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November 08, 2014 02:55 AM UTC

Weekend Open Thread

  • 118 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

"Prefer a loss to a dishonest gain."

–Chilon of Sparta

Comments

118 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread

      1. Maybe the Dems. look weaker but the economy and country are definitely stronger since Republicans torpedoed the economy with their ideological stupidity.  Take a look at what's happening to the Russian ruble today.  The two countries that were going in opposite directions until Tuesday.  I have absolutely no confidence that Republicans have learned anything since their disastrous stewardship during the Bush years.  None.  Dems will be back cleaning up the shit after the next implosion of insane Republican policies.

        1. GG, take a look at the Russian tanks heading into the Ukraine, the middle east, ISIS.  If you think you the US is stronger internationally after 6 years of Obama, you are getting close to Dust Puppy and his grip on reality.

          Not everything is bad.  Not everything is good.  We had a weak recovery from a recession.  But probably the best measuring stick is the government is held in loser esteem by its citizens than it was 6 years ago.  That is what really was behind the wave.

          1. Pull your head out of your ass AC.  I was talking about our economic differences not our international ones.  The Russian ruble is in a nosedive because of the collapse of oil prices and their rocky trade status with Western Europe.  The American economy has recovered from the disastrous period of terrorist attacks inside the US and the Bush Recession and  enjoys continued job growth and financial stability.  Oh and the scary deficit has been cut in half.  Open your eyes to the real world asshole and see what good stewards Democrats have been with our economy.  I doubt Republicans will match them for improving the lot of ordinary citizens during their next period of control.

          2. (Again to A.C.)

            The reason this country had a weak recovery to recession (caused by Republicans) is that the Republicans in Congress blocked every effort at recovery. 

            As I've said before, and you really need to do some research here before opening your mouth on ISIS again, ISIS is one hundred percent the result of the moronic policies of the Bush administration. One hundred percent. If Saddam Hussein were still in power in Iraq, he would have wiped out ISIS. 

            (I bet you didn't even know that Islamic fundamentalists had a price on Saddam's head, or that bin Laden offered to help the U.S. get him during the First Gulf War.) 

            1. OB, Great point.  What the country needed was more stimulus for those shovel ready jobs.  Didn't the bundlers get paid back enough, already?

              On ISIS if fearless leader had done what the military suggested and left some troops in Iraq, instead of letting ISIS grow and after the election sending troops back, we would have been able to control it.

              BTW. Still a little arrogant and smug for someone who just got their ass kicked, aren't we?

              1. achole you have always been arrogant and smug amd wrong. bush the failure was the one who signed the agreement to withdraw all troops – Obama tried to renegotiate and they would not – get some real facts jackass – that nasty rash has altered what little thought process you might have had.

                 

              2. No lack of being a short sighted partisan hack on any issue are you Andrew?  Even a shithole like you should understand that we would have been a reviled occupying force.  Now we are part of a coalition and have been invited by the new Iraqi government to be there.  Huge difference and the potential for a long term relatively stable relationship between the two countries is real.  ISIS will be dealt with like all the other terrorists who are lying in graves now because of the presidents focus on sugrical strikes.  God bless our president that he doesn't listen to shit holes like you.

          3. Unbelievable – George HW Bush had the sense to not blow the lid of the hornet's nest that is the Middle East. Too bad the wrong Bush followed up Pappy – it should have ben Jeb. Then, perhaps we would have had as shot not to commit national suicide by invading Iraq.

            Iraq was the most colossal fuck up in American history, thanks to the nit wit W who did not have the brains or the balls to stand up to the neocons and Dick Cheny. 

            When did the world start spinning out of control? The moment George W Bush stared into the camera after he'd been "elected" President in 2000 and gave the world that terrified deer-in-the-headlights gaze (read: "Oh, no, I don't know what the heck I am doing.") that tipped off everyone, friends and enemies, the new president was an imbecile.

            And the rest is history.  

