Saturday Open Thread [11.16.13]

Saturday Open Thread [11.16.13]

This year is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and there's no shortage of writing and reporting this year attempting to re-examine those days. So here are a few long reads for your consideration:

Moderate Republicans – The Delaware Way

Chris Christie Christine O'Donnell tea Party According to beltway logic, the GOP went through its "Christine O'Donnell can win an election" phase and realized that all the talk about masturbation, rape and reverse-racism towards whites wasn't pushing the party forward.

Please. Just Stop

Seriously? At least we know her mind won’t be preoccupied with haute couture. Here’s the black-on-black ensemble she sported last month when President Barack Obama officially nominated her: (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty…
Friday Open Thread [11.15.13]

Friday Open Thread [11.15.13]

Morning Money: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gets all the love as the current GOP front-runner for 2016 (to the extent there can even be a front runner three years out.) But there is growing chatter in elite New York financial circles that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is giving more serious consideration to getting in the race, especially if it appears at any point that Christie is not drawing big national appeal beyond the northeast. Several plugged in GOP sources said Bush has moved from almost certainly staying out to a 30 percent chance of getting in. The '70/30' odds pop up in so many conversations they almost seem like circulated talking points." Jeb Bush will run. It is his last chance to run. So he has to run. If his last name was not Bush I dare say he would be a runaway favorite. Bush and Christie will divide the sane vote. The insane vote will be divided between Paul and Cruz. Now, who will win? It depends on the answer to this question: Are their more sane than insane people in the Republican Party/Tea Party?

Jason330 to announce plans to annouce the possibility of forming an exploratory committee to look into primarying the Democratic State Treasurer

How hard could being Sate Treasurer be? Seriously. Especially for someone who has no other political ambitions, this job is a piece of cake. Not as easy as being the Development Director at CRI, but up there. Since the Christmas kickstarter project wasn't funded, (and since I will not be starting an athiest church anytime soon) I'll have a little time on my hands. While I cogitate on this some, you (yes you!) can be the cyber-pre-pre-exploratory committee by noting in the comments section how much it costs to file and what the deadlines are.
Anybody Else Longing For Single Payer?

Anybody Else Longing For Single Payer?

Ok, now I am more than totally befuddled about our so called health care reform. Today the President announced that if you liked your piece of shit so called catastrophic health policy that covers practically nothing and leads you to bankruptcy court, you can keep it. If only the insurance companies will willingly volunteer to restore their pieces of shit policies. In the name of good citizenship.
Republican’s zero-sum thinking

Republican’s zero-sum thinking

In my continuing attempt to understand the hobbled and frequently diseased mindset of conservatives, I've noticed that thinking of everything as a zero-sum game is huge with them. When I think of my Grandpa (or this blog's own resident grumpy racist grandpa, ...yes you Dana) I marvel at how they can view every dollar paid out to someone on welfare as a dollar taken out of their pockets. I wonder why they are so blinkered in their thinking that keeping the economy on the rocks is fine if the alternative is a healthy economy in which a non-white person might possibly get a health care subsidy. There is no sense of "growing the pie." The aphorism "a rising tide lifts all boats" makes no sense to them. I was reminded of that mindset again when I read that conservative Catholics are worried that the Pope is paying too much attention to the needy, and that attention means that they aren't getting enough Pope love. [...]
Costco spits on long held American tradition of screwing workers over

Costco spits on long held American tradition of screwing workers over

This is shocking. It is downright unAmerican tell 'ya.
Bucking the incredibly lucrative trend for retailers to stay open during Thanksgiving, bulk food utopia Costco has announced that they would stay closed during the holiday, which is seriously blowing our minds with its lunacy.
Shopping on Thanksgiving is for losers. Sorry losers. I'm calling you out. [...]
Thursday Open Thread [11.14.13]

Thursday Open Thread [11.14.13]

So how are those budget talks going in DC? Remember, if there is no budget deal by December 15, the government shuts down again. The Delaware Young Farmers program has selected 10 new participants. I know I am cynical, but I wonder how many of these young farmers downstate are also tea party Republicans decrying government handouts.
Newark Mayor’s Race: The Progressive Perspective.

Newark Mayor’s Race: The Progressive Perspective.

Newark's upcoming Mayoral election is a nonpartisan election. As such, the state parties, and affiliated party organizations, like the Progressive Democrats, have not gotten involved. But just because you call an election a nonpartisan election, does not mean ideologies are not in play. Conservatives understood this for years, and ran conservative candidates for nonpartisan school board and judgeship elections for years. It looks like liberals and progressives have learned their lesson, as it would seem we are blessed with several progressive candidates among the seven in the Newark race.