Thursday Open Thread

51
  by: Colorado Pols Thu June 14, 2012 at 3:04 PM MDT

“Against stupidity the very gods themselves contend in vain.”

–Friedrich Schiller


Full story: Thursday Open Thread

51 Community Comments, Facebook Comments

  1. PitaPita says:
    Thu June 14, 2012 at 4:31 PM MDT

    There you have it folks – the morning news in a nutshell.  

    Have a nice day!

  2. davebarnesdavebarnes says:
    Thu June 14, 2012 at 4:51 PM MDT

    Americans See Biggest Home Equity Jump in 60 Years: Mortgages

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/…

    Consumer Prices in U.S. Fell in May by Most in Three Years

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/…

    Truckers as Leading Indicator Show Stable U.S. Economic Growth

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/…

    More Gains for Southern California Home Sales and Median Prices

    http://www.dqnews.com/Articles…

    Denver’s housing trifecta: Bidding wars, low inventory, rising prices

    http://insiderealestatenews.co…

    • ProgressiveCowgirlProgressiveCowgirl says:
      Thu June 14, 2012 at 8:54 PM MDT

      …now if all my purple Salvia would just stop dying…

      • AristotleAristotle says:
        Thu June 14, 2012 at 9:11 PM MDT

        Mine falls over every year. Every year I say to myself, “Go buy some support hoops for the salvia this year.” Every year it explodes, looks lovely for two days, then falls over in the first breeze over 8 mph. Every year I grit my teeth and say “next year for sure.” This has gone on for six years now…

        • ProgressiveCowgirlProgressiveCowgirl says:
          Thu June 14, 2012 at 9:23 PM MDT

          I have a garden patch in front of my house where two 25+ year old Juniper bushes used to live. They were tried and found guilty of harboring a spider infestation, so I took a chainsaw to ‘em. I amended the soil with compost and gave it a good month of exposure to the elements, tilled it multiple times by hand, and then planted Russian Sage, wildflowers, and purple salvia.

          The Russian Sage is happy as can be, the wildflower seed is sprouting, the couple sunflower sprouts I rescued from someone who was throwing them out are fine, but the salvia dried up blooms-first and died.

          WTF?

          • AristotleAristotle says:
            Thu June 14, 2012 at 11:06 PM MDT

            They’re the gardener’s best friend, along with ladybugs.

            I used to have a little evergreen shrub, I think a juniper also, that we got rid of because we wanted something else, and some plants just wouldn’t take to that spot for a long time. This was with our having made similar soil amendments, I believe mostly bagged garden soil and compost. The Grand Mesa beardtongue that I planted last year finally proved to be the one that could live there, although it didn’t grow up any last year.

            I haven’t looked up to see if junipers somehow affect the soil to make it harder for certain plants to thrive there or not, but I’m suspicious.

            • ProgressiveCowgirlProgressiveCowgirl says:
              Thu June 14, 2012 at 11:36 PM MDT

              If they would have stayed in the junipers, we could have had a peaceful standoff, but they kept coming into the house. My quality of life has improved greatly since the junipers were removed, thanks to the significant decrease in the household spider population. I won’t use insecticides indoors (or out for that matter, except for the occasional can of wasp spray since one of my housemates is allergic and we can’t take too many chances with those). So the junipers had to go. Also, they were really ugly and had been poorly cared for, leading them to go so brown on the insides that trimming them back enough to leave the sidewalk free resulted in ugly brown spiny branches showing.

              Anyway, that’s really interesting that you had a similar experience! I was wondering if the juniper affected the soil in a way adverse to other flora. I’ll give the CSU extension office a call and see if they know anything.

              I have two different types of Russian sage there now and both have rooted nicely. I’ll see how the wildflowers do. They’re just seedlings right now. It’ll be a shame if they perish, as it’s a “bee rescue” mix and I’m installing honeybees soon.

              • AristotleAristotle says:
                Fri June 15, 2012 at 2:33 AM MDT

                and got a plant called “lavender bee balm.” Latin name monarda fistula menthaefolia. It’s what grew around Mesa Verda back when the Anasazi still lived there. They grow the kind of globular flowers bees seem to love. Globe thistles are cool for that, too. In my veggie garden, the oregano is the most popular.

                My sister keeps bees, so I get little bits of knowledge from her. Good on you for getting them. But don’t get too discouraged if you lose a hive or two in the winter…

                • ProgressiveCowgirlProgressiveCowgirl says:
                  Fri June 15, 2012 at 3:52 AM MDT

                  I love anything purple :)

                  The bees actually won’t be mine. A local beekeeper is using my home as a host family for a couple of hives, and he’ll be taking care of them — I get honey and the company of lovely bees, and he gets to add to his collection and increase his total honey/comb/pollen output, win-win!  

