Monday Open Thread [8.11.14]

So President Obama will take some kind of executive action pursuant to both his executive authority and laws already passed by Congress to address the immigration problem later this summer. Whatever he does, it will be the basis for impeachment proceedings this fall. Greg Sargent, in one of his latest columns, talked to experts about the limits of executive power. One of those experts was attorney David Leopold, who was the “former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and immigration reform advocate who has consulted with the White House on immigration law.” The upshot is, the President has all the authority he needs under existing law to do what he wants to do. But the GOP will impeach him for it anyway. We also have a lot of polling goodness inside...

Saturday Open Thread [8.9.14]

My Delaware season tickets should be coming soon. I better check on that. Especially since Delaware seems to be on the cusp of becoming a Division I school. Over the next few years, they are scheduling more games with the ACC, including games against Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh. Ed Kilgore:
The only thing funnier than those who (despite widespread mockery) continue to support the Green Lantern Theory of Presidential Leadership is the phenomenon of the same people freaking out when the president assumes “leadership” to address a big problem. Nobody is a bigger Green Lanternist than National Journal’s Ron Fournier, for whom the president, like God, is held responsible every time a sparrow falls to the ground. He’s now warning Obama not to take unilateral executive action on immigration policy. The Prospect’s Paul Walman skewers Fournier for blaming the “polarization” that might ensue on Obama alone; we abundantly know by now that savage GOP opposition to Obama will be at maximum levels no matter what he does or does not do.
Nukes & Missiles As Defense Systems? You’re Kidding

Nukes & Missiles As Defense Systems? You’re Kidding

With the middle east aflame, isn't it time to rethink what we in the U.S. have misled ourselves into believing, that we've got a Nuclear and Missile defense system? No, what we have is an aging, rusting Nuclear and Missile offense system. Specifically, a retaliatory offense system.
“Bean Feed” GOP fundraiser flyer contained a drawing of a dancing bean…wearing a sombrero

“Bean Feed” GOP fundraiser flyer contained a drawing of a dancing bean…wearing a sombrero

Perhaps I'm wrong. Maybe the GOP hasn't been taken over by the TeaParty. Maybe it has, in fact, been takeover by 'South Park' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone?
A flyer distributed by the Republican Party of Garvin County, Oklahoma has engendered a significant amount of criticism for being incredibly racist, reports KFOR. How incredibly racist are we talking about here? So racist that Oklahoma’s Democratic Party initially assumed the flyer was fake, because it was so patently and incredibly racist.

Thursday Open Thread [8.7.14]

Delaware has convened a study panel to see if there is a way to get electricity to you cheaper than Delmarva can sell it. See if you can spot the irony:
Electricity aggregation programs, already in use in some states, allow governments or communities to negotiate for and buy power in a block for residents, with the group potentially able to get a better deal than the "standard offer" available from utilities. In Delaware, the block could be as large as 900 megawatts annually, a deal that [Sen. Colin] Bonini said could draw spirited bidding from large and "very smart" suppliers. Delmarva Power officials said they still were puzzling over the proposal Wednesday, when a study committee chaired by Secretary of State Jeffrey W. Bullock held an initial public meeting in Dover. The committee agreed to hire a consultant to assess potential gains, prospective supplier markets and other considerations. "There are other jurisdictions throughout the country that have looked at retail purchase energy models both for gas and electric," Bonini said. "We're looking specifically at electric."
M-town Seniors Angry at Possible Future Kids Who Might Tread on Their Grass

M-town Seniors Angry at Possible Future Kids Who Might Tread on Their Grass

I can empathize with someone who bought a house having been told by a developer that they would be living next to "a mix of single family homes, townhomes, and apartments" only to find out that really that means apartments. But can't our seniors come off a little less like a Simpson-esque sendup of old folks?
Residents of Spring Arbor, a luxury community for people over age 55, showed up at the August 4 Middletown mayor and council meeting to object to proposed apartment buildings near their neighborhood.
They were concerned with the types of people the apartments would attract, the devaluation of their properties, and the children that would allegedly “run through their yards.”
Via the Middletown Transcript