             

            1. He didn't grasp that Hussein was-like a lot of despots around the world- a son-of-bitch, but he was our son-of-a-bitch. He didn't care which mosque you prayed at, you weren't going to fight about it on his streets. Papa Bush got this, George the Younger didn't. So he pulled out the strongman and left a vacuum. Now we have a stronger al-Qaida and ISIS. Well done, Junior.

              1. Yup.

                And ISIS appears to be determined to become a real state, a new country. If they succeed, they'll become the new "Our son of a bitch" in the coming decades. Allah (or whom/whatever) help us all.
                 

      2. The same bullshit was posted by teabaggers like you after 2010 elections and what happened in 2012?  I seem to recall many right winger sore losers then and they and you will be back to being sore losers when all the people vote.

        1. DC,  Why does an admitted homosexual like you use a slur like teabagger?  I understand you just got your ass kicked, but no need for slurs.

          Politics is cyclical and I am sure my side will be in your shoes before too long, but no need to be in the gutter.

          1. Look achole – teabagger was used by the tea party from day one to describe themselves. Why did the tea party use slurs? Perhaps you should talk to your friends on the right. Plus you have little room to talk as you admitted to having sex with my partner. He told me your rash was very nasty – take care of that yet? You seem to be a permanent gutter occupant.

              1. Typical right wing teabagger – you and everyone on here know you made that statement. But hey – people on the right – gardner- like to lie and you are no different. Still have the rash?

                    1. ColPols thx in advance for putting AC in a lengthy time out. Think of it as an intervention. Posters need a break from the recent election stress,  Dan

                  1. OK.  I was all ready to drop my Piss Ant thing and be civil to you, AC.  Now I regret my playful comment below. You really, really are bound and determined to be a total putz. That was quick, Piss Ant. 

                    1. Moddy leaves and this one stays.  If we had to keep one of them, I would have preferred it the other way around……

                    2.  

                      In response to Frank above.  Don't bet on it — like a bad case of herpes our ArapaGOP/Moderatus/Next will break out again — guaranteed — usually after a month or two of dormancy — with some new strain-name. Just as soon as he finds the next Koch to attach his bank account to. 

                      But yeah, it sucks that there hasn't yet been any kind of even temporarily effective treatment for Libertad/assworm

                    1. True……it's one of those activities that either gay or straight folk can indulge in.  Only lesbians are left out…..

              2. Although it seems you have trouble distinguishing between genders, you mentioned your dalliances here.

                I hope the treatments denverco's husband was receiving were effective.

          2. Wow, an “admitted homosexual”! Can you get any more retro ’60’s in your terminology AC? Most of us prefer the term “openly gay.”
            But I have hope for you to grow and evolve. Perhaps in another decade, you’ll start referring to “the alternate lifestyle” which was fashionable in the ’70’s.

              1. I wonder if he got the memo that we're all under a moral imperative to love our enemies.  There is no morally acceptable alternate recourse.  Too bad he can't practice his superior religiously in his every day experience.  That to me is the ultimate definition of a loser.

                My mental resolution to this moral dilemma has been to not see members of the idiot party as the enemy in spite of their bigotry and intolerance.  They will have their moment of judgment for what they've done.  I prefer to help move our society forward with positive changes.  In terms of Ralphie's passing, my time on earth is too short to continually hate or deal in conspiracy theories.  Screw that waste of psychic energy.  Let's build something together now while the sun still shines on our faces.

            1. DP, Back from referring to all the Republican winners as child molesters, having your comment deleted and now calling out someone.  That is rich.

      3. Mark Shields pointed out PBO had 538 filibusters opposing his programs, ( Eisenhower  had 2, RRR had 60) Additionally it was the stated goal of Mitch  to make sure PBO failed, Or the committee of 15 who met inauguration night to derail PBO

        ".In the land of cotton, old times there, are not long forgotten" 

        1. RRR? I think you meant RWR, DaninDen. And did you know it anagrams to insane Anglo warlord? Sorry couldn't help adding that last bit. it's just too apropos.. 

