Tuesday Open Thread [7.24.12]

Filed in Open Thread by on July 24, 2012

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

Charlie Crist:

“Including as many Americans as possible in our electoral process is the spirit of our country. It is why we have expanded rights to women and minorities but never legislated them away, and why we have lowered the voting age but never raised it. Cynical efforts at voter suppression are driven by an un-American desire to exclude as many people and silence as many voices as possible.”

Maggie Haberman finds an interesting anecdote from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s book, Memo to the President Elect, about the 2002 Olympics uniforms:

“This episode is worth recounting because every prospective torch carrier was given, courtesy of the U.S. Olympic Committee, a special uniform consisting of a nylon sports jacket and matching pants. When my uniform arrived, I glanced at the label, which read ‘Made in Myanmar,’ that is, Burma, a country that suffers under one of the most repressive governments on Earth. It was not yet illegal to import clothing from Burma, but public pressure had induced most U.S. retailers to stop doing business there. I had my own grounds for revulsion, having visited the country to pledge support for its courageous democratic leader, the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. I was furious about the uniform but knew it was too late to reorder all the clothing, though I did go out and buy my own shirt and pants (Made in America). When I arrived in Salt Lake City, I informed Mitt Romney, head of the U.S. Olympic Committee, about the gaffe; he thanked me kindly for keeping my mouth shut. The following year, Congress approved a ban on all imports from Burma.”

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  1. cassandra_m says:

    Beau Biden gets the Politico treatment today. He is hitting the campiagn trail as the leader of Veterans and Military Families for Obama.

  2. socialistic ben says:

    seems like he was showing off his weight-loss to friends. is that not allowed if you’re a politician?

  3. puck says:

    In response to Boehner’s request, CBO says repeal of ACA will increase deficit $109 billion. In a separate note, CBO says implementing ACA will save $84 billion. CBO is clearly not taking the unicorns into account.

  4. xstryker says:

    I don’t think sending out pictures of yourself in underwear is a good idea for anyone other than underwear models.

  5. socialistic ben says:

    and what about a swimsuit? ive been photographed wearing a small-ish pair of swim pants…. should that disqualify me from ever holding office?

    look, i know the appearance of defending a republican is blasphemy, but it wasnt like he was sending these pictures (with a boner) to barely legal staff. There are LOTS of deranged republicans out there to point and laugh at.

  6. cassandra_m says:

    And this is one of them. It is one thing to stupidly send out pictures you might regret when you have no intentions of public life. But once you are in public life, sending out this kind of thing is just plain stupid. Why? Because people will point and laugh at you — especially if you are part of a pattern of GOPers who do dumbass stuff like this. It was stupid and pointing that out for this guy is probably like shutting the barn door after the horse got loose.

  7. socialistic ben says:

    maybe people need to grow up and learn to point and laugh at things that are actually funny. HAHA a guy with his shirt off! no one has EVER seen a man shirtless before!

  8. Mark H says:

    I’m with SB on this one. Don’t see the issue with it. As someone who has gone from 304.5 to 185 lbs since Feb 16th 2011, once I get to my goal weight of 165, you may see a shirtless pose or two on facebook. 🙂 And if I’m ever crazy enough to run for office, I’ve done many other things far crazier than showing off the guns and shoulders 🙂

  9. puck says:

    George Jefferson movin’ on up.

  10. kavips says:

    Congratulations Mark….

  11. puck says:

    Yesterday Mitt Romney called President Obama “weak and indecisive” on foreign affairs. Osama bin Laden was unavailable for comment.

  12. puck says:

    Republicans will filibuster middle-class tax cuts today, making it a free Yes vote for conservadems. Still no veto threat on full extension (although surrogates have implied a veto).

  13. Will M says:

    I hope the presence of Gary Johnson on the ballot in all 50 states puts SOME check on Obamney’s natural tendency to try to out peacock each other with belligerent saber rattling.

  14. Geezer says:

    Puck @ 8:12 for the win.