Wednesday Open Thread [3.13.13]
Today’s edition in restoring your faith in humanity:
The man who secretly filmed Mitt Romney’s 47% fundraiser speech to the 1% will be interviewed tonight on MSNBC by Ed Shultz. Why did he do it? Well, it turns out that simple manners, and respect and concern for the staff goes a long way.
Prior to his political fame, the filmmaker worked as a bartender for a high-end catering company. Before that company was hired for the Romney event, it catered a dinner at which Bill Clinton spoke. The bartender/Romney-ruiner told the Huffington Post that after the speech, Clinton went to the kitchen to thank the staff, posing for photographs and signing autographs.
So when the bartender heard about the Romney event, he decided to bring his camera with him, just in case the candidate met with the staff like Clinton did. But because he’s Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate didn’t greet or thank any of the staff working the event, and rushed out shortly after his speech, though not before bartender secretly filmed it, noting that Romney told the dinner guests it was off the record but not the staff working the event.
The Democrats need a net gain of 18 seats in 2014 to win back control of the House, which sounds like a tall order given the mid term election historical patterns. But doing so is the president’s top political goal going forward, and it is a national imperative as, given the current Republican Party, divided government is dysfunctional government. In that effort, Pennsylvania is a crucial battlefield as it has three to five congressional districts where, while a Republican is the incumbent and is favored, they are the kind of swing districts that the Dems need to win to win the House back, and thus Obama is sure to be there. According to Robert Vickers of the Central Pennsylvania Patriot News, that means trouble for Republican Governor Tom Corbett.
Ross Douthat reacts to the Ryan “Budget:”
[The budget] sacrificed seriousness for “seriousness,” by promising to reach budgetary balance not over the long term (as budgets 1.0 and 2.0 did) but in a ten-year window. This is not going to happen, and more importantly there’s no reason why it needs to happen: Modest deficits are perfectly compatible with fiscal responsibility, and restructuring the biggest drivers of our long-term debt is a much more important conservative goal than holding revenues and outlays equal in the year 2023. What’s more, the quest for perfect balance leaves the House G.O.P. officially committed to a weird, all-pain version of Obamanomics — in which, for instance, we keep the president’s tax increases and Medicare cuts while eliminating his health care law’s assistance to the uninsured.
How Ezra Klein sees the “plan:”
Ryan’s budget is intended to do nothing less than fundamentally transform the relationship between Americans and their government. That, and not deficit reduction, is its real point, as it has been Ryan’s real point throughout his career.
White smoke from the Vatican. Sounds like everyone is just waiting to see who it is exactly.
CNN had a camera shot on the chimney superimposed in the upper corner of my TV screen for something like 2 hours. You know, just in case the smoke spewed during a commercial break.
Gotta admit, it’s a pretty cool gimmick.
Looks like they’ve elected a caretaker compromise pope. Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina, which is a plus, but already 76, and the guy who finished second to Ratzinger. Described as a quiet and retiring type.
Apparently has chosen the name ‘Francesco’ after St. Francis of Assisi.
Perhaps he will attack poverty, which was one of St. Francis’ causes. The saint also reputedly eschewed pomp.
Nice symbolism. But will it play in Peoria?
a “retiring type” … LOL.
Sylvia Poggoli is abit discombobulated — this pick apparently came quite out of left field.
BREAKING! POPE ANNOUNCES NEW VATICAN ANTHEM:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBGFKD7ZQZ4
Ryan’s “budget” is trying to revive the Articles of Confederation which were ditched on March 4, 1789 owing to the fact that they sucked.
I am already so over this new Pope. Turns out he literally IS the retiring type. Had to retire as Archbishop of Buenos Aires b/c of his advanced age. Too old to be Archbishop, not too old to be Pope. Clashed with the current Argentine President over her support for free condoms and gay marriage. Staked out positions to the far right of his fellow Jesuits. Sometimes, those who are humble have lots to be humble for.
Next Pope, please.
Over/under for new Pope: 11 years & 4 months.
At least we have an auxiliary backup pope.
You weren’t expecting anything different, were you? They weren’t going to pick a liberal.
..instead of assless chaps-leather evangelizing.
Jason330 posed the following odds:
‘Over/under for new Pope: 11 years & 4 months.’
Under. WAY under. But perhaps Jason330 didn’t know that the new Pope only has (I’m not making this up) one lung.
Now he does.
New Line: 11 months and 4 days.
…but seriously folks. I’ll stick with 11 years. I don’t think being Pope is very taxing.
All I really want to interact with at age 76 are the adult beverages of my choice, my remote, and, drugs willing, internet porn.
He is also a Jesuit, who takes the bus to work, lives in a small apartment and cooks his own meals. He is also the first pope from the Americas. All in all, a decent choice for those who are on the bottom rungs of the social and economic ladder.
He is the face of the Catholic Church, with over a 1 billion members including one quarter of the population of the U.S. who all have expectations and opinions. Who knows what he will do or will accomplish?
Dave those are all true and hopefully he will care for the downtrodden. It worries me that he did not have the moral courage to stand up to the military junta. He opposes gay adoption. I think that shows a lack of Catholic christian love and understanding.
You mean like take to the streets? Lead demonstrations?
Also, can one have Christian love and understanding and still oppose what you support? Or let me ask it this way, who is the arbiter of what demonstrates Christian love and understanding? or even just plain ol love and understanding.
For his installation when he was becoming a cardinal, his “flock” was raising money so they could travel to Rome and witness the ceremony. He ask them instead to stay home and give the money to the poor. He also lashed out at the lopsided economic system that marginalizes the poor, decrying the “social debt” as “immoral, unjust, and illegitimate.” Be honest, it kinda sounds like love and understanding to me.
In any event, he is a relatively unknown, partially because he is, by all accounts, a very humble and simple person. We’ll see what he stands for and how he acts.
Dave, if I had to predict, I would question how someone who prefers to be so low-key/self-effacing can either galvanize the faithful, renew expansion of Church membership, or challenge the entrenched power of the Curia.
My hope, based on what he has said, is that he will challenge the Church and the faithful to fight for the poor. I know it won’t be the ‘liberation theology’ of the ’70’s, but, at this point, any progress from the Church would be welcome.
Well he is a Jesuit (the first one ever elected to Pope) aka “God’s Marines.” They are noted for working in the most extreme conditions and being contrary as hell (and also take a vow of poverty).
Generally, I’m going to reserve judgment at least until he gets properly fitted for his wardrobe. But, the guy has credentials, including not being anti-science. What he will be remains to be seen.
It is also my hope that he takes the church in the right direction. He does show a lack of constancy when he does not condemn a murderous dictatorship but condemns abortion. Catholic theology teaches that all life is sacred.
The people who do the hard nasty work in the trenches are the women religious. God bless the sisters.
The people who do the hard nasty work in the trenches are the women religious. God bless the sisters.
Can I get an Amen! ‘Cause that’s the truth.
Well I’m glad you all met the Singing Nun and Sister Betrille. Both callings would be a wash for me, except the priests received more funds, and had better perks to the job with cooks, vacations etc.. The nuns just assign another young nun to cook, clean, etc. Some real vengeful personalities in both rectory and convent.
AMEN – pandora
Need I remind you all of the ‘ nuns on the bus”
Love the Nuns on the Bus! Sister Simone Campbell was on Rachel Maddow’s show last night.
The nuns that taught me at St. Peter’s Cathedral School in the 70’s were awesome too.