Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No one could have predicted…

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Second rate reporter says what?

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Monday Morning Open Thread

Monday Morning Open Thread

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gelfling545 garden 6-2015

Happy Birthday, John Cole!
.
.

Photo from commentor Gelfling545…

Since there is a dearth of photos, here’s one from Buffalo. It’s of one of my favorite combinations in the garden as it looked early this am when I was taking photos & drinking tea instead of cutting the grass.

***********
What else is on the agenda, as we start another week?

Reader Interactions

138Comments

  4. 4.

    Mustang Bobby

    Happy birthday, John.

    It’s already 78 here in Miami, long before sunrise, and it’s humid as always. No rain in the forecast, either. My lawn looks like granola.

  5. 5.

    Valdivia

    Happy Birthday John!

    Going to be a steamer of a day in DC today. And I feel woefully not prepared for my class today. Le sigh. Hoping to pull it out somehow.

    Have a good BJ.

    @David Koch: Thanks for that link. Will be listening to it during my commute back after reading an article I have been saving for after my class.

  9. 9.

    ThresherK

    ETA: Happy birthday to the blogkeeper!

    —

    Good Dad’s b’day / Father’s Day combo party yesterday.

    But now I’m out of strawberries, as the shortcake I brought was promoted from backup dessert to primary dessert because the freezer door storing the ice cream cake was made ajar long enough to melt some.

    Soooo, could be much worse.

    And I’m typing this on my backup laptop, because the regular one is overheating. Gots to get some thermal paste and get into that kajigger.

  11. 11.

    Schlemazel

    Hippo birdy two ewes Mr. Cole & thanks as always for the lovely respite you have created on the tubes.

    Here on the frozen tundra we are predicted to have damaging thunderstorms early but not yet. I was going to send a picture of our cherry trees which went out of their way to produce mass quantities this year. We have picked a couple of gallons (after pitting) already & if they survive the blast I may because they still have more cherrys that we usually get from these to dwarf trees. We may get one more year out of them yet as the road crew told us they will probably not regrade our side of the street til next year

  13. 13.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    Joe, Mika, and Harold Ford are really concerned that the President said near.

  15. 15.

    Germy Shoemangler

    Happy Birthday to JC.

    I can imagine the pups standing in front of him and belting out a rousing “Happy Birthday To You” song, and then piling on top of him after he blows out the candles.

    Except the cake they bought him is made entirely of wet dog food.

    “oh, you don’t want that? OK, we’ll just finish it then”

  16. 16.

    Phylllis

    Happy birthday JC. Thanks for my favorite place on the web.

    Last week of work before my summer break. 663 days ’til retirement.

  19. 19.

    satby

    Happy Birthday to John, and thanks again for having us all here.
    You’re a mensch, and I am grateful for your existence!

  20. 20.

    satby

    Going to be hot and humid and of course rain is in the forecast again for today. I’m starting to check my extremities for signs of mold every morning, and nothing ever seems to dry. Ick weather.

    I’ve avoided moving to Florida for years though as my mom gets more infirm I may end up there for a while, and I suspect the universe is trying to prepare me.

  21. 21.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @JPL: They pretty much played a good portion of the podcast when he said it. I thought it entirely appropriate in context.

  22. 22.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @satby: I’m thinking of buying and trying get my landlord to install a solar attic fan. I opened the access panel the other day(a relatively cool day) and it was like a fricken oven up there. Anyone have any experience with em?

  25. 25.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Properly constructed attics naturally vent (they are always hot too). Fans help make that venting more efficient. By a lot. Solar powered do it for free.

  26. 26.

    mai naem mobile

    I.havent been watching Mornin Ho recently. Watching it this morning. After talking about the shooting victims’ families, Ho switches immediately to Nixons.kids.and Vietnam soldiers being booed and spit on because you know both sides do it and you know booing is the same as killing somebody and jeezus wtf does people.booing Nixons kids in the fucking 60s have to do with a heinous race based crime? And then to have Bill Kristol on who BTW so obviously didn’t give a shit?

  27. 27.

    ThresherK

    @Germy Shoemangler: Hey, I read that post re Pat Boone from yesterday morning.

    I can find it in my heart to loathe him now, when I bother to think about him at all.

    Fortunately my actual fandom runs to musicals, jazz, and standards, which doesn’t hold hardly that many unpleasant surprises.

  28. 28.

    JPL

    CBS morning news just covered the n word scandal. Actually they said he used the n word and showed the entire paragraph, in context. There was no additional gasping and commentary. They didn’t even say what will
    the children think.

  29. 29.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @OzarkHillbilly: I had two trees out in front of the cave and the neighbor’s bougainvillea at the side that provided shade. The neighbors took out their plants and the trees in front died. The cave is much, much hotter than last year. I’ll have to look, but I don’t think there’s any venting in the roof. I’ll look in the morning.