      4. Once again, ACHole, FUCK YOU.

        I hope you die a painful death. 

        BTW, The Dem sweep will happen in '16, and all 24 seats that GOP previously held? Gone. Gone. Gone. Once people learn who the true assholes are. Hint: it ain't Obama or the Dems. ACHole and his ilk will answer for every American issues, and we shall hammer him to death with it.

        1. DP, How is that all Dems are going to win, take back the House stuff working for you?  You said the Dem sweep was going to happen in 2014.

          Wishing people a painful death?  I thought Dems were the party of compassion. 

        2. I know that we got the worst of the deal when Ralphie left Pols, and "Andrew Carnegie" stayed. AC deliberately misleads, leaves out relevant information, posts racist and demeaning cartoons and stereotypes, all the while staying just inside the lines of racial and homophobic slurs.

          "F*ggot" would be a bridge too far. "Admitted homosexual" is allowable. AC is shrewd enough to know this.

          But he's a convenient guy to vent and rage at, for you as well. He's happy to fill that role, and Pols gets many more hits and comments from those enjoying the ruckus. I guess it's part of the Troll job description, and why forums tolerate trolls, if they do.

          Like Bluecat, I tend to scroll right past any post by AC or to him, although I occasionally choose to respond to him myself.

          But don't wish anyone a painful death, please, especially with Ralphie's sudden passing reminding us that tomorrow is promised to no one.

    1. With all of McConnell's pontifications about bringing coal back to it's Glory Days...

      AMERICAN CAPITALISM

      You have two coal mines. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit by Wall Street Firms recently bailed out by the US taxpayer. You then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so you get all four coal mines back, with a tax exemption for the fifth. The mining rights of the six mines are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by a majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven coal mines back to your listed company. The annual report says the company now own eight mines, with an option of one more. You sell one mine to buy a new Senate Majority Leader, leaving you with nine mines. No balance sheet provided with the press release. You then approve a massive bonus to your CEO, spin off the mines to a new subsidiary saddling them with all of the debt and none of the assets, file for bankruptcy protection and eliminate the health and retirement benefits for thousands of your workers, leaving them destitute.  Your stock skyrockets, producing impressive new profits on Wall Street.

      You rename the new company "Patriot Coal"

      Go home America, you're drunk.
       

      1. There will no doubt be a lot of soul-searching in the upcoming months.  I'd like to add submit a few statistics of my own for the party to chew on:

        Outside of the eleven Front Range counties that I used in my calculation (Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Pueblo, Weld), the remaining rural counties had a 61% participation rate for Democrats.  Those Front Range counties performed at 56%; had they simply performed at a 'rural' level they would have increased the gross 'D' votes by +30,406.

        If Denver County alone  (56% turnout) had performed at the rate of the best-performing rural county, Kiowa, at 77%, it would have added 45,665 votes to the statewide 'D' totals. 

        As of this morning the SOS is reporting (63 of 64 counties) the spread between Udall and Gardner at 43, 392; if you add the most recently-reported Adams Co numbers, that gap shrinks to 39,759.   If Adams County (53% D vote) had been on par with the rural counties rate (61%), Judy Solano would likely be headed to the Colorado Senate and the D's would control both Chambers.

        The math is pretty easy.  

        I've been no wallflower in my angst with the party on how they ignore their rural base (a big reason why I left).  I understand the theoretical math is that if Denver-Boulder perform well, you don't need us.  You picked a shitty time to let that model fail.

        We are blessed and drowning with great programs created by Dem sponsors and Progressives (BEST, Amendment 37, CACJ, etc.), yet you seem incapable of supporting voices and candidates who could have done you a lot of good.  I can't point to a single legislative accomplishment by Gardner during his reign in the statehouse that added anything to the average family on the eastern plains, yet off he goes to Washington to represent our entire state.  As I mentioned earlier – I'll hold any further criticism until it's earned; there is no one that wants him to prove me wrong more than myself.

        Denver – you own this.

