Monday Open Thread [2.20.12]
Temporal Distortion from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.
Here is a President’s Quiz from Bill in Portland Maine from Daily Kos:
Giant Throbbing 2012 Presidents’ Day Fun Quiz* *No fair Googling!
1. Which president ended the standard practice of setting aside time every weekday to let ordinary citizens, via appointment, discuss their concerns face-to-face with him?
A) Lincoln B) Hoover C) McKinley D) Cleveland2. Which president opened a Tiffany’s account to refurbish the White House?
A) Van Buren B) Arthur C) Taft D) Gingrich3. Who liked to blame his farts on his Secret Service detail?
A) Ford B) L. Johnson C) Taylor D) Hayes4. “I can’t remember what I did” is what this president said about his time in the Alabama National Guard (and no one else can remember anything about his service there, either).
A) Clinton B) Nixon C) George W. Bush D) Washington5. Name the only president to earn a Ph.D.
A) FDR B) Buchanan C) John Quincy Adams D) Wilson6. Which president-to-be lost his first election, claiming that his rival only won because he was the tallest man in the room?
A) Pierce B) Reagan C) John Adams D) Cleveland7. Which president ordered his plane, called “Sacred Cow,” to buzz the White House, which caused a bit of a panic?
A) George H.W. Bush B) Truman C) Harding D) Clinton8. Who used a crude “alarm-clock wristwatch” to get out of meetings?
A) Lyndon Johnson B) Benjamin Harrison C) Tyler D) Jefferson9. Who was simultaneously able to write in Latin with one hand and Greek with the other?
A) Madison B) Teddy Roosevelt C) Polk D) Garfield10. Which president fought in a war and carried a bullet in his shoulder for the rest of his life?
A) Grant B) W.H. Harrison C) Monroe D) EisenhowerAnswers: B, B, A, C, D, C, B, A, D, C
REPUBLICAN PRIMARY — PRESIDENT
MICHIGAN (PPP): Santorum 37, Romney 33, Paul 15, Gingrich 10.
TEXAS (University of Texas/Texas Tribune): Santorum 45, Gingrich 18, Romney 16, Paul 14
Wow.
NATIONAL (Gallup Tracking): Santorum 36, Romney 28, Gingrich 13, Paul 11.
GENERAL ELECTION –SENATOR
VIRGINIA (Christopher Newport University): George Allen (R) d.Tim Kaine (D) (42-40)
Tags: Open Thread, Polling
Great President’s Day article on George Washington’s Celebrity Chef for the foodies out there.
Thanks for sharing that cassandra
From the Guardian: This Election is All About Sex
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/20/sex-contraception-abortion-republicans
Calling all “sane” Republicans. Why did you give away the farm to the nuts so meekly? When Santorum gets the nomination, the GOP is pretty much done as a national party. So this election does appear to be the last gasp of a dying party.
Thanks for that link.
Is the poll on the fritz? I get an error whenever I click anything. Also, how come Strongly Disapprove is in between Strongly Approve and Approve? It’s kind of like when they put the regular gas nozzle in the middle and you accidentally grab premium instead.
The poll is working fine for me. The reason why the Strongly Disapprove is in between the two Approves is because the results are listed from highest to lowest. The current results:
Strongly Approve
28
Strongly Disapprove
12
Approve
10
Disapprove
4
Undecided / Meh
1
And the only way you could see the results is if you have already voted in it.
It’s probably my unorthodox operating system and browser… I voted a while ago but now I get a popup that says “Error 0” when trying to switch from poll to results. I’m also probably the only person who clears cookies and other junk repeatedly throughout the day. If nobody else is affected, never mind. After all, it’s a FREE INTERNET POLL!!! 🙂
That’s an interesting viewpoint of this election from across the pond. And I’m embarrassed for all of us — the most powerful nation on the planet (still) can’t get away from endless re-enactments of the Scarlet Letter.
In many ways, I think that the GOP obsession on sex and controlling sexuality shows just how bereft of governing ideas the current GOP crowd is. They’ve nothing to animate themselves except to go back to their Greatest Hits — sex, racial animus and rock and roll will be up next, I’d bet. The GOP powers-that-be just know that whoever gets in will do as he is told — making sure that the advantages of the wealthiest are hardened at the expense of a thriving middle class.
A Conservative Explains Why Right-Wingers Have No Compassion
Mike Lofgren used to be a GOP Senatorial staffer and he has been on a roll recently. This piece (it is sorta long, so make sure to read it all) finds that the politicized religious fundamentalists at ground zero of the spectacle of the authoritarian and resentful GOP base that we see cheering on the deaths of people with no insurance.
This past weekend, Lt. Dan Choi and folks from FireDogLake (I think Jane Hamsher, too?) raised a tent at Spencer Plaza for Occupy Delaware. There is a great slide show of the activity here.
Puck, Don’t mention cookies unless you have enough to share with everyone.
Of course Santorum doesn’t like prenatal testing either…
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/19/politics/santorum-prenatal-testing/index.html
Puck, you are not alone.
TNJ paywall is now live. Five free articles a month.
We get TNJ here at work. I guess that will be my lunchtime reading. Get the Sunday paper at home. I wonder what kind of access that will get me.
It’s not a paywall – it’s an intelligence test.