  32. 32.

    Elizabelle

    Happy Birthday John Cole.

    Your little present, Thurston, arrived early this year.

    Hope this is a good one for you.

  34. 34.

    the Conster

    @mai naem mobile:

    It’s all squid ink. If you talk about the killer’s flag burning and manifesto, then you have to talk about where that attitude comes from and then the dots start being connected which lead to the Tea Party and right wing radio then to the GOP, then to the MSM then to Chuck Todd and the white male privileged casual accepted unacknowledged racism at the root of it all. Everything other than that, including alien abductions, will be discussed as a reason for Charleston first.

    ETA: Happy birthday John Cole, and many many more. You’ve got quite the community here – thanks and kudos for that.

  35. 35.

    satby

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I’ve known people who used them religiously and the ventilation overnight would cool down the whole house enough that it cut the air conditioning needs down.
    Now that I think about it, those might have been whole house attic fans.

  39. 39.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @ThresherK: Interesting point. I didn’t see his CBS Sunday morning interview, so I have no idea if his views were mentioned. I’m guessing no.

  40. 40.

    satby

    FYI: I emailed Joy to get a Belle update to share, last I heard Belle was doing well. Thanks again to everyone who helped get her to that happy state!
    BUT, for those of you who wanted soap samples, please leave your physical address in a conversation at my Etsy store (click on my nym at this comment). The recipients of the donations on these fundraiser sites don’t see anything more than your name and email address, so if I don’t hear from you I don’t know you were waiting for samples. Several people told me they didn’t want samples, but some of you may be wondering where yours are, and I want you to get them!

  42. 42.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Yeah, trees make a big difference.

    Do you have a gabled (peaked) roof? Vents should be at the ends near the peaks, or you might have a ridge vent at the peak (you can tell as the roof ‘bumps up’ at that point), and soffits (the overhang at the walls) should have screened vents their whole lengths. If you have a flat roof there should be small screened vents in the walls just below the roof line.

    If you have no vents (entirely possible) than an attic fan by itself is not likely to solve your problem. You can’t pull the hot air out if there is no way for cool air to get in to replace it.

  44. 44.

    mai naem mobile

    Happy Birthday John. Many Happy.Returns. Hope this year is as good for you as this last year.

  50. 50.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    If you have no vents (entirely possible) than an attic fan by itself is not likely to solve your problem. You can’t pull the hot air out if there is no way for cool air to get in to replace it.

    I was thinking that might be a problem.

    Joe’s being more prickish that usual today.

    ETA: They’re having Sen. Corker on; wonder if Harold Ford will be in the panel when they talk to him.(snicker)

  51. 51.

    satby

    @the Conster: the spinning, obfuscation, and denial going on with the conservatives last week was epic. Every massacre it gets harder for them to tamp down the anger from the rest of us. We need to not let that anger go, it needs to stay on a simmer until things change.
    Or like John Stewart said, otherwise we won’t do jackshit about it.

  52. 52.

    mai naem mobile

    I don’t know shit about attic fans but wouldn’t insulation make a bigger difference energy use-wise than a fan?

  53. 53.

    raven

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Not solar but hard wired. We will probably put a new roof on the entire house and asked out very energy oriented contractor and he said they fond they don’t really pay off. Maybe the solar will but we’re going to go with a ridge cap.

  54. 54.

    Germy Shoemangler

    Campaign Donations Linked to White Supremacist

    The leader of a white supremacist group that has been linked to Dylann Roof, the suspect in the murder of nine African-Americans in a Charleston, S.C., church last week, has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republican campaigns, including those of 2016 presidential contenders such as Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum and Rand Paul, records show.

  55. 55.

    ThresherK

    @Germy Shoemangler: I really didn’t see that part. After some bits about his health (let’s face it, he’s taken care of himself) and longevity (still in pretty good voice, no matter what one thinks of his material or career), they mentioned how his squareness in the 50s is like his continued squareness now.

    It was mentioned that he’s a proud Tea Party guy, but I literally went to take out the recycling rather than hear specifics. The bits you posted about his anti-Obama and anti-LGBT remarks, which I didn’t know of yesterday, may not have gotten into the CBS piece. I hope not, because it was clear this was not going to include any examination of them.

    As an aside, I guess merely “square” right-winger is no longer a possible thing, thanks to uppity liberals bothsides the crazification of the GOP. RIP Hank Hill.

  56. 56.

    raven

    @mai naem mobile: The space above the ceiling is prone to mildew issues if it is sealed. I’m betting Ozark knows what’s what.

    eta DUH, read the thread dumbs (me)

  57. 57.