        1. I fully agree with your analysis, but I'm not sure it would be fair to say that Democrats aren't doing anything for rural Colorado.

          The problem is, as it was in 2010, low Democratic turnout. I don't know how exactly to fix that, but trying to be GOP-lite won't work. Democrats want progressive policies and will support politicians who unhesitatingly support them and who are not afraid to proclaim and defend that support.

          Progressive, by the way, does not necessarily mean "not in the center" on every issue. A higher minimum wage, encouragement of clean energy and green technology, an end to tax-subsidized off-shoring of manufacturing, equality in the workplace for women, marriage equality, reproductive privacy, protection of our public lands, restraints on government intrusion into our electronic communication, and, especially, policies to get the big money out of our elections and our government and policies to intelligently deal with climate change – these are mainstream ideas that are also progressive.

          Mark Udall has been generally good on those issues. Too bad he didn't tell enough people about it with enough vigor.

          1. My point was exactly the opposite: the Dems have passed policies that have made lives dramatically better for rural Coloradans.  The problem is the 24/7 noise machine from the R's. Pick up any local news rag outside of the metro area and you will find them replete with guest editorials and letters to the editor bashing liberals – and almost zero ink dedicated to counter-punches.  It's not the reality, but without some resources from the Party selling the value of their accomplishments, Fox News, Caldera, Dudley and Andrews will define those accomplishments in their own terms. 

            In spite of all that, rural Democrats outperformed their Front Range counterparts by five percentage points. 

            I understand this election loss can't be blamed on any one thing – it was a team effort – but someone needs to talk about the perceived rural- disconnect-elephant-in-the-room (pardon the pun).
             

            1. All roads lead to Dems ceding messaging to Rs. And it's not for lack of money. Dems have been doing fine there. It's for lack of courage and pride in their own policies, never a problem for conservative Rs. Dems don't even try to get there message out because they're afraid it might piss somebody off. They don't strongly support their policies because they're afraid the policies will piss somebody off even when polls tell them those policies are very popular. 

              And I don't mean just this past election. It's a decades old problem for the please-don't-hate-me-for-being-a-Democrat Democratic party message machine ever since the Reagan era.  The b side has been…. see? We're almost as conservative on economic issues and almost as supportive of the military as those great big responsible patriotic Rs. As if R austerity economics aren't a complete failure and the world wasn't effectively blown up by the complete incompetence of the neocon Rs. Why do we keep seeing Dems pointing to Rs as the standard by which they wish to be measured and found almost as good?

              It's a message of inferiority and has made Dems the default losers with the occasional interruption of soon frittered away success. If we're not so different from and almost as good as Rs why shouldn't people just vote for the standard setting, even in Dem messaging, real thing? How is this not completely obvious?

              1. Spot. On.

                The disconnect drives me nuts (both at the state and federal level). As an example, I suspect that most struggling households statewide, homes where they depend on SNAP for food security, have no idea their newly-minted Senator tried to gut that program in the last Farm Bill.  Or the fact that he voted against a rise in the minimum wage.

                1. It's the damndest thing. Dems are  actually afraid of being connected with their own policies, policies that work and that are popular, out of fear of being called commies or something by the Rs who do absolutely nothing for ordinary people but try to scare them. All because Dems surrendered the definition of terms to Rs long ago, including "liberal" being a dirty word.

                  Apparently, even though choice and equal marriage rights are liberal policy, they're willing to be connected with those but that's about it. Maybe because those have nothing directly to do with the market place. They don't want to talk about regulations that safeguard our health, preserve our wild lands, prevent workers from being exploited, underpaid and endangered, middle class investors from being screwed by Wall Street sharks taking crazy risks for which only the little guy pays the price or about exploring and investing in a new energy economy because they're afraid some Republican will claim, on the basis of zero empirical evidence, that those things are job killers and Dems are socialists. It doesn't seem to occur to them that they can  stop ceding the field to Rrs and start getting their own message out and standing strong behind it just as soon as they grow a pair. It doesn't seem to occur to them that weak,sniveling defensiveness isn't a winning posture.

