Sunday (Bastille Day) Open Thread [7.14.13]

The GOP has made an offer on the filibuster nominee fight — they’ll approve 2 Republicans and 1 Democrat so that the NLRB has a quorum (and it can do its job). The problem here is that it leaves the NLRB with a Republican majority:

Republicans said they won’t negotiate on two of Obama’s nominees, both Democrats already serving on the board, because their recess appointments have been ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court, and they didn’t resign when Republicans demanded them to. But a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Republicans are willing to move on Obama’s three other nominees — two Republicans and one Democrat — in order to keep the board at a quorum.

There’s just one small catch. If Democrats were to accept this GOP proposal, the labor board may be comprised of a Republican majority within a matter of months, never mind that a Democrat occupies the White House.

Please, Harry Reid, tell McConnell to pound sand. Get rid of the filibuster and get some damn work done.

What to Do About Internet Trolls? I love this story:

One particular troll, @Jimmyob88, had been harassing the boxer in tweets and in direct messages for six months, according to Woodhouse. “He’d threatened my children saying ‘be careful where you send them to school,’ he threatened my wife. He’d written me saying he hoped I’d die in my next fight so I could go and see my dead dad … it just went on and on.”
But after the bully branded the boxer a “disgrace” and a “complete joke” and urged him to retire following his fight last month, Woodhouse finally snapped and, rather than trade blows online, he used Twitter to turn the tables on his troll.
Woodhouse put a “Twitter bounty” out on @Jimmyob88’s head, offering anyone £1,000 for information about the user’s real identity. Within minutes he had his troll’s real name — James O’Brien — some photos of O’Brien and his home address. Woodhouse decided to make a house call.

You’ll have to read the article to see what happened.

The Mayor of San Diego (a Democrat!) admits to sexually harrassing women in his office and refuses to resign. He works at further intimidation of his victims by telling them that he’ll see them in court — if they want to file lawsuits. There’s no details of the bad behavior — but it looks like his friends are dropping him and his fiance has broken up with him. Lots of calls for his resignation — and he should do the right thing and resign. Nanny Democrats, listen up — *this* is the guy you hound out of office.

What interests you today?