    Elizabelle

    @David Koch: Thank you. This will be the first Marc Maron podcast I listen to, and doubt it will be the last.

    Here’s story on Marc from yesterday’s LA Times.

    … reflecting on the interview, Maron did say he found Obama disarming and thought the two had formed an emotional connection.

    Overall, the president seemed comfortable in the garage, Maron said, even joking about how many pictures of himself the comedian had as decoration.

    “He also noticed the postcard I have of two cats having sex,” Maron said, “But said, ‘We can’t talk about that.’”

    The White House first reached out to “WTF” a year ago, but only suggested the possibility of Obama appearing on the show in March. ….

    “But it didn’t become real to me until he got here,” Maron said. “I was so busy cramming my head and figuring out a way to approach it. I didn’t want to do a fluff interview, but I didn’t want to do a political interview. I wanted to have a real conversation.”

    Though he’s known for his comedy, Maron does in fact, have somewhat of a background in politics: He used to host a show called “Morning Sedition” for the left-leaning Air America.

    “I used to be very involved in politics, and for personal reasons I decided I had deeper issues to deal with,” said Maron, his cigar reaching its end. “He said that the reason he came on my show is that he wants to engage people in politics, period. When it comes right down to it, the American people have the power to change if they engage. But we all get caught up in an aggressive political dialogue and we’ve become very cynical. I think Obama knows that.”

    …. Beyond a few of his neighbors discovering “WTF” because of the Obama appearance, Maron doesn’t think “this is gonna be great for the podcast or whatever.” He’ll be happy if it brings attention to the medium, since it’s free, and “offers an alternate space for people to express themselves on these mics outside of the corporate paradigm.”

  58. 58.

    Elizabelle

    @Germy Shoemangler:

    Yup. From NYTimes. The Guardian (UK) broke the story:

    Mr. Cruz, a Texas senator, said Sunday night that he would be returning about $8,500 in donations that he had received from the Texas donor, Earl Holt III, who lists himself as president of the Council of Conservative Citizens.

    …. Mr. Holt, in a statement posted online in his name, said he was not surprised to learn that Mr. Roof had found out about “black-on-white violent crime” from his group because, he said, it was one of the few that had the courage to disclose “the seemingly endless incidents involving black-on-white murder.” But he said his group does not advocate violence and should not be held responsible for the shootings.

    Spokesmen for Mr. Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, and Mr. [Rand] Paul, a senator from Kentucky, did not respond to requests for comment on the donations. [Note: Santorum eventually planned to return the donation. No word yet from young Rand. He and his brave staff are not returning calls on this yet.]

    Mr. Holt, who identified himself in some donation records as a Texas “slumlord,” has also given money to a number of other current and former Republican members of Congress, including Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, former Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Representative Steve King of Iowa, and former Representative Todd Akin of Missouri.

    Why aren’t they reporting on Holt donations to Hillary? Both sides, people, both sides.

  59. 59.

    the Conster

    @satby:

    CBS This Morning just reported this story about the donations given to Cruz, Paul and Santorum’s campaign. There are only so many dots you can leave hanging around before they scream to be connected, but only if there is screaming.

    ETA: Elizabelle gets there first.

  60. 60.

    ThresherK

    @Elizabelle: Okay, I read the linky, and I’m dying to know if the quotes around slumlord means that it’s a euphemism, or if it really says this in the donation records.

  61. 61.

    Iowa Old Lady

    Happy birthday, Cole. Thank you for a place where people can talk about gardens and pets and racism and the economy, and do it (mostly) with grace and humor

  62. 62.

    Kay

    @the Conster:

    It’s all squid ink.

    Agreed. It drives me nuts though because I want to force them back to “what happened?”.

    It’s not as if they lack facts in this one. He laid it right out for them. I know they’re media personalities rather than journalists but “what happened?” should be their touchstone, what they use to stay honest. They go so far afield that one really can’t come up with any other explanation than “they really, really don’t want to talk about what happened“.

  63. 63.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @David Koch: I’m listening to the Maron podcast. The president still hasn’t arrived. Maron is describing the security precautions. They tented his whole driveway. There’s a sniper on the roof.

  64. 64.

    Elizabelle

    @the Conster: Germy got there first.

    The Guardian: Leader of group cited in ‘Dylann Roof manifesto’ donated to top Republicans

    From the Guardian’s reporting: Earl Holt III gave $1,500 to that nice young Tom Cotton of Arkansas (foreign policy genius), and $2,000 to Mitt Romney in 2012. Also $3,200 to crazy eyes Michelle Bachmann.

    A series of racist statements have been posted over the past four years to the website of The Blaze , a conservative news outlet [is that Glenn Beck’s website??], by a user going by Holt’s full name, Earl P Holt III. The user referred to Longview, Texas – which is where Holt lives – as his hometown. A commenter using the same screen name on various other news websites has identified himself as a member of the CofCC.