              2. BC, The flaw in the analysis as I see it is accounting for the UAF.  Dem polling must have shown that they need to move to the middle in order to win that part of the electorate.  The trick is doing that and still giving the base a reason to come out and vote.  The fact that you lost does not mean all of your thinking was off, just that it did not work as you planned.

                Personally, I think it would be a mistake for the Dems to tack left and more significantly I am comfortable that the paymasters think it would be a mistake.

                1. We let your party define what's left. Some of the things I mention are a only left of center by your party's distorted definition. They actually poll as majority positions. Others could be majority positions if Dems took control of their own message instead of letting the far right party the GOTP has become dictate the parameters of their message.  

                  Dems really do have the  policies most of America wants. With Dem's full, hang dog, cowardly acquiescence your party has managed for decades to distract the American public from their own self interests mainly with fear and hate mongering and rah rah we're number one sloganeering while you keep taking us down peg after peg from number one positions in almost every conceivable field that counts for ordinary people.  The supposedly responsible economic and tax policies, the mania for privatization, including creating armies of mercenaries out of our control and earning 10 times what the troops you say you support earn, for freeing our financial market from all safeguarding constraints that has been pushd by the right since Reagan and to a large degree mimicked by the "we're responsible too'" Dems, have demonstrably beaten down the middle class and low age earners. reducing their prosperity and opportunities for upward mobility.Every gain for most of the past forty years has gone to a tiny few at the top and left our once great middle class behind.  

                  We had the most prosperous middle class in the world. No more. We were number one in upward mobility. No longer even close. Middle class parents and students could afford college without huge debt. No more. The minimum wage was worth enough that kids could save enough from after school and summer jobs to put away real money for college and, with help from parents graduate with little or no debt. No more. The only  real advancements for ordinary people since the Reagan era have been advancements in the social arena,  all championed by Dems and fought tooth and nail by Rs.

                  Dems are the center. They just have to have the courage to take their rightful place. The right's so called responsible economic policies are utter failures unless you call the banana republic model with a tinier and tinier portion at the top hogging all the wealth while the rest become increasingly poor a success. Dems just need to find the courage to drop the me too stance and say so right out loud. It's not as if objective reality isn't completely on their side. 

                  If the right has been able to manipulate the American people with their message hegemony all these years even though their claims are false and their policies demonstrable failures, think what an equally strong message machine could do with the damn truth which is entirely on the side of what you falsely label radical left. The only thing righties have going that has been sadly lacking in Dems is giant balls.  Certainly not success for the American people by any objective measure. 

                  1. BC,  The Dems are not the center.  If they were they would not have lost.  Dems are to the left of center and Republicans are to the right of center.  The center is not occupied by party ideologues.  It is occupied by people who have largely concluded a pox on both your houses.

                    To me, this messaging claim is just excuse making.  It came down to performance over the last 6 years.  Even though the polster cheerleaders think that performance was peachy, that has just been shown to be the minority view.  

                    Focus on performance and the message will follow.

                    1. The national-level Democratic Party is currently about where the Eisenhower Republicans were, at least on economic and civil liberties issues.  As of right now, the left/progressive wing (where I reside) of the Democratic Party is powerless and ignored by the party elite.  The Republican Party is now several degrees to the right of where it was even under Saint Ronnie.

                    2. Wrong. Dem issues won. Dem policies poll well. Majorities support reasonable gun control, equal marriage rights, equal pay for women, choice, asking the wealthy to shoulder a fairer share, raising the minimum wage and many others. The problem is the public doesn't know it's in sync with Dem policy and opposed to the policies of the right because of a combination of your side winning and my side conceding the messaging war.

                      If and when Dems grow a pair, they'll be able to get the public to see that Dems are with them on all the bread and butter issues, that it's the right that is light years away from the American center. When (and if) that happens your party's reign of economic terror against middle America will be over and the American people can wake from the long nightmare that Reagan's Orwellian "Morning in America'' turned out to be for the overwhelming majority of Americans.

