The Watering Hole: September 7 — We take care of our own

Posted on by

Did you see the President’s speech accepting the Democratic nomination for President?  Did you, huh huh?  It was fantastic!

No going all complaisant now, we still all need to make sure we get into that voting booth and VOTE.  And we need to do all we can to help our friends and neighbors get to their polling places — no matter who they’re planning on voting for.

This is our daily open thread — Happy happy Friday!!!

About these ads

192 thoughts on “The Watering Hole: September 7 — We take care of our own”

  1. Ann Romney will lead a “Women for Mitt” rally today in Leesburg (in wealthy Loudon County) at Twin Oaks Riding Academy. No parking, attendees must pre-register.
    You can’t make this shit up. :)

    • The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent in July, the Labor Department said Friday. But that was only because more people gave up looking for work.

      No way to spin this as a positive. It’s treading quicksand.

        • Labor force participation fell from 63.7 percent of the non-imprisoned population over 16 to 63.5 percent. That’s not just the lowest level since the recession hit, it’s the lowest level since September 1981, and the lowest level for men since the BLS started keeping track in 1948.

  6. Clint speaks:

    “There was a stool there, and some fella kept asking me if I wanted to sit down,” Eastwood said. “When I saw the stool sitting there, it gave me the idea. I’ll just put the stool out there and I’ll talk to Mr. Obama and ask him why he didn’t keep all of the promises he made to everybody.”

    He asked a stagehand to take it out to the lectern while he was being announced.

    “The guy said, ‘You mean you want it at the podium?’ and I said, ‘No, just put it right there next to it.’”

    http://www.pineconearchive.com/120907-1.html

  7. A nice piece in the Nation this AM –>
    Republicans, the Post-Truth Party
    Looks like I’ll need to get the LyingBastard-o-Meter out of storage and pray it doesn’t overheat and spray hot shrapnel all over the garage again like it did during Sarah Palin’s tirade four years ago.

    • Starting next week, my husband and I plan on doing some door to door campaigning for both President Barach Obama and PA 6th CD Democratic candidate, Manan Trevidi. Obama can’t lead without a Democratic congress.

      • True. Susan Del Bene is the Democratic candidate for the newly reconstructed 1st CD in Washington state. I’m supporting financially, but unable to do ground work around my schedule with work and the kids…

  10. Funny that no recording artist wanted Romney playing their music. Ted Nugent, Hank Williams, Jr. and apparently Taylor Hicks are his supporters so he could play their music I guess.

  11. I enjoyed watching Jennifer Granholm’s speech last night. I particularly enjoyed her talking about Mitt’s car’s getting an elevator while auto workers would get the shaft. Then, very shortly after she says “You know what I’m saying, you know what I’m saying” and just as she says that she gives a little wink, ala Sarah. The wink is at 0:55 in this clip.

  12. New Jobs report: 96,000 jobs added and Unemployment down to 8.1%.

    November’s Jobs report: Mitt Romney still unemployed.

  13. Please volunteer for a campaign. The greedy GOP has a lot of money behind it and in order for the Dems to get their message across, there will need to be a lot of boots on the ground. Contribute, if you can. Make phone calls. Go door to door (in a group of two). We need to get the truth out there. We need to expose the lies because we can’t rely on the media to do it. Blogging isn’t going to do it either as we are often preaching to the choir. Let’s show that money will NOT buy this election. We, the people, will determine who will lead our nation.

  14. I just got a FB friend request from some yahoo I was having a discussion with on TP. Turns out he’s a holocaust denier who hates Jews and likes to post things from Stormfront on his page.

    Um, no.

  15. Taegan Goddard sums up the last two weeks accurately, I think:

    “The Obama campaign wanted this election to be a stark choice between two different governing philosophies and not a referendum on the president’s tenure. With this beautifully orchestrated convention — and with poor strategic decisions and unforced errors by Mitt Romney and the Republicans — they have succeeded.

    Democrats decisively won the battle of the party conventions. It wasn’t even close really. And they continue to hold the upper hand in this election.”

  17. Ayn Rand Fun Fact:

    Rand’s husband Frank was so quiet around the house that he often startled her while she worked. So she made him wear a bell.