    [Says his spokesman]: “If there’s a statement that is ‘Earl P Holt III’, he probably made it.”

    Several of the comments referred to black people as “Africanus Criminalis”, a faux-Latin label also used in an online message for which Holt reportedly apologised in 2004. Holt, then a radio host in Missouri, referred to black people as “niggers” five times in the message.

    In June 2012 the poster “Earl P Holt III” stated that he had bought and become proficient in “a great many weapons” to ensure that being white did not “get me murdered” by non-white people.

    …. Under a February 2014 article, the same user warned other readers that black activists would “kill you, rape your entire family, and burn your house to the ground”. According to an account of a report by a witness, Roof complained to his victims in Charleston last week: “You rape our women.”

    One comment said of black people: “One can extricate them from the jungle, but one CANNOT purge the jungle from THEM”, while another said: “I do wish they’d keep their violence and savagery within their own communities”.

    The commenter using Holt’s name also complained under a story about white privilege about his taxes being distributed “to every baby-daddy, baby-momma, welfare cheat, drug-dealer, Oprah-watcher, felon, alcoholic, drug-addict and deadbeat in America.”

    The Guardian has links to Holt’s online comments; did not check them out.

  67. 67.

    Elizabelle

    @satby:

    Every massacre it gets harder for them to tamp down the anger from the rest of us. We need to not let that anger go, it needs to stay on a simmer until things change.

    Bingo. Hold them accountable, and get the laws changed to ensure more sensible and regulated gun ownership.

    Which will take electing a better Congress, and overturning our current campaign finance rules. The NRA has bought itself legislators whom it can intimidate at will; no doubt there.

    Make the NRA radioactive. Make them the CCC of gun groups.

    You know there are a LOT of gun owners who try to distance themselves from the NRA. Give them cover. Especially if they are responsible and could work with us for saner gun rules and more regulation. They can be the face of the issue. Not just the NRA retreads or “no gun” absolutists.

  68. 68.

    Jerzy Russian

    @BillinGlendaleCA: We had the roof redone 5 or 6 years ago. We has a solar fan installed (it cost about $500), a few of those wind-powered rotor fans, a few of the low-profile vents, and insulation installed. Also at that time the code mandated that we get these heat-reflective shingles. The house is a lot cooler, and we hardly run the AC (we are in San Diego).

    It is hard to say which one of these items made the most difference in our case. I do remember a friend mentioning years ago that he touched his ceiling once during summer and was surprised by how hot it was. Adding some attic insulation helped that.

  69. 69.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    I haven;t listened to it yet so maybe they address this, but people are cynical for a reason and until that’s admitted and dealt with I don’t think we’ll just talk them out of being cynical.

    Obama isn’t responsible for what everyone who leaves his employ does and this has been going on a long, long time- decades- but there is a story like this once a week out of DC, and that is why people are cynical.

    Are you a tech company with a political problem? Hire yourself a respected Obama admin economist and make it go away:

    twitter.com/lydiadepillis

    publicpolicy.airbnb.com/new-report-impact-airbnb-middle-class-income-stagnation/

  70. 70.

    the Conster

    @Kay:

    We’ve had two young men go on killing sprees leaving behind manifestos – one explaining in voluminous painstaking logic his hatred of women, and the other explaining in clearly written prose his hatred of blacks. Yet they can’t possibly be taken at their word because white men don’t have agendas, especially the ones represented on the news shows who have all succeeded with no help from the system that favors white men and who are completely unbiased and report on such killing sprees with the view from nowhere, where all that murderous acting out is obviously mental illness, and not the pure distillation and expression of the deeds necessary to maintain the system.

  71. 71.

    Elizabelle

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Per the Guardian, the group is based in Missouri. (Lucky you.) Mr. Holt’s ass is personally parked in the Republic of Texas.

    Holt, 62, is the president of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC), a Missouri-based activist organisation

    And Holt gave money to that nice Todd Akin too. You know he did. It’s in the NY Times story (link above):

    Mr. Holt, who identified himself in some donation records as a Texas “slumlord,” has also given money to a number of other current and former Republican members of Congress, including Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, former Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Representative Steve King of Iowa, and former Representative Todd Akin of Missouri.

    The name that stands out in that list is Rob Portman, who presents himself as not a mouthbreather. Jeff Flake has also moderated a few stands in recent months … this could be embarrassing for them.

  73. 73.

    Elizabelle

    I watched a bit of Morning Joe this morning, and Joe was monologuing about how he had a confederate flag up on his wall in college (along with a British flag, he was quick to include) and he went on and on and on about how it just means the South. It was kind of clueless.

