Tim Carpenter, PDA Co-Founder, Has Died

Tim Carpenter, PDA Co-Founder, Has Died

Tim Carpenter, Co-Founder of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), has died at 55. He suffered terminal cancer but I read he worked up to the very end this week leading PDA. He leaves a huge legacy and both a wife and two daughters to carry on his work.

Monday Open Thread [4.28.14]

"Usually when I get up this early, I get up to kill something." -- Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), at an early morning church service to a congregation not familiar with his passion for bowhunting. Yes, such a Christian thing to say. So is Sarah Palin's statement that that "Waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists." Out of all the dumb and offensive and idiotic things she has said since bursting onto the scene in 2008, this is the most outrageous.

Saturday Open Thread [4.26.14]

Crystal Wright:
“The entire Bundy affair just makes the Republican Party look bad. Are all Republicans racist? Absolutely not. But many overwhelmingly came out in support of this lunatic. I think it’s an awful day for conservatives. I think we need serious reflection because we’re not going to win 2016 with this attitude, keep doing things the same old way. We have old white men saying offensive things to women and minorities, and I’m tired of it.”
These old white men just need to die off over the next two decades, then the Republican Party can win again once they are cleansed of their poison. Unless of course some unwise young white men get infected... But there is some hope, because here is a conservative old white man, Charles Krauthammer:
“It isn’t enough to say I don’t agree with what he said. This is a despicable statement. It’s not the statement, you have to disassociate yourself entirely from the man. It’s not like the words exist here and the man exists here. And why conservatives, or some conservatives end up in bed with people who, you know, he makes an anti-government statement, he takes an anti-government stand, he wears a nice big hat and he rides a horse, and all of a sudden he is a champion of democracy … Look, do I have the right to go in to graze sheep in Central Park? I think not. You have to have some respect for the federal government, some respect for our system. And to say you don’t and you don’t recognize it and that makes you a conservative hero, to me, is completely contradictory, and rather appalling. And he has now proved it."
Maybe most conservatives are just dumb. Not evil, just stupid as f*ck.

The Weekly Addresses

President Obama: I don't know if this is because of last week's holidays of Easter and Passover, but Governor Markell published his weekly message on Monday, April 21. So it may be that Markell is now publishing his message at the beginning of the week. Here is the message from April 21:

Cliven Bundy is Jeff Christopher, and vice versa.

Rachel explains.... Harry Reid is right. They are domestic terrorists. Our Constitutional framework is structured such that Federal law, or laws passed by the Congress of the United States and signed into law by the President of United States, and the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings on said laws and the laws of the 50 states and local governments, are the fucking SUPREME law of the land. Nothing trumps it. Nothing. If you disagree with this notion, you are opposed to the Constitution of the United States, much less the Government of the United States. These sheriffs, including Jeff Christopher, are obligated to enforce the laws of the United States. If they do not, they are derelict in their duties and must be removed from office. They would not be patriots. They would be traitors.
Friday Open Thread [4.25.14]

Friday Open Thread [4.25.14]

I haven't really been following the traitor Cliven Bundy saga closely, because I don't want to get too pissed off. To me, the issue is clear: this is federal land. The federal government as the owner of the land, allows ranchers to use the land as a grazing area for their livestock, for a price. The rancher has to pay a grazing fee for two reasons. One, if he doesn't, then he is a criminal trespasser. Two, if the federal government doesn't charge the fee and collect, or exercise some dominion and control over the land, then they are opening themselves up to claims of adverse possession, which is a fancy legal term for someone gaining legal title to your property after squatting on it in an open, continuous and hostile way for 21 years. So if the government allows Bundy and his band of armed traitors to possess this land without paying the grazing fee, the government could lose the land. That Bundy is a racist is of no surprise and no real importance to me. I assumed he was. Of course he was. All these conservative militia types are racist. The surprise would have been if he wasn't racist. The more important issue to me is the property issue. The federal government should issue an order to Bundy. He and his livestock and his militia shall vacate the federal lands by a date certain, unless Bundy agrees to pay the grazing fees. If Bundy refuses to pay, then he must vacate. If he does not vacate, his livestock shall be confiscated and he and his militia will be forcibly removed from the property. If any person interferes during this process, they shall be arrested. If any of these persons fire at federal officials or law enforcement officers, they will be taken out by professionally trained snipers. Done and done. Sure, it might lead to another Ruby Ridge or Waco, but who the fuck cares? Since when must traitors and cult leaders be coddled? Since when must we not offend law breakers? Since when does the federal government care if a crackpot doesn't recognize its authority?
Thursday Open Thread [4.24.13]