                      Sunny morning for the sharks, cold grey dawn of a nuclear winter for the middle class, with the right using the public's fears (you'll lose your jobs) and prejudices ("those" people are on the gravy train on your hard earned dollars) to manipulate people into voting for the party that hasn't improved their lot an iota since the 70s and dragged the definition of center so far right there's nothing but a powerless mildly center left sliver left on one side with miles of right, far right, farther right, crazy right, extending  on the other.

                      By all objective standards, including polling on issues, the fact that personhood couldn't pass in the blood red south but raising the minimum wage did, we are the center but it doesn't do us or the American people any good as long as the Dems are still too afraid of the shadow of Reagan to grab the mic with that message. 

                      And the most telling part? Back when Reagan was elected the public was polling against him on the issues too. They just didn't know enough to connect those positions to that sunny slick actor. Between the party of cruel deception (yours) and the party of cowards (mine) the American people have been thoroughly screwed and don't know how or why.

                      It's time for Dems to stand up and shout the why and how from the roof tops. If the right got them to hear their phony message we, the true middle, ought to be able to get them to hear our message which has the advantage of being the truth backed with 40 years of hard evidence. That's why it's so frustrating to Dems that their pols are too chicken shit to do it. 

                      I see the lousy off target targeted messaging this time as a failure to adjust here in the early stages of demographic change. I hope that as demographics drive polls even more in the direction of progressive economic policies Dems will find it easier to vigorously back those polices, not just social policies like choices to appeal to this group or that, and forcefully explain why with a powerful messaging machine of their own.

                    3. Performance..? What have Republicans performed except obstruction, larceny, and prevarication?
                      absolutely nothing.
                      this is about message and little else.
                      You, like your hero, the Whorey Boy, are beneath contempt and incapable of ethical judgement.

            2. When I think of Sound machine, its ray dee oo 760AM used to reach Yuma during the day, barely, now its gone. Ed Schultz used to always say the dems under estimated the force of radio.  With what portion of the 4 billion spent on last election cycle, would have bought a few radio towers. Driving out I76 & US hwy 34, its a seamless religious right w/ crazy uncle rwing nut to provide lead sound bites. If you don't think a constant barrage of this won't sway your convictions you don't know Pavlov.

               Did ( dare I say it?) Hispanics under vote? pissed a little about the drivers lic (for non citizens) lack of red carpet, hey, that place was always a turkey drumstick & cotton candy short of a a carnival

               Lastly, US spent slightly more on Halloween candy than elections, & Gail Collins (NYT) took the time to get it right whenever looking at Colo races

              1. Agreed, Dan.  With the exception of the CPR translator in the Wray area, it is 'krazee talk' out here 24/7 on AM and FM.  My favorite: the 'Huckabee Report' where we get a  3x daily, 5-minute pontification from the altar.  Only to be followed (and topped) by RushBo, Glen Beck, Anne Coulter, Sean Hannity and their cast of clowns.  Your mention of Pavlov is spot on.

            3. Fixed Noise will continue its moral decay and decline one people realizes that they are not there for them.

              The U.S. Supreme Court shouldn't have given Fixed Noise the right to lie. It redefines Fixed Noises as "entertainment" not truthful news.

              For that, Fixed Noise should be ending its transmission within the next few years after continuous decline of viewership.

            4. @MichealBowman;

              You being far more familiar than I about the "Us versus Them" disconnect between Rural Colorado and the Urban people in Colorado, would it be possible for you to post a diary about that subject?  