    Mika and the others sat respectfully listening to him meander. Maybe giving him enough confederate flag to hang himself.

    They announced Bill Kristol was up next. Click.

  74. 74.

    scav

    Grand plants and flowering bits: time indeed for some serious green thing time. Bithday and non birthday greetings to all.

  76. 76.

    debbie

    @Elizabelle:

    It is beyond offensive to hear complaints about black-on-white violence, considering the country’s history of white-on-black violence. How does this kind of thing get traction? It’s like the earth being flat — easily disproved, yet it persists.

  78. 78.

    debbie

    @Elizabelle:

    It was kind of clueless.

    As Harry Shearer reminded his radio show listeners yesterday, the Stars and Bars is the Flag of Losers.

    That needs to be emphasized more.

  79. 79.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay:

    Great. Gene Sperling. Who is even more associated with Bill Clinton (where he began his prominence; I always think of him more as a Clinton guy than an Obama guy). Pulled in over $800K advising Goldman Sachs on “charitable giving” too.

    From Kay’s link, via Lydia DePillis:

    we [Air bnb] asked former White House National Economic Advisor and Director of the National Economic Council Gene Sperling to study the specific impacts of home sharing on the middle class. In a new report released today — The Impact of Airbnb on Middle Class Income Stagnation — Mr. Sperling finds the supplemental money earned by our hosts essentially represents a 14 percent annual raise for middle class families on our platform.

    This air bnb link includes a link to Sperling’s report; comes up as a 7-page PDF download.

    That’s a topic for another thread. Yes, those who own homes can bring in additional income. BUT Air bnb is an Uber-like entity that lets its users skip local taxes and fees paid by actual hoteliers.

    And some properties in tight housing markets are being scooped up for air bnb use, reducing the availability of affordable or available housing even more, with income going to rentiers.

  80. 80.

    Elizabelle

    @JPL: I switched to Fox News a few times over the weekend. Most often a commercial, or them talking about something else. Decided not to waste my time. Didn’t even check on them this morning. Morning Joe is plenty, I guess.

  81. 81.

    Elizabelle

    @debbie: I think we can encourage people of Southern heritage to use a different emblem than the flag of treason. The flag of losers, as Harry Shearer pointed out.

    IF their “heritage” of being from the South is truly what they are supporting.

    Why don’t they use their state flag? And, in all honesty, seeing a sticker of the South Carolina flag (palmetto tree and moon) makes me wonder if the driver loves the beaches and cuisine and culture, or if it’s a backdoor nod to SC’s segregationist history.

    I usually decide it’s the beaches and natural beauty, and the people who are so kind to you down there. (To your face, anyway…)

  83. 83.

    Hillary Rettig

    My partner just did a TEDx talk about how he used simple mathematical models to prove,

    (a) MASSIVE inequality is the default in unregulated economic systems, and
    (b) to reduce inequality, focus not on tax rates but on how the tax revenues are redistributed. (As most BJers prob know, most tax dollars are returned overwhelmingly to the rich in the form of corp. subsidies, etc.)

    Please view, like, and share his talk!
    youtube.com/watch?v=ZHsT9nQYX88

  84. 84.

    Elizabelle

    Maybe they could have a flag with pimiento cheese and iced tea and more innocuous southern culture symbols.

    Nutria? Armadillos? Manatees? Kudzu? Nascar?

  85. 85.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    Absolutely agree on Obama guys and Clinton guys, as I said it isn’t “the Obama Administration” – it is everywhere.

    People see it now where they didn’t used to because of 24/7 media and social media and specialized outlets (the person I linked to is a labor reporter- they focus on income inequality).

    I just don’t think analyzing the feelings of the public addresses the reality of this. They want to know who these people work for, the public or their private sector employers, and that is a good and fair question.

    Robert Gibbs is working for McDonalds now. Will I see him out advocating against the minimum wage increases? What are people supposed to think?

  88. 88.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay: I wish that voters could choose the ethics rules our government operates under.

    Leaving it up to Congressmembers and administration figures — who want to scoop up every dollar available, in campaign finance now and in lobbying and corporate jobs later — is ridiculous. They do not police themselves, and they do not work for us. They go into Congress for power and to make more money down the road. It’s the intermediate step between them and corporate paymasters they can then report to directly.

    Could we get traction on that?

    And I wish voters could outlaw some of the Senate’s arcane laws and customs that end up bollixing up the actual will of the voters. No way James Inhofe or someone else should get to be such a road block.

    Just because something’s been done a certain way for years, it’s a tradition that developed, does not mean that it’s a good one.

    Make those assholes work for us.

  89. 89.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Elizabelle:

    You know there are a LOT of gun owners who try to distance themselves from the NRA.