  18. I think I figured out Bill0. He’s blind. He’s still a vile freak but now I know why he “can’t see” all the bad things that Reichwhiners, including him, are visiting on this country and the world. And he still can’t pass up an opportunity to smear Sandra Fluke. I wonder; is his fixation because she looks a bit like Andrea Mackris. Crap! He’s not blind. He’s just a bully who lies a lot.

    http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/09/07/bill-oreilly-i-dont-see-any-womens-rights-under/189787

      • “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle” — George Orwell

    • O’Reilly devoted three segments to attacking Kennedy’s comments, claiming that “she wants unfettered abortion.” He went on to say that “nobody’s denying anybody’s rights to anything,” and repeatedly denied that women’s reproductive rights are being threatened. Fox News contributor Karl Rove agreed, saying: “No one’s seriously talking about ending abortion.”

      One thing I really can’t stand about the right is their tendency to ascribe false premises to our views. NOBODY on our side, especially Caroline Kennedy, wants “unfettered abortion.” Nobody has ever suggested that. We who support a women;s right to choose agree that no women should be allowed to wait until the baby’s about to be born to decide to abort it on a whim, which is how the anti-abortionists depict our side.

      And it’s a slimy piece of deception to claim “nobody’s denying anybody’s rights to anything.” If it’s legally impossible to do something, like run an abortion clinic that has to be set up in the impossible way some states (Kansas?) say it does, you are effectively outlawing women’s access to abortion and, therefore, taking away their right to it. Just because you have a theoretical right to travel to another state to get an abortion (and some states won’t let you do that), then you are taking away a women;s constitutional right to get an abortion.

      And Karl Rove is flat out lying. The anti-abortionists very much want to end abortion and they have plainly said so! He’s trying to get the RW women who watch Fox News (either because they are submissive to their ignorant husbands, or they are ignorant themselves) to think that nothing serious is going on, that no new rules against abortion are being passed, and that their teenage daughter will still be able to get an abortion after the girl’s father incestuously impregnates her.

      Too many people believe the things the RW says, and it makes me weep for this country.

  20. Today’s entry in 2nd Amendment Glory (no, not Gory) Tales is a double-winner since the venue was a church:

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Officials say a Louisville man who recently had a dispute over zoning codes shot and killed a neighbor and critically injured another person at a homeowners association meeting inside a church.

    • That’s amazing. Such ripoffs. This is one of the problems with airlines. People are essentially a captive audience and the airline is able to do whatever they want and the passengers have no recourse.

  23. Healthcare system wasted $750 billion in 2009, IOM says

    An inefficient, extraordinarily complex, and slow-to-change US healthcare system wasted more than $750 billion in 2009, according to a new study from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that calls for a drastic overhaul.

    Excessive administrative costs on the part of insurers explain some of those squandered dollars, but unnecessary and inefficiently delivered services on the part of physicians, hospitals, and other providers account for the lion’s share of the $750 billion, said the report, which was released online September 6, 2012.

    $750B would go a long way to paying for everybody’s healthcare, and still make a big dent in the deficit.

    • Let’s see – Big Insurance overcharging for admin – check
      Big Pharma overcharging for drugs which are much cheaper overseas – check
      Doctors and hospitals prescribing unnecessary stuff to pay the bills – check

      With those savings, we could have doubled the size of the military and invaded several other oil rich nations by now plus several who don’t like Israel …. WTF? /John ‘Yosemite Sam’ Bolton off

    • It looks like they don’t count ambulance runs. I understand that ambulances are expensive to purchase, equip, and operate. It’s also expensive to keep people on call 24/7 although I’m pretty sure that paramedics aren’t getting rich. But a friend of mine was in an accident recently and the 6 mile ambulance ride was over $800.00. Someone is pocketing a big chunk of change.

    • This in and of itself is a perfect call for single payer, remove for profit insurance from the entire equation.

    • So Romney thinks that the troops aren’t important. He is such a tool for the Koch Brothers/Wall Street/Big Banks/Sheldon Adelson.

      I met with an Obama organizer last night and he told me that he spoke with many Republicans in the county where we live that are very excited about re-electing Obama. Romney is a turn-off for Americans.

