Friday Open Thread [10.10.14]

Friday Open Thread [10.10.14]

2 Comments
Paul Krugman pens a defense of the President against his critics, and also lists his accomplishments. It is a lengthy piece, and you should read the whole thing, but here are some excerpts:
Obama faces trash talk left, right and center – literally – and doesn't deserve it. Despite bitter opposition, despite having come close to self-inflicted disaster, Obama has emerged as one of the most consequential and, yes, successful presidents in American history. His health reform is imperfect but still a huge step forward – and it's working better than anyone expected. Financial reform fell far short of what should have happened, but it's much more effective than you'd think. Economic management has been half-crippled by Republican obstruction, but has nonetheless been much better than in other advanced countries. And environmental policy is starting to look like it could be a major legacy. [...] [T]here’s a theme running through each of the areas of domestic policy I’ve covered. In each case, Obama delivered less than his supporters wanted, less than the country arguably deserved, but more than his current detractors acknowledge. The extent of his partial success ranges from the pretty good to the not-so-bad to the ugly. … Am I damning with faint praise? Not at all. This is what a successful presidency looks like. No president gets to do everything his supporters expected him to. FDR left behind a reformed nation, but one in which the wealthy retained a lot of power and privilege. On the other side, for all his anti-government rhetoric, Reagan left the core institutions of the New Deal and the Great Society in place. I don’t care about the fact that Obama hasn’t lived up to the golden dreams of 2008, and I care even less about his approval rating. I do care that he has, when all is said and done, achieved a lot. That is, as Joe Biden didn’t quite say, a big deal.

Thursday Open Thread [10.9.14]

14 Comments
The chart / graph tells us which states are angels on the street yet devils... well, on their computers. The chart finds that the more religious a state is, the higher the number of Google searches for porn. The states with 80% religiousity and that are over 60 in their interest in porn (and I cannot tell how that is measured (i.e. 60 on a scale of what? as a percentage?)) are Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Utah and Texas. I wonder what all these states have in common, other than hypocrisy. Delaware is on the opposite end of the spectrum: We are less religious and our searches for internet sex is low.
Wednesday Open Thread [10.8.14]

Wednesday Open Thread [10.8.14]

12 Comments
Yesterday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), or rather, his staff, prepared a tweet that was supposed to both briefly describe in bullet point form the GOP Jobs Plan (because after being in power for four years in the House, NOW is as good a time as any to get started on that) and then link for a more detailed description, presumably. Now, you might think that Twitter, what with the 140 character limitation, might be the wrong place to even briefly describe a Five Point Congressional Jobs Plan. But not the GOP! Their entire economic theory does boil down to four words: Cut Taxes, End Regulations. Still, this was embarrassing. It seems the Speaker and/or his underpaid intern didn't complete their homework before sending this out: Capture Or maybe it is a rare moment of honesty from the highest ranking Republican in the land: The GOP has no jobs plan.
Can We Talk About Pedophilia?

Can We Talk About Pedophilia?

54 Comments
No, not the act of abusing children and/or engaging in inappropriate behavior with them.  Such activities are criminal and should be subject to the strongest enforcement the justice system can bring. I'm talking about adult attraction to children which never rises to the level of physical contact, but which may include viewing images that we find abhorrent, and may cause acute mental anguish for those with this condition. A thought-provoking piece in Sunday's New York Times argues that pedophilia is a mental illness and makes an effective argument that we're treating it improperly. Read the whole thing before reacting reflexively. Here are some salient excerpts from Prof. Margo Kaplan's op-ed:
Tuesday Open Thread [10.7.14]

Tuesday Open Thread [10.7.14]

5 Comments
It is going to be very ironic if the GOP pulls off winning the six seats they need to gain the majority in the Senate (i.e. Montana, West Virginia, South Dakota, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alaska) only to lose three seats that put the Democrats back in control (i.e. Kansas, Georgia, and Kentucky). But right now, that is the state of play...

Monday Open Thread [10.6.14]

Megan Thee-Brenan compares Americans’ views on the economy to Obama’s approval ratings:
The economy outpaced all other issues in importance to voters in a New York Times/CBS News poll in mid-September, and 44 percent of Americans rated the economy as good. This marked the highest positive reading since 2007. Even as Americans are feeling better about the economy, they decline to credit the president with its improvement. The Times/CBS News poll found 53 percent of Americans disapproved of Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy, and his overall job approval rating was under water, with 40 percent approving and 50 percent disapproving.
How Paul Waldman explains this disconnect:
[D]espite the healthy job growth, incomes aren’t rising. A good economy isn’t just one where you’ve got a job, it’s one where you’ve got a job and you’re being paid what you’re worth. The income benefits of the recovery have all gone to the top. Millions of people are also still digging themselves out of the holes they got into during the Great Recession, whether it was foreclosure, credit card debt, or what have you. Even if you now have a reasonably good job, if you lost your home and cashed out your 401K on the way, it isn’t like things are looking spectacular.
And so they blame Obama, who saved the country from Depression, and are going to install the Republican Party, who promises to give even more of their money to the wealthy, and whose policies make another Depression likely. No one ever said the American voter was particularly smart.
The “Voluntary” End of Slavery

The “Voluntary” End of Slavery

9 Comments
a conservative member of the state Board of Education in Colorado, which has attempted to reject the AP History Framework and force a "patriotic" revisionist history that glorifies America at all times and ignores ugly blemishes in our past, has said in recent debates that America deserves credit, and praise, for voluntarily ending slavery. From Talking Points Memo, this is what she said:
[Businesswoman Pam Mazanec] then wrote that her concern for the course "is an overly negative view of our history and many of our historical figures (if mentioned)" and cited history professors with "impressive credentials" who told her that the AP History curriculum is designed to "downplay our noble history." She used slavery to illustrate the point:
As an example, I note our slavery history. Yes, we practiced slavery. But we also ended it voluntarily, at great sacrifice, while the practice continues in many countries still today! Shouldn't our students be provided that viewpoint? This is part of the argument that America is exceptional. Does our APUSH Framework support or denigrate that position?
This is a perfect example of the conservative oversimplification of history.