    I am one of those gun owners, almost virulently anti-NRA. Saner gun rules and more regulation are absolutely necessary. But being the face of the issue? I won’t do that to my wife. My getting death threats and or getting my truck vandalized etc… No big deal, been there, done that. All smoke-no fire.

    But having those things done to my wife? I won’t allow for the possibility.

  90. 90.

    sharl

    Happy Birthday JGC! May you have many more.

    To those curious about Earl Holt III of Longview TX (zip code 75601) – head of the racist Conservative Citizens Council – yep, sure enough, in some of his FEC filings he describes his occupation as “Slumlord”. Whattaguy!

    I couldn’t figure out how to directly link to his results page at the FEC site. You can go to that site and enter his first and last name, as instructed, and in the two pages of results that come back, his name is seen most often (look for Longview TX).

    The OpenSecrets site seems better about narrowing down a search. See if this link works for the charming Mr. Holt’s record of contributions.

    ETA: yep, that last link works fine, and – assuming they properly uploaded the FEC filing data – does a better job of isolating the man’s contributions from others with similar names.

  91. 91.

    Kathleen

    @Elizabelle: Thanks for the link. I saw Maron’s stand up live when he was still on Air America. He was brilliant.

    Oh, and Happy Birthday John.

  92. 92.

    Face

    What time will Fat Tony and Ilk spew forth their bilious hatred for all things nice and efficient?

    Is it 9EDT or 10 EDT?

  93. 93.

    Kathleen

    @Elizabelle: On next Sunday’s Meet the Press, Chuck Todd will have a segment on Marion Barry and Adam Clayton Powell because both sides and he needs to stick it to the Liberal Man!

  94. 94.

    Elizabelle

    @OzarkHillbilly: I hear you.

    And that has to change.

    And what you are describing — “death threats and or getting my truck vandalized” — is a campaign of terror.

    Republicans don’t seem to mind putting any bumper sticker they want up, and keeping it on forever. I still see “Bush-Cheney” stickers.

    Democrats are sometimes wary to display bumperstickers, because it’s an invitation to get your car keyed, or your ragtop slashed. I get told that when canvassing. I have had my car spat on by a carful of teenage boys.

    Which might be one reason Republicans think they are doing better — “look– Romney yard signs!” — than they really are.

    But some people need to take the lead, and then others can join them.

  95. 95.

    Josie

    Late to the party, but Happy Birthday, John Cole. Thanks for this site and all its denizens.

  97. 97.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    I think it’s probably impossible to restrict where people work for long periods of time. One also wouldn’t want a situation where no one in government had any experience or specialized knowlege, so they were limited to really short periods of government work.

    It’s definitely a hard problem to solve but it is a problem and that should be addressed rather than implying it’s only a problem with public perception. It’s more than that. We see the policy and the players and we see influence.

  100. 100.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Elizabelle: I presently have “Black Lives Matter” on my truck. Fully expected to lose some glass but so far the only ones to have taken exception to it was a pair of bluebirds who sh!t all over it. (BLUE LIVES MATTER TOO!!) Racists are idiots holding onto an ideology that has long since outlived public acceptability, and they know it. The gun nuts on the other hand…

    I read about a women who got on TV saying anti-gun things and after that she was subjected to stalking, being spat on, and yelled at by strangers. Did I mention she is confined to a wheelchair? (got shot, IIRC) Came home one night and somebody stepped out from behind a bush and shot her with a squirt gun saying “Next time Bitch, it’ll be a real gun.”

    I am fairly certain that I would never be confronted so directly. My wife? Where we live so far out in the boonie woods? I have 2 fears about such an event: My wife’s ability to deal with the fear that would engender, and my reaction to somebody inflicting that fear upon her.

    Like I said, I won’t allow for the possibility.

  101. 101.

    Elizabelle

    Positive story, LA Times, about Martin O’Malley coming out strongly about racism and the need for gun control. Worth a read.

    Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley suggested Sunday that Congress had fallen under the sway of “white racism” and the political force of the National Rifle Assn. in refusing to respond with new laws to a cascade of shooting incidents in recent years.

    Speaking before the nation’s mayors, gathered in San Francisco, O’Malley pointed to gun restrictions passed when he was governor of Maryland to ban assault weapons, enforce background checks and tighten permitting procedures — efforts that have been blocked at the national level by Republicans, and some Democrats, in Congress.

    “One of the sad triumphs of white racism is the degree to which it has succeeded in subconsciously convincing so many of us, black and white, that somehow black lives don’t matter,” he said. “If the thousands of young men killed by gun violence every year across America were young, poor and white — rather than young, poor and black — it is hard to imagine that our Congress would continue to block common-sense measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.”