    • Never seems to be the other way around -

      “Ted Nugent asked Joe Biden to stop playing ‘Cat Scratch Fever’ to warm up his rally crowd’s yesterday’

      Let’s face it, when all you’ve got is Ted Nugent, Hank WIlliams jr, Chuck Norris, Dennis Miller and whatever is left of Clint Eastwood….. well they look like mighty Slim Pickens to me…

      • They also have Jon Voight. What was the last movie that Jon Voight had a significant role? There is a singer/songwriter named Chip Taylor who is the brother to Jon Voight. Chip wrote this song…

  28. Y’all probably already heard this, but I just did and I love it!

    “If you vote against Obama because he can’t get stuff done, it’s kind of like saying ‘This guy can’t cure cancer. I’m gonna vote for cancer.’”
    — Chris Rock

  29. The landscape is coming into focus. Romney announced a big swing-state ad-buy last night. Jonathan Chait notices that no ads are going up in Wisconsin, Michigan, or Pennsylvania:

    “The eight states where Romney is competing add up to a neat 100 electoral votes, of which Romney needs 79 and Obama just 23. If you play with the electoral possibilities, you can see that this would mean Obama could win with Florida alone or Ohio plus a small state or Virginia plus a couple small states, and so on.

    Unless I’m missing something badly here, Romney needs either a significant national shift his way — possibly from the debates or some other news event — or else to hope that his advertising advantage is potent enough to move the dial in almost every swing state in which he’s competing.”

    And the Gallup tracking poll suggests a post-convention break-out in Obama’s job approval. It doesn’t include the whole convention yet. But national approval of Obama is now at 52 percent, a real breakthrough.

    http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/09/romneys-playing-field-narrows.html

    • This is why we need door to door contact with voters or phone calls. The media won’t speak truth to lies so we need to do it. Please volunteer. If we all give up just 2 hours/week of blogging/computer time and spend that time volunteering, we may make a difference. It’s only nine weeks of short fasts from the computer.

  30. Those scientists, nearly a century ago, would never have envisioned how we’ve trashed the oceans with megatons of garbage.

    Oldest Message In A Bottle Found

  31. Bomb, bomb, bomb … bomb, bomb Iran?Noah Shachtman summarizes the research of Anthony Cordesman, “one of Washington’s best-connected defense analysts”:

    “Should the U.S. actually take Benjamin Netanyahu’s advice and attack Iran, don’t expect a few sorties flown by a couple of fighter jocks. Setting back Iran’s nuclear efforts will need to be an all-out effort, with squadrons of bombers and fighter jets, teams of commandos, rings of interceptor missiles and whole Navy carrier strike groups — plus enough drones, surveillance gear, tanker aircraft and logistical support to make such a massive mission go. And all of it, at best, would buy the U.S. and Israel another decade of a nuke-free Iran.

    Cordesman is skeptical that Israel could successfully attack by itself:

    “Israel does not have the capability to carry out preventive strikes that could do more than delay Iran’s efforts for a year or two.” Despite the increasingly sharp rhetoric coming out of Jerusalem, the idea of Israel launching a unilateral attack is almost as bad as allowing Tehran to continue its nuclear work unchallenged. It would invite wave after wave of Iranian counterattacks — by missile, terrorist, and a boat — jeopardizing countries throughout the region. It would wreak havoc with the world’s oil supply. And that’s if Israel even manages to pull the mission off — something Cordesman very much doubts.”

    http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/09/iran-war-plan/

    • We have also worn out our air fleet, among other military assets, and another massive operation would result in a serious reduction in our available combat aircraft and tankers. We have kids flying tankers and B-52s that are as old as their grandparents as it is. Rather than being held as a reserve we will either have to scrap planes, with no ready replacements, or we will see a whole bunch of kids dying because their wings are falling off. Either way it will be blamed on President Obama. Even if Mittens wins and launches the next war.

    • Not to mention pissing off every single Iranian at home and abroad, regardless of political view. And setting the resistance back at least a decade. Probably more.

    • I had missed it…hilarious! Nicely done Leonard.
      The man of privilege and self aggrandizement being exposed.
      The Rmoney’s won’t convince many they are human, capable of feeling..

    • Not to worry…it’s all in gawd’s plan. S/he has some fundie building a 21st century ark in some desert, somewhere…//
      Serious note – you are correct

      Oh we are so f***ed

    • The fact that the Reichwhiners insist that “the science isn’t settled” and “models aren’t accurate” really pisses me off. The only surprise is that even the most dire predictions from the past are being exceeded. It’s a near certainty that we humans have lost our window of opportunity to make positive changes. Climate scientist are now talking about “tipping points” and “feedback loops” as current fact; not future predictions. And the stupid freaks will still prevent mere discussion of what we can and should do. Heck! Many of them are still claiming that we aren’t warming the globe and “only god can affect the climate”.