Thursday Open Thread [4.24.13]

Sean Braswell of Ozy.com recently wrote that a President Hillary Clinton will benefit an economic boom that is taking off just at the moment she enters the Oval Office, and she will have her former boss and rival, Barack Obama, to thank for it. Braswell details the five key economic and political trends that should leave Democrats "giddy" and the GOP "scared out of its mind."
Wednesday Open Thread [4.23.14]

Wednesday Open Thread [4.23.14]

We have some polling goodness from all over, including some that show that our so called vulnerable southern Democrats are not so vulnerable. Such as Sen. Mary Landrieu, whom I hereby predict she will win her election rather easily. Why? Because she has embraced Obamacare:
[I]n an interview today, Landrieu vowed to campaign aggressively against GOP foe Bill Cassidy’s opposition to the Medicaid expansion in the state, offered a spirited defense of the law—while acknowledging it has some problems—and even insisted he'd be at a "disadvantage" over the issue. […] "That would be a real setback for the people of Louisiana, many of whom are working 30, 40, 50 hours a week but find themselves caught in the Jindal gap because the state refuses to expand health care options to the working poor at little to no expense," Landrieu told me, referring to Governor Bobby Jindal’s opposition to the expansion. "This issue is not going away—it will become an issue in the 2015 governor's race," she added. "Cassidy has wrapped himself up with Jindal. The question is whether people who work full time or part time in the U.S. should have access to quality and affordable health care." […] "I think the benefits that people have received are worth fighting for," Landrieu continued, citing an end to discrimination against preexisting conditions and extended coverage for young adults on parents' plans. "I think Bill Cassidy is going to be at a distinct disadvantage. He has insurance, but he's also denying it to the 242,000 people who fall into the Jindal gap. He also wants to take coverage away from tens of thousands who have gotten it for the first time."
It makes me real happy when Democrats act like Democrats. This is what every Democrat should sound like this summer and fall. And if you don't, leave the party and join the Republicans.
Kiss me I’m English

Kiss me I’m English

Happy Saint George's Day everyone! Grab a pint glass of your favorite English beer, or fix yourself a nice gin and tonic, and enjoy your pretend Englishness today - preferably with the aid of alcohol. There will be readings from Douglas Adams and a half-assed game of cricket later. Until today, Saint Georges Day hasn't really be celebrated around here and I mean to fix that. We are Americans and holidays are what we do. So let the word go forth - today we are all English.
Tuesday Open Thread [4.22.14]

Tuesday Open Thread [4.22.14]

Happy Earth Day. National Geographic gives us the history of Earth Day:
Earth Day began in 1970, when 20 million people across the United States—that's one in ten—rallied for increased protection of the environment. "It was really an eye-opening experience for me," Gina McCarthy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator, who was a self-described self-centered teenager during the first Earth Day rallies, told National Geographic. (See pictures: "The First Earth Day—Bell-Bottoms and Gas Masks.") "Not only were people trying to influence decisions on the Vietnam War," she recalled, "but they were beginning to really focus attention on issues like air pollution, the contamination they were seeing in the land, and the need for federal action."
In response to this, Richard Nixon actually did a good thing. Indeed, it may have been the last liberal/progressive thing a Republican President has done. They passed the Clean Air and Water Act and established the EPA.

Monday Open Thread [4.21.14]

The latest state revenue estimate from DEFAC is expected to be released today. Last month saw $40 million added to the projected deficit that Markell and the GA will need to close. And they may have already done so:
But with Gov. Jack Markell (D-Delaware) signing his $51 million corporate tax hike into law April 15th, the state could have more money to work with.