    And then this odd formulation, nearly at the end. Sloppy writing, I am guessing. (Reporter used “cobbled” rather than “hobbled” upstream.)

    He has the same touchy task as Clinton: to acknowledge the failings of the Obama years without repudiating a president who remains highly popular among their party’s voters.

    O’Malley said he would lead a renaissance of job creation in the nation’s cities — although he did not say how, other than to insist that it had to be done by the president, not state or local leaders. [???]

    “For all the good work President Obama has done to save us from the second Great Depression,” he said, “… the fact of the matter is most Americans feel like we are all working harder but slipping further behind — and they’re not wrong.”

    And that is Obama’s fault? All by his lonesome? Really? Can we hold Republicans accountable for anything? And it’s the President’s job — so you don’t suggest electing a better Congress and Senate, and better governors and state legislatures, to work with him?

    Do you think O’Malley meant it that way? He’s not exactly running against Obama in 2016.

    Did some editor insist on sticking it in for balance, since the white supremacists and NRA gun humpers are pretty strongly in the GOP tent?

    Will find O’Malley’s speech later, as time permits.

  102. 102.

    Betty Cracker

    @Elizabelle: As much as it pains me to agree with The Squint on any topic, I think it’s true that the Confederate flag wasn’t always as closely associated with racism and historical revisionism as it is now — among white people. I’m sure non-whites always viewed it the way sensible people of all hues today do, but it took longer for the scales to fall from the eyes of many non-actively-racist-asshole white folks in the South, some of whom until fairly recently viewed it as a harmless, mock-defiant cultural emblem.

    Remember that dumbass “Dukes of Hazzard” show that ran until the mid-80s, featuring a car called “The General Lee” with a Confederate flag on it? Was the Confederate symbolism in that show consciously about promoting white supremacy? Nah. It was supposed to be about lovable redneck scamps and sexy, scantily clad cousins. Interesting that in the 2005 reboot movie, the car had lost its Confederate flag. The flag has slowly become less acceptable in polite company among Southern white people.

  105. 105.

    Glaukopis

    Ditto the birthday wishes, John. Thanks for this blog, where I mostly just lurk yet feel part of it.

  107. 107.

    Gene108

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    There’s some overlap between gun-nuts and white supremacists. Sort of like sleuthing out the CofCC giving to Republicans, it would be intersting to see if any known white supremacist groups or individuals are members of the NRA or GOA.

    Not every gun nut stockpiling weapons to oppose government tyranny and launch a second Revolutionary War are white supremacists, but I bet there’s an overlap, if the media will do a little digging.

    Hell, McVeigh got some inspiration from ” The Turner Diaries” and became a gun nut, and did what he did, in part, to avenge Randy Weaver, who was arrested selling illegal guns to white supremacists.

  108. 108.

    divF

    Happy birthday, Mr. Cole. Thanks for hosting such a great blog, one of the go-to places in the left blogosphere.

  110. 110.

    shell

    So are the chattering heads g oing to be freaking out over the ‘N-word scandal?’ today. Makes me wish they finally catch those two escaped prisoners in upstate New York; will take the focus away .

  111. 111.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Back in the 1970s, my windshield was shattered because of my bumper sticker supporting the Tiimberlane, NH teachers during a strike. I will never put another sticker of any kind on my car. Anything is bound to piss someone off.

  112. 112.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Gene108: The difference is the racists know it’s not acceptable to be racist because all the virulently racist hate groups are being watched the FBI, the gun nuts think it is acceptable to be a gun nut because the NRA is lauded in the halls of congress.

  113. 113.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @debbie: Some people need to be pissed off and I am more than willing to do it, just not at my wife’s expense.

  114. 114.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @debbie:

    Anything is bound to piss someone off.

    The harassment, vandalism and threats mostly come from the right.

    Wingnuts proudly display a variety of offensive bumperstickers without fear. If anyone speaks up or displays any sort of left-alternative to that, they more often than not will receive hate mail, an obscene phone call, or a slashed tire. At the very least, a nice long key scratch on the side of the car.

    My wife marched back in 2003. That’s when we opted for call-ID

  116. 116.

    Elizabelle

    @OzarkHillbilly: Props from me for driving a pickup truck with “Black Lives Matter” bumpersticker in Missouri.

    People can extrapolate your support for all kinds of other good ideas from sporting that one.

  117. 117.

    Germy Shoemangler

    I’ve become a crank on this subject, I know, but I’ll say it one more time:

    Again and again I’ve seen commenters here say that progressives need to “start at the bottom” and run local races, and then move up to bigger elections.

    Every time I’ve mentioned what i’ve seen of RW harassment, others have shared their experiences with hate mail, obscene phone calls and worse.

    Speak out against the NRA in your small town… you WILL receive death threats. Run as a liberal in your small town… you WILL be stalked.

