New Years Eve Open Thread [12.31.14]
A Washington Times columnist, Robert W. Merry, who is also the political editor of The National Interest, issues a warning to his fellow conservatives and Republicans:
“[I]f Mr. Schumer and Mrs. Warren have their way, their party will begin taking steps to…bring those working-class Americans back into the fold. If Republicans are flat-footed, the new Democratic populists could create a major fault line between themselves and Republicans on the issue of the big Wall Street banks. That represents the biggest threat to Republicans going into the 2016 elections.”
Paul Krugman on one of the reasons the economy is finally going into warp speed:
Meanwhile, back in America we haven’t had an official, declared policy of fiscal austerity — but we’ve nonetheless had plenty of austerity in practice, thanks to the federal sequester and sharp cuts by state and local governments. The good news is that we, too, seem to have stopped tightening the screws: Public spending isn’t surging, but at least it has stopped falling. And the economy is doing much better as a result. We are finally starting to see the kind of growth, in employment and G.D.P., that we should have been seeing all along — and the public’s mood is rapidly improving.
With no Republican Congress elected in 2010, this would have happened in part back in 2011 and 2012.
Steve Benen counters the narrative that 2014 was a bad year for the country and President Obama specifically:
This was the year the economy improved to its strongest level in over a decade and the Affordable Care Act succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. It was the year the president scored foreign policy breakthroughs with Cuba and China, and advanced a landmark immigration policy.
This was the year Obama filled much of the federal judiciary with his nominees, deftly handled some important crises, freed American prisoners in North Korea, and sharply reduced the number of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
It’s also the year the president saw his approval rating jump, bringing him in line with Reagan’s support at a comparable point in his presidency.
I don’t doubt that Obama wishes the midterm elections had gone the other way, but Beltway conventional wisdom notwithstanding, maybe 2014 wasn’t such a disaster for the president after all?
Positive trends in education?
http://www.alternet.org/education/7-big-public-education-stories-2014
The details on the mom killed at Wal-Mart when her 2-year-old got a gun out of her purse and shot her in the head make this a nightmare for the gun-nut crowd.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/idaho-woman-shot-dead-by-2-year-old-son-in-walmart-was-a-nuclear-research-scientist/
Not only was she a nuclear scientist/chem engineer, she was both an avid and safety-conscious gun owner. She was carrying a concealed handgun in a purse specifically designed to do so — it was a Christmas gift from her husband, Colt.
From her father-in-law:
“They are painting Veronica as irresponsible, and that is not the case,” he said. “I brought my son up around guns, and he has extensive experience shooting it. And Veronica had had hand gun classes; they’re both licensed to carry, and this wasn’t just some purse she had thrown her gun into.”
Both Colt and Veronica were avid gun enthusiasts who never left the home unarmed. “They carried one every day of their lives, and they shot extensively,” Rutledge said. “They loved it. Odd as it may sound, we are gun people.”
Want to lower your chances of being shot? Get rid of your guns.
Livin’ life gun free and loving it, but there is no gun related tragedy that will make the NRA crowd relent or even admit they might be wrong. The next slaughter is coming, the only questions are where and when. I’ve given up on gun control, there will be none. In the mean time use incidents like this to shame the gunners, they deserve it.
I don’t want to shame them, I want to educate them. They have met the enemy, and it is them.
@JM: Thanks for that link. Numbers 2 and 3 on that list show the backlash against testing is gaining steam.
Sunday News Journal preview. Happy New Year.
News Journal Online:
Coming Sunday: More problems for the man behind the Newark Data Center project
The man behind the Data Center project at the University of Delaware that was eventually voted down is being sued by former contractors for not paying bills and by a former partner in the project who said he was “fired” early on, but because of his credibility and standing in the data industry, the project leader continued to tout him as part of the management team.
In other breaking news: There has been a shyster sighting and the snake-oil salesmen will be getting their comeuppance. Tarring and feathering will not be necessary as they are already run out of town.
Goodness gracious, who would have thought that using “smoke and mirrors” was a duplicitous manipulation of reality. Hope there will be comments by the Governor, DNREC, DEDO, and union officials explaining how they “suspected” and “questioned” such nefarious and non-factual goings-on and challenged that truth on behalf of the citizens of Newark and Delaware. How wonderfully ironic and appropriate that the TV series “Justified” is premiering in January and wrapping its final season. NRAPP is the new “Justified” congratulations to all.
John Kowalko
@G ““They are painting Veronica as irresponsible, and that is not the case,””
Sure she was. If she was well educated, then she should have known that more than 90% of all gun deaths in America are family and friends. Those are terrible odds.
Kids and guns don’t mix well… everyone should know that.
Guns don’t mix well with any living thing, unless you plan on that living thing becoming dinner.
This is such a tragic incident, it is inhumane to comment at such a depth of loss ,grief and shock. The statistics and facts are there; the who, what and where can catch up later with the shouldas, wouldas, and told you sos.
@JC “…it is inhumane to comment…”
No. It isn’t.
To pretend, even for a short while, that having guns with kids around is somehow OK and normal, all while knowing that 90% of all gun deaths are family and friends… that would be inhumane.