              1. I'm one of the Denver Posts "Colorado Voices" this year and I'm queued up to have five guest commentaries printed between now and January.  At least one of them will be focused on this challenge.  I'll repost them here when they run – but in the meantime I have broached the subject in a few diaries over the past year. Here. HereHereHere

        2. Udall's consultants and entourage own this – that campaign depressed turnout. 

          Udall is a good man and a good Senator. I wish someone could have changed the message from 80% personhood 20% NSA/Enviro/Shutdown-Floods-Econ to 40% personhood, 30% economy, 30% NSA/Enviro/Shutdown-Floods

          1. Our Senator-elect says the 'wave' will be short lived if they squander their majority over the next two years.  And if he's pigeon-holed in to a Ted Cruz style of governing, forcing him to vote as a Senator as he did as a Congressman, he'll be a one-term Senator.  His Congressional votes were in alignment with the majority of voters in eastern Colorado – on a statewide basis, not so much.

            In other news of interest to me this morning, according to the AP the US Roman Catholic bishops are gathering "at a moment of turbulence for them and the American church", as Pope Francis moves towards crafting new policies for carrying out his mission of mercya prospect that has some conservative Catholics and some bishops in an uproar.

            Perhaps the bishops might invite the poster child of 'conservative Catholic mindsets',  Brother Beaupez, and ask him how all that worked out for him in the last election.  

            1. Now that the election's past, I can speculate aloud how Beauprez (and George Brauchler) pretend to be Catholics in good standing, when Pope Francis has stated that "all Christians and men of good will must work to abolish the death penalty."

              1. I'm not sure of the religious make-up of the Colorado Senate Majority (surely one or two of them are Catholic) but I'm anxious to see if we can get a death penalty repeal law passed and signed in the upcoming session. 

                1. Aren't all of us whose religions are based on ancient writings cafeteria style whatevers. I mean you don't see very many adulterers or disobedient children put to death here in America or people refusing to wear cotton poly these days. Even those who insist they believe that every word of the bible is the  word of God and must be obeyed. Well… sometimes and depending on how tough it would be to actually follow all those rules

                  .If the Christian labeled Old Testament demands something they like they insist that particular thing is sacrosanct but if it's stuff like not eating pork or shellfish they say it's superseded by the the New Testament teachings of Jesus or whatever. Anything but skip the endless shrimp at the buffet, right?

  1. Very sad news this morning, Polsters. Our friend and longtime colleague, Ralphie, died suddenly last night at his home in Grand Junction. His wife, Cheryl, said it was quite quick, and the paramedics said it was likely an anurysm.

    A memorial service is pending. Duke has Cheryl's address if anyone would like to send condolences. duke_escalante@yahoo.com

    Ralph was an accomplished geologist, loved astronomy and his ham radio buddies and delighted in dabbling in politics. He also was a noted curmudgeon with a heart of gold.

     

     

     

    1. So very sorry to hear this. I enjoyed his comments here, plus on FB. His reminders of things celestial allowed us to occasionally look beyond the very earthly political realm.

    2. Damn….. I'll miss Ralphie a lot – his wit, his curmudgeonliness, his political acumen. He loved a solvable mystery, and was helpful to me in my sleuthing endeavors. I'll send condolences

    3. I don't think Ralphie would be troubled if I posted this song and dedicated it to the "Dead Polster of the Week." (Instead, there are other things, he'd be pissed off about, I'm sure!):

      Never met him in the flesh, but his accumulated written energy here has left its impression.

      Hey Ralphie, give 'em hell at the Pearly Gates if they ask you which exit you're from!

      1. Exquisite choice, Canines.  I never met him either, but I think he would appreciate your honoring him this way.

        My condolences to his family — he is missed.

    4. So very sorry to hear this.  I didn't ever have a chance to meet him personally, but we have a mutual friend.  He will be missed.  Heartfelt sympathies to his family.

    5. Dammit. This pisses me off. Although I haven't seen Ralphie in several months, he was always supposed to be there when I needed advice. He and I disagreed on numerous occasions, but as I slowly learned over the years, when we disagreed it was usually because he was right. Dammit. 

      Duke, gertie, someone, please make sure to let me/us know about the memorial service. Thanks. 

      Dammit. 

    6. Damn that sucks! It sounds like he didn't suffer, and if there's something beyond this, he's with his daughter, which I'm sure makes him very happy.  PBUH.