    Sorry to sound like a coward, or a defeatist.

    Any crooked car dealer or contractor can run for local office and not worry. They can spout bullshit all they want at town meetings, and the RWNJs will nod and applaud.

  118. 118.

    Elizabelle

    Anne Laurie’s put up a fresh thread on the weekend’s SC anti-flag of treason rally.

    In addition to Richard’s thread on insurance co-pays, when one is referred from doctor’s office to the ER. Bit of disincentive there, with co-pay policy.

  119. 119.

    Elizabelle

    @Germy Shoemangler: True. It’s the world the RWNJs have devolved upon us.

    And it has to change. Which will be painful and inconvenient for the non-RWNJs, at first and for a long time, in stepping up.

  120. 120.

    mzinformation

    Happy Birthday to the master of my favorite blog. Thanks for everything John!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  121. 121.

    Elizabelle

    Today is tribute to Christopher Lee tribute on TCM’s daytime programming.

    Schedule (times are Eastern) is:

    9:30 a Horror of Dracula

    11:00 a Dracula, Prince of Darkness

    12:45 p Dracula Has Risen from the Dead

    2:30 p Horror Express

    4:00 p The Three Musketeers

    6:00 p The Four Musketeers

  122. 122.

    The Golux

    Birthday greetings, John. It would be my mother’s 90th, were she still among the living.

  124. 124.

    gene108

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    The difference is the racists know it’s not acceptable to be racist because all the virulently racist hate groups are being watched the FBI, the gun nuts think it is acceptable to be a gun nut because the NRA is lauded in the halls of congress.

    I think the gun nuts provide some level of cover for the racist groups…just a pet theory of mine…

    I think the higher ups in the NRA or GOA are well aware they provide cover for violent racists to stockpile weapons, but do not care…again, just a pet theory I have…

  126. 126.

    Felonius Monk

    I’m very late to the party here, but have a Happy Birthday, John. And, thanks also for keeping the doors open here and cleaning up after the food fights. I wish you many more long happy and healthy years.

  127. 127.

    Jay C

    Happy Birthday, John, many happy returns* of the day!

    6/22 is my birthday, too: glad to know I share it with somebody famous…!

    *”returns” of what never seem to be specified, though: but in any case, I hope they’re happy!

  133. 133.

    Tree With Water

    This has happened with my service over the past few weeks. The Guardian.com reports:

    “Major internet providers, including AT&T, Time Warner and Verizon, are slowing data from popular websites to thousands of US businesses and residential customers in dozens of cities across the country, according to a study released on Monday.

    The study, conducted by internet activists BattlefortheNet, looked at the results from 300,000 internet users and found significant degradations on the networks of the five largest internet service providers (ISPs), representing 75% of all wireline households across the US.

    The findings come weeks after the Federal Communications Commission introduced new rules meant to protect “net neutrality” – the principle that all data is equal online – and keep ISPs from holding traffic speeds for ransom..”.

  134. 134.

    J R in WV

    Happy Birthday, John !! and many more…

    We had an Obama bumper sticker on both the car and the F-350 from the day he announced his primary run. I was surprised that in all the years of driving the VW and the big pickup, we only had two instances of any negative reaction.

    One was a biker who passed us on the local highway in Arizona, and gave us a thumbs down as he got past me. This was early on, maybe even before the inauguration, and he was pretty bikerish too.

    Then later, well into his first term, we were visiting Indian Mounds up in the Ohio valley, and a big Chrysler passed us (I was speeding on I-70 and they blew past us) and a old guy wearing a pork-pie hat, very Republican looking, gave me the finger as they got in front of us. Prick!

    I am not surprised that the more polite signal of disapproval came from a biker and the most obscene gesture came from Republican wearing a summer seersucker suit coat and a pork-pie hat, probably on the way home from the gold course.

    I have had many cars keyed over the years. I feel sure mostly by Republicans or their supporters. The rule of law isn’t for Republicans, it is for the other people, the ones beneath the Republicans, you know, like all the Democrats, immigrants, women, etc…

    Anyways, Happy Birthday, Mr. J. G Cole, wherever you are!!

  135. 135.

    Tree With Water

    @J R in WV: Your story reminds me of Eugene McCarthy knowing that LBJ was vulnerable when he realized he could call the president an SOB in any bar in the country and not get punched out. Not all that many anymore remember the respect that the office of the presidency once instilled in people.

  136. 136.

    redshirt

    I removed my two Obama bumper stickers after the bummer that was 2014 because I did get mildly hassled by rednecks from time to time, but more so because I drive like an asshole to these idiots and I hate to represent a bad example – I felt like I was demeaning Barack.

    Also, I love that the word “Barack” is now in Firefox’s spell check.

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