Tuesday Open Thread
Welcome to your Tuesday open thread. How are the roads in your area? They are pretty much all clear in New Castle County now. The snow storm was a big bust here but Sussex and Kent are still recovering.
Haley Barbour, fresh off his white supremacist apologism, has a new problem. He loves him some government money, as long as it’s going to pay for his own comfort.
Some of Barbour’s travel may well have been worth it to Mississippi, a state that is heavily dependent on federal funds. But much of the time, he has used the plane to go to fundraisers for himself and other Republican candidates and committees, to football games and to at least one boxing match — travel that has a less obvious connection to what Barbour, a former top lobbyist in Washington, has cast as his lobbying on behalf of his state.
The flight logs obtained by POLITICO indicate that Mississippi has spent more than $500,000 over the past three years on Barbour’s air travel. That total does not include security and other logistical costs associated with his trips. And through a quirk in Mississippi law, whenever the governor is out of state, Mississippi must pay the lieutenant governor a salary differential as acting governor.
Barbour has reimbursed the state for a handful of flights, but he has more often scheduled obscure official business to coincide with the business of politics, according to the manifest and logs, which were obtained from the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration under a Mississippi Public Records Act request by a Democrat who has worked in the state, who provided them to POLITICO.
When is one of these guys going Galt already? It’s getting awfully expensive to keep supporting these anti-government government employees.
The New York Times asks a good question: is Jon Stewart our modern-day Edward R. Murrow?
Did the bill pledging federal funds for the health care of 9/11 responders become law in the waning hours of the 111th Congress only because a comedian took it up as a personal cause?
Mr. Stewart declined to comment on the passage of the bill.
And does that make that comedian, Jon Stewart — despite all his protestations that what he does has nothing to do with journalism — the modern-day equivalent of Edward R. Murrow?Certainly many supporters, including New York’s two senators, as well as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, played critical roles in turning around what looked like a hopeless situation after a filibuster by Republican senators on Dec. 10 seemed to derail the bill.
I think the answer to that question is yes. The problem – Jon Stewart is one guy on a basic cable channel. We need to clone him and put him on every news channel. I think Stewart is as effective as he is because he’s an outsider and not an insider. How do we get more of an outsider, critical perspective to our modern media? We shouldn’t have to wait until Stewart embarrasses them.
Tags: Open Thread
On Monday night’s edition of “Hardball,” host Chris Matthews talked about putting the birth certificate controversy surrounding President Obama to rest.
“Why has the president himself not demanded they put out the original documents?” Matthews wonders.
“If it exists, why not put it out?” Chris Matthews asks.
Will you give yourself a name please? anon or anonthisone or anonthatone just doesn’t cut it. Please use an alias or your real name. Geez, it’s not that hard. Pick a cartoon or TV show character, but please, please, pick something.
http://static.politifact.com.s3.amazonaws.com/graphics/birthCertObama.jpg
Go away.
New Hawaii Gov wants to end the birther debate
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/12/28/new-hawaii-governor-wants-to-put-obama-birther-debate-to-rest/
I am a republican, and I think this issue really makes the right look like morons.
From the beginning all it took was for Hawaii to issue that certificate of birth, or whatever, and that was it. The legal requirement was met. Does not matter where he was born, Hawaii provided the legal proof to satisify the requirment. End of issue.
Besides, from my understand the Natural Born stipulation is not taken literal. Somewhere I read that the courts have ruled that born to US parents, who were out of the country does count.
I don’t know, but I think the whole issue is pathetic. And if that is that is the platform of the right, then I am really thinking I am moderate left at this point.
Right, Paratrooper18. That’s why we roll our eyes and ignore the birthers. Obama’s Hawai’i-issued legal birth document has been available since 2007. But the birthers never say it’s good enough because it doesn’t list the hospital or something. It’s a constantly moving bar, so that’s why we ignore the “just show the certificate” crowd. They are either ignorant or dishonest.
Yes, Paratrooper18, it was in fact John McCain who was ruled eligible for running for president. He was born in Panama.
UI, I think it is a mistake to ignore them, even though they are idiots. They are the same people that are easily manipulated by the tea bagger marketing organization, and they make up the 9/12 nutzi’s
You cannot change their minds, but you can box them off so that others do not listen to them. I live in sussex county and that sortof thing becomes a disease that spreads. Lynch mob mentality is a dangerous thing.
That is why the political entertainers like Hannity and Beck garner such high ratings. They are king of the idiots.
Lets face it the birther issue is silly. But an issue that is serious, but has fallen to the same idiotic logic is Health Care reform. Ironically the same morons are the ones who need our country to radically change the health care system are the ones who are falling for the idiotic nonsense speak.
( I am conservative, but I am more radical about health care reform than any liberal on this board. but that is an entirely different thread ).
I don’t think they should be ignored, I think they should be ridiculed.
There’s actually been cognitive studies that show that showing information refuting a mistaken belief actually implants that belief deeper. That’s why Obama ignores after initially releasing the birth certifiicate.
“If it exists, why not put it out?” Chris Matthews asks.
Do you know how to keep a jackass in suspense?
ugh i really really hate Chris Matthews more than anything. I know he’s usually with us, but sometimes he says stuff so mind-bogglingly dumb that I end up yelling at the tv.
also, at least Olberman knows he’ll shout over oposing guests so he only has people on who agree with him. It’s difficult to watch Chris question guests cuz it’s like “5 minute opinion sorta framed as a question” guest gets out “uh.. um… and like half a sentence” and then Chris starts talking again. It’s just obnoxious and rude, even if I agree with him. He’s like our O’Reilly.