said Pfeiffer’s call for comprehensive immigration legislation “only confirms” Kyl’s story. ”
gee it’s hard to pick who to believe…
“The census visits would make an awesome reality TV show.”
I just had visit from two nice young ladies from the census on Friday. At first they seemed a bit nervous to be out here in Redneckville, but they were smiling when they left. I was busy hooking up the camper when they stopped by. I wish I had more time to play with them.
I think I’m in love with a Democrat.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/oops-dem-congressional-nominee-texas-wins-impeachment-platform
“Obama’s Nazi Gay Sex Partner Tells All!”
(Is it me, or is that’s about the level of Wingnut spamification in these open threads?)
yup, it’s you, and you gay sex obsession.
If you say so spammy.
If you don’t have time to hang out with two nice ladies because you are hooking up the camper – you might be a redneck.
looks like America’s leading abortion provider has an accounting problem:
New GAO report reveals disturbing financial discrepancies
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on federal tax money funneled into Planned Parenthood and similar organizations raises more questions than it answers about the nation’s largest abortion chain.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s (PPFA) audits show the organization spent just $657.1 million between 2002 and 2008 from federal government grants and programs, but the abortion behemoth’s own annual reports show that it took in $2.3 billion from government grants and programs during the same time period.
washington times.
“The census visits would make an awesome reality TV show.”
The Census folks have put a kibosh on the media following them around. The workers are under orders to report any reporters or camera crews trying to follow them. All comes back to the sanctity of the confidentiality of the census info.
Mark Kirk runs away from reporters rather than come clean about his background. Please, God, let there be video!
I haven’t seen anybody pick up the Planned Parenthood story except the Moonie Times and one million wingnut blogs. Doesn’t seem like there’s any there there.
And you, Mr. Anon, have just run smack into the wingnut echo chamber. This is exactly how the lies get told.
The Planned Parenthood “story” is actually an op-ed piece authored by a woman who heads an organization committed to defunding Planned Parenthood. Anyone who bothers reading the actual GAO report will find it shows nothing like what the wingnuts want it to.
Worth noting: These wingnuts are generally the same people who want “lazy (brown) people who don’t want to work” to stop having so many damn babies.
That’s a concise summary of how the right wing noise machine works. Tomorrow Rick Jensen will be on calling for Congressional investigations.
BTW – that’s another “Obama’s Nazi Gay Lover Speaks” comment by the guy who should be banned for lazy ass spamming.
There are already 31 members of Congress signed on to investigating Planned Barrenhood. Nothing will happen this year, but next year it is even money that Murder Inc. will be defunded or at least not get more money before accounting for the old money. Planned Barrenhood is the new ACORN.
Ah yes. The decidedly grownup behavior of investigating something that doesn’t exist.
Those crazy kids at Think Geek got a cease and desist letter for an April Fools post. That post? An advertisement of Canned Unicorn — The Other White Meat.
David got one thing right: Planned Parenthood is the new ACORN. The shot callers need a new ATM machine, and the howling GOP fanboys get to pretend that they are getting God’s work done. (Just look at David’s infantile comment. Planned Barrenhood… Please.)
Any Democrat that imputes any goodwill or honest citizenship to any Republicans is an stone cold idiot.
“There are already 31 members of Congress signed on to investigating Planned Barrenhood.”
Wrong again, David. Those 31 asked for the audit, not an “investigation.”
“Scientists sequence genome of the human louse”
They found that it is almost a perfect match of republican genomes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100621151115.htm
Of the 32 teams in this year’s World Cup, what’s the only one that’s not also a member of the United Nations?
Time to fire McChrystal, maybe even charge him with insubordination. Big gut check time for Obama.
It’s not insubordination to bitch about your bosses. McChrystal didn’t tell the reporter this stuff — he said it to his aides, who unwisely repeated it to the reporter.