                  • AristotleAristotle says:
                    Fri June 15, 2012 at 5:16 AM MDT

                    then you may want to skip the oregano. Honey tastes exactly like the flowers the bees pollinate. (That means spring honey tastes like all the blooming fruit tree blossoms. Yum….)

              • Sir RobinSir Robin says:
                Fri June 15, 2012 at 2:49 AM MDT

                it’s a must see, and I applaude everyone who supports bees in any way they can.

                My wife’s grandparents were bee keepers. Our wedding was held at the “Honey Home” (apt), which was the origiinal homestead and site of a couple of generations of beekeeping.

                See this video.

              • Gray in Mountains says:
                Fri June 15, 2012 at 2:58 AM MDT

                a forester told me that conifers make soil acidic, so acidic that aspens can’t easily grow to maturity around conifers.

                Bees. Einstein gave humans 3 years of survival if bees don’t make it. I notice many, many more this year than I have ever seen up here in the high lands  

  3. ClubTwittyClubTwitty says:
    Thu June 14, 2012 at 4:54 PM MDT

    The first questioner, Joe Jarvis, set the tone for the meeting in the Masonic Lodge meeting hall when he asked, “Are you with us or against us?”

    Another questioner later put a finer point on it, demanding to know whether the sheriff would stand against federal forces “when the tanks are rolling down the street” and federal agencies are moving to confiscate guns.

    http://www.gjsentinel.com/news…

    It COULD Happen Here…


    Dunlap and McKee said they were watching with interest in the notion that an outside threat to American sovereignty could be taking shape in the form of agreements, such as Agenda 21, with the United Nations.

    Some elements of Agenda 21 are “something we should be scared to death of,” as it seems to be intended to drive people out of rural areas and into metropolitan areas, McKee said.

    “We have to be aware of it when we’re considering taking grant money. We’re aware of it as an issue.”

    A Cryin’ Shame…Deputies LOVE pulling over armed traffic scofflaws!

    If anything, the sheriffs suggested,laws are too restrictive already on gun ownership.

    “It’s a crying shame that lawful citizen has to have a license to pack a gun,” McKee said.

    When his deputies make a stop they know to involve a person who holds a concealed-weapons permit, “We consider that person a friend,” Hilkey said.

  4. AristotleAristotle says:
    Thu June 14, 2012 at 6:52 PM MDT

    I know some polsters do.

      • Fidel's dirt nap says:
        Thu June 14, 2012 at 8:40 PM MDT

        1) start two wars

        2) don’t count them in the budget

        3) call them overseas contingency operations

        DONE. Whew !  I had to roll up my sleeves for that one; off to lunch.

      • AristotleAristotle says:
        Thu June 14, 2012 at 9:08 PM MDT

        I’ve never heard of “political math blog,” but something tells me it hasn’t been around long enough to take on its word yet.

      • ajb says:
        Thu June 14, 2012 at 10:15 PM MDT

        Just look at it. Seriously.

        You just absolutely killed every argument that might have gone before.

        Bush: Spending up ~$1T over 8 years (from ~2.5T to ~3.5T)

        Obama: Small bump in 2009, declining since. Spending flat over 3 years.

        Everything else in your list is spin.

        Like: Why use CBO estimates? Because they include more realistic estimates of entitlement spending (which isn’t discretionary). This also helps explain the spike in 2009. More entitlement spending when the economy faltered.

        Why assign 2009 to Bush, when Obama ended up signing the budget? That budget was late, but in the meanwhile, govt spending continued under CRs signed by Bush.

        It’s too bad you’re so uncritical in your thinking when you agree with the results.

        • ellbee says:
          Thu June 14, 2012 at 10:27 PM MDT

          Even the AP called bullshit on the ‘thrifty’ argument.

          The MarketWatch study finds spending growth of only 1.4 percent over 2010-2013, or annual increases averaging 0.4 percent over that period. Those are stunningly low figures considering that Obama rammed through Congress an $831 billion stimulus measure in early 2009 and presided over significant increases in annual spending by domestic agencies at the same time the cost of benefit programs like Social Security, Medicare and the Medicaid were ticking steadily higher.

          A fairer calculation would give Obama much of the responsibility for an almost 10 percent budget boost in 2009, then a 13 percent increase over 2010-2013, or average annual growth of spending of just more than 3 percent over that period.

          So, how does the administration arrive at its claim?

          First, there’s the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the official name for the Wall Street bailout. First, companies got a net $151 billion from TARP in 2009, making 2010 spending look smaller. Then, because banks and Wall Street firms repaid a net $110 billion in TARP funds in 2010, Obama is claiming credit for cutting spending by that much.

          The combination of TARP lending in one year and much of that money being paid back in the next makes Obama’s spending record for 2010 look $261 billion thriftier than it really was. Only by that measure does Obama “cut” spending by 1.8 percent in 2010 as the analysis claims.

