Wednesday Open Thread [2.25.15]

Wednesday Open Thread [2.25.15]

4 Comments
Nevada State Assemblywoman and Cliven Bundy supporter Michele Fiore (R) said:
If you have cancer, which I believe is a fungus, and we can put a pic line into your body and we’re flushing with, say, salt water, sodium cardonate ([sic] through that line and flushing out the fungus. These are some procedures that are not FDA-approved in America that are very inexpensive, cost-effective.
Who knew that cancer is like athlete's foot? Idaho State Rep. Vito Barbieri (R) thinks the throat and stomach are connected to the vagina and uterus. Wrong hole, sir. But there is a sign of hope. In Wyoming, state Rep. Harlan Edmonds (R) was kicked out of a House Labor, Health and Social Services meeting after proposing an amendment to a bill protecting gay and transgender people from discrimination that would make it effective when “hell freezes over,” instead of the date of July 1.
“Many longtime observers said that while some members of the public have been tossed from committees, this was the first time they’d seen a lawmaker removed from a meeting.”
Good for the Republicans in Wyoming for showing a bigot the door.
Constitutional Absolutists

Constitutional Absolutists

26 Comments
Only 30% of Republicans oppose making Christianity the national religion. Let that sink in for a second.
A majority of Republicans nationally support establishing Christianity as the national religion, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday.
The poll found that 57 percent of Republicans "support establishing Christianity as the national religion" while 30 percent are opposed. Another 13 percent said they were not sure.
Tuesday Open Thread [2.24.15]

Tuesday Open Thread [2.24.15]

3 Comments
A CNN/ORC poll finds that only Hillary Clinton is viewed as a candidate of the future rather than the past, and I bet you it is because people view her as a potential first woman President, which of course is something that has not happened yet, and thus would be the future. This is why a "She's part of the past" argument will not work against Hillary.
Asked in a new CNN/ORC poll whether seven possible candidates better represent the future or the past, 50% said Clinton evoked the future, more than said so of any other candidate. By contrast, Joe Biden and Jeb Bush, whose names have been in the political conversation even longer than Clinton's, were each seen as representing the past by 64% of Americans.
43% say New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie represents the future, while 41% says its Rand Paul, while 39% says its Scott Walker.
Carly Forina to Speak at State GOP Convention

Carly Forina to Speak at State GOP Convention

4 Comments
The Delaware Republican Party is holding their annual convention gathering at the DoubleTree Hotel on Concord Pike in Wilmington in May of this year. And after a wonderous election year in which a whole bunch of new Republicans were elected, and with a wide open field of prospective Republican Presidential candidates like Scott Walker, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Ben Carson, the state GOP has invited...
Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO and failed U.S. Senate candidate from California, will speak at the annual gathering of party faithful on May 30[.]
To their credit, Ms. Fiorina is, for reasons passing human understanding, considering a presidential run of her own in 2016. I don't know, I just feel our local GOP could have done better.
Time for a Revolution

Time for a Revolution

10 Comments
Last night, Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris noted that the gift bags that nominees and other special attendees and guests received had items in them that totaled over $100,000.00, and one of the items was a gift card for a Brinks security van to come pick the bearer up and to take him or her to safety once the Revolution comes. Well, it is time for the Revolution to come. And by revolution, I do not mean the automatic beheadings of the wealthy by us were regular Americans (although that may be the next step if the wealthy prevent, in any way, what I am about to prescribe). No, by revolution, I mean adjusting the tax code such that this country and state can function once again. David Sirota calculates that, if we just tax the wealthy at the same relative rates as we tax the middle and lower classes, we would be able to raise hundreds of billions of dollars:
Roads are crumbling, bridges require repairs, schools need upgrades and public pension systems remain underfunded. How can states and cities find the money to address any of these problems? One way could be through their tax codes. According to a new report, if the rich paid the same state and local tax rate as the middle class, states and cities would have hundreds of billions of dollars more a year in public revenue. Last month, the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the poorest 20 percent of households pay on average more than twice the effective state and local tax rate (10.9 percent) as the richest 1 percent of taxpayers (5.4 percent).
Enter the Kavipsian Progressive Tax Fairness Plan of 2015, which I demand be enacted by the General Assembly forthwith!

Monday Open Thread [2.23.15]

“I don’t question his motives. And I try not to question the president’s motives as being a good American or a bad American.” — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), on whether President Obama loves America. Which is it? Either you try not to question the motives, or you don't question his motives. Do or do not. There is no try.
Barack Obama has been President for over 6 years now….

Barack Obama has been President for over 6 years now….

14 Comments
....he started running for President about 8 years ago. He burst onto the national scene nearly 11 years ago. Barack Obama, the President of the United States, is a known quantity. We know him. He is not a mystery. Thus the mere fact that promiment conservatives and Republicans are still... STILL... questioning "who is this Barack Obama?"...."Does he love America?" .... "Is he a Christian?" has everything... EVERYTHING... to do with his race, and everything... EVERYTHING.... to do with their racism.
If John Carney is a Democrat, here is a good way to prove it

If John Carney is a Democrat, here is a good way to prove it

16 Comments
The concept of "shareholder primacy" is a cancer that is not only undermining our democracy but is eating away at capitalism itself. While other countries like the UK have passed laws to attempt to address the pernicious effects of shareholder primacy, (requiring company directors to consider the interests of a broad range of stakeholder such as employees, customers, the environment and the community), the US has done nothing. If John Carney is looking for a way to assert his democratic credentials (and I doubt he is) he couldn't find a better issue.
If critics wrote about ‘The Imitation Game’ the way they write about ‘Selma’

If critics wrote about ‘The Imitation Game’ the way they write about ‘Selma’

1 Comment
“Many historians have taken issue with how Morten Tyldum, the first Norwegian man to be nominated for Best Director, chose to portray mathematical genius Alan Turing in the film The Imitation Game. Those decrying the film’s depiction of events note that the script completely rewrites history, tossing out the literally thousands of people who worked alongside Turing in breaking the Nazi code so that the Allies could win the war, and replacing them with Keira Knightley. They also point out that the efforts of the American, French and British military forces, among others, have may have had an even larger role than Turing in ending World War II. Finally, some take issue with how Turing is never shown having actual sex with another man, despite the film being entirely set in buildings where no one has ever had sex. Tyldum has been quoted as saying that ‘sometimes liberties are needed to make truer art’ but this has not satisfied the rabid nay-sayers who cannot countenance this film.”