    7. Ah man, that's crummy. Condolences to his widow and I hope she will read through this part of the thread and see how much he will be missed. I'm on the other side of The Divide, but I someone, please post when the memorial will be so those of us who can't be there in the flesh can be so in spirit.

  2. Thanks for letting us know Gertie.  Even after Ralphie left here (. . . and, btw, my most heartfelt FU to AC on his behalf — I'm sure he would have wanted that), I knew he was following things with us.  Condolences to Cheryl and all those who were close to him.  Damn.

    1. Yes he would have.  He was an astute writer and enjoyable read.  Loved learning his take on things from the West Slope.  We'll all miss his witty insights and erudite comments.  He has left a legacy of calling BS on the Andrews, Libertads and BJWilsons of the world that we will willing carry on.  God Bless you Ralphie. 

  3. Ralphie was one of those unique and talented people that I was happy to call friend.  Over the years we agreed to disagree at times but never let it get in the way of our friendship and for that I'm eternally grateful.

    God bless Cheryl and the family as they deal with their tremendous loss.  RIP, Ralphie.  You will be sorely missed.

  4. Here are my ten – okay, close to ten – big post-election questions. Have fun!

    I'll close with some questions and hope I get some predictions in return:

    1. Will John Hickenlooper run for president in 2016? Will he be the vice-presidential nominee if he doesn't get the party's nomination?

    2. Will Mark Udall be appointed to President Obama's cabinet if a relevant vacancy opens up in the next 25 months?

    3. Will Andrew Romanoff ever run for public office in Colorado again?

    4. What will it take for a Democrat to win the secretary of state and attorney general slots in 2018? Will Wayne Williams be as much of a magnet for controversy as Scott Gessler? Will Cynthia Coffman let her crazy out and use the AG's office on behalf of every fringe right-wing social cause there is?

    5. Will anyone actually challenge Walker Stapleton for the GOP gubernatorial race in 2018? What is Joe Garcia's future? Will he be the next Democratic candidate for governor?

    6. Why did Mark Udall lose in Larimer County?

    7. Will future Democratic Senate candidates and gubernatorial candidates do even better in the tourism-heavy West Slope counties than Udall and Hickenlooper did this year?

    8. Who is likely to run against Laura Woods in the JeffCo senate district in 2016? Will it be Rachel Zenzinger again or are there other probabilities?

    9. Did anyone notice that Irv Halter held that idiot in Colorado Springs under 60 percent? That's not too bad in hypnotized El Paso county. Will Lame-Brain ever lose an election or will he add senility to ignorance and appalling bigotry as he ages in the seat for decades more?

    10. Have we seen the last of Both Ways Bob? We can hope . . . .

      1. DP,  You are not capable of thinking.

        I'll make sure that they know of their coming indictments and that you have accused them and all other Republicans who were elected of being child molesters.

        I am sure they will be in touch.

         

  5. This is a really fantastic piece on the state of 'things' on Capitol Hill.  Watching this freak show nearly ringside for a good share of the last six years, I can attest to the demise of the two chambers.  Wherever you land on the political scale, give yourself a 15 minutes time-out and enjoy.

    Help, We're in a Living Hell and Don't Know How to Get Out

    There is plenty of blame to go around, he says—the Democrats in the Senate, for instance, what a disaster—but there is only one guy this conservative Republican congressman does acknowledge enmity for by name, and it's not Harry Reid or Barack Obama. "If you talk to Ted Cruz," he says, "tell him to stay on his side of the Capitol. We have enough problems without that idiot coming over here and screwing things up."

    1. Read about two thirds of it. Good enough. It seems that primaries are the point of most vulnerable. So I have have read.      In Charlie Rose's election circle of pundits, its been noted that  endless travel back to the district has preempted fraternizing by members. Ending across the aisle familiarity. Working together is probably a myth.

      It reminds me of what you have maybe already heard, "Its hard to remember your original intent was to drain the swamp, when you're up to your ass in alligators"

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