          The federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also makes Obama’s record on spending look better than it was. The government spent $96 billion on the Fannie-Freddie takeovers in 2009 but only $40 billion on them in 2010. By the administration’s reckoning, the $56 billion difference was a spending cut by Obama.

          Taken together, TARP and the takeover of Fannie and Freddie combine to give Obama an undeserved $317 billion swing in the 2010 figures and the resulting 1.8 percent cut from 2009. A fairer reading is an almost 8 percent increase.

          The Fat Lady is warming up….

          • ajb says:
            Thu June 14, 2012 at 11:02 PM MDT

            The MarketWatch study finds…

            They’re just uncritically passing on the same drivel you posted above (from MarketWatch).

            But let’s look at this one…

            Banks were bailed out in 2009, not 2010.

            Banks paid back most of that in 2010.

            That makes spending smaller in 2010.

            What’s wrong with that? TARP was passed by Bush. He gets credit for the spending.

            The Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac stuff is nonsensical. Maybe you understand it well enough to explain it to me. But the right-leaning editorial slant of this piece makes me suspicious. (If you want to see legislation that was “rammed through”, I suggest you look at how the Bush tax cuts were passed. The stimulus doesn’t come close to that.)

            • AristotleAristotle says:
              Thu June 14, 2012 at 11:08 PM MDT

              ellbee neglected to copy and paste their conclusion:

              All told, government spending now appears to be growing at an annual rate of roughly 3 percent over the 2010-2013 period…

              … which is still significantly lower than anyone on the Forbes chart, especially Reagan and Bush II.

      • Mr. Toodles says:
        Fri June 15, 2012 at 6:09 AM MDT

        Why can’t you ever articulate a position on your own? You always use some sort of prop and throw in a snide remark. I guess you think you are being funny, but its certainly not informative.

  5. nancycronk says:
    Thu June 14, 2012 at 8:48 PM MDT

    I don’t smoke pot, so it does not affect me in the slightest, but I don’t understand how this is not considered illegal search and seizure. Unlike alcohol breath tests, they are not arresting people for being under the influence, but for possession. To this non-lawyer, this seems completely unconstitutional. Attorneys — will you weigh in?

    http://blogs.westword.com/late…

    • Phoenix RisingPhoenix Rising says:
      Thu June 14, 2012 at 10:33 PM MDT

      If they use sniffer dogs, those aren’t considered an invasion of privacy, but once the dogs sound they have probable cause to search.

      It’s an odd ruling, considering the court not long ago put limits on using things like thermal imagers on private houses for very similar reasons.

      (I think the dog sniffing thing was a SCOTUS ruling – anyone?)

  7. SSG_Dan says:
    Fri June 15, 2012 at 1:19 AM MDT

    and the banner ads that show up on Pols are MUCH different than the ones in Denver….

    http://action.freedomworks.org…

    http://www.campaignforsovereig…

    And then the usual bunch of cell phone ads…

    • droll says:
      Fri June 15, 2012 at 2:25 AM MDT

      Troops suicide above the fold.

      • SSG_Dan says:
        Fri June 15, 2012 at 5:28 AM MDT

        Raped in the Military, Then Raped by the House of Representatives

        Anyone who served in the military during the last decade has heard about a woman service member who was raped by another American. Military rape is far more common than anyone would like to admit. Writing in 2008, Representative Jane Harmon opined that a serving woman was “more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.”

        According to the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, in 2011, 3,192 sexual assaults were reported, a comparable number to the year before. Of those, 490 were court martialed, and just slightly over 100 were discharged or jailed. That’s three percent (although you’ll have to work your way through some obfuscatory math to get to that number.)

        But the same Pentagon office also estimates that friendly-fire rape is vastly under reported. They estimate the real number of friendly-fire rapes at around 19,000 every year – over six times the reported number. Do the math and a service member-rapist is likely to be convicted in only one-half of one percent of estimated rapes. Only about one-quarter of 1 percent (.0025%) went to a military prison. The other quarter percent were simply separated from service, free to prey on civilian women. In fairness, leaders are now trying, but rape still mostly gets a free pass in the services.

        Feeling sick yet?

        Well stay near the bucket, because House Republicans are poised to again deny abortion services to service members who were raped and then became rape-pregnant. Even if they are raped by an enemy combatant they can’t get emergency abortion services.

        http://technorati.com/politics…

    • Barron X says:
      Fri June 15, 2012 at 8:15 AM MDT

      .

      I had misplaced Dick Armey’s phone number.  Think I’ll give him a call an catch up on ol’ times.  

Leave a Reply

Comment from your Facebook account


You may comment with your Colorado Pols account above (click here to register), or via Facebook below.