    • Fires going on everywhere now…
      I’m 48 hours into a new assignment as a base camp manager (trainee).
      I’m looking GOOD!
      Just took a nap, I’m now up to 8 hours of sleep in the last 48…
      … we are so phucked…
      :>

        • This is my jungle, man!
          70 to 80 people, feeding and quartering, picking up after. Running supplies up the mountain, to the Happy Fire.
          Yes, that is the name of the incident…
          Too much fun.
          …and oh, the overtime hours… I’m shopping for a new tent already… one happy camper ;)

          • You certainly are stoked! (as surfers, among others, would say).
            Thanks for letting us know you’re doing ok.

          • If we don’t see fall rain/snow pretty soon you might be moving up to a fancy motor home! Or, at least, a VW Microbus with a water bed.

      • Thank you for fighting the fires. We were west for a visit and when we drove through the reservations in Montana, we were shocked at all the destruction from the fires. Even the road had melted. The sky was hazy in Bend, OR because of the fires in that state. Keep safe, friend.

      • It isn’t making the “news” but there are a bunch of fires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and many Minnesota lakes are closed to swimming because the low water levels and hot water are creating a bacterial soup.

    • “You know, I’m not going to talk about the specific issues,” Romney responded, adding that “hot-button issues” distract from the economy.

      In other words, stop bothering me with the real world issues.

      • Heh! It’s bad enough that there’s one of them in Congress but the fact that there’s a pack of them, including the likes of Alan West and Ginny Foxx, can be very depressing. I think it’s probably a good thing that I’m getting together with the band for some beer and, dare I say, other mood enhancers. I just didn’t have it in me to follow my original plan for an optimistic Friday.

        At least I got some new airplane stuff. I got the wood to make my older glider better and a pair of batteries that are about 2 ounces lighter than my others. 2 ounces may not sound like much but, with a total weight of around 20 ounces, it makes a significant difference in the flying qualities.

  36. A dance appraisal of the two conventions. The Republicans were working hard at the Hustle and managed a weak Chicken Dance. The Democrats started out with dat Swing, Twisted away like we did last summer and ended up doing a very respectable Bump. Which sadly leaves the Repubs with leftover Mashed Potatoes.

    • No Noonan knows exactly what she is saying, she has no qualms about lying her ass off.

      • I’m with Terry on this one. Like Fatty the Druggie, she knows it’s bullshit, she just doesn’t care. The Quitter at least has the excuse of being too stupid to understand anything.

    • Any jobs gained since Obama’s been president are solely because of his own efforts, since the repiggies have decided putting him out of a job is more important than the people they’re supposed to represent. Yo morons! Remember them!?

    • You need to be on facebook, it’s way quicker than the twitter. ;)

      Love that letter! My favorite new word is “Cockmonster.” :lol:

          • I really don’t like FB’s handling of my personal information. I follow things like The Daily Show, Colbert Report, Cracked.com, MoveOn.org and a couple of others. The only reason I’m logged in at all is in case I want to comment some place that uses FB comment system. I do not use FB as a social medium, or to communicate with others. Somebody is collecting all of that info and selling it, and I have no intention of helping them make money off me that I’m not seeing.

      • My fundygelical bro-in-law must be SO PISSED OFF! :lol:

        The only football he likes is the Vikings, and the only baseball he likes is the Twins — since he’s from Minnesota.

    • Need more to speak up…one at a time will do.
      The politician dismissed the lone person speaking out. Good on Kluwe for voicing a positive position.

  44. Well, it’s after 3 p.m. on Friday, so I guess this means I wasn’t a “good fit” for the seriously basic admin asst job for which I had a mini interview on the phone on Wednesday.

    *sigh*

    More wine, please.

    • I’m so sorry, Zooey.

      Tonight, pick your bottle up, dust your glass off, and stop thinking about today.
      Tomorrow, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start thinking about your future.

        • Is it a really small town with no medium or large towns within reasonable distance for employment?

          • Lewiston is across the river, and it’s a bigger town. The size of the town doesn’t seem to be the problem. The problem is me and my age.

            • Oh, you’ve discovered the age discrimination that isn’t supposed to exist.
              Unfortunately I know it well.
              They look at the number of years worked on the resumé and can guess our age.

            • Exactly. They can’t ask me how old I am, but they can ask when I graduated from highschool. 1977 tells them everything they need to know, in order to send my application to the round file.

              I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do in all the years between now and 65.

            • It’s not just your age, it’s the expectation that you won;t work for a pittance like the desperate interns. Yet the job creators cry that they can’t find anyone qualified (who will work for $2.00/hour).

Comments are closed.