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March 12, 2015 06:34 AM UTC

Thursday Open Thread

  • 30 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“Life is tough, but it’s tougher if you’re stupid.”

–John Wayne

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30 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread”

  1. from an AP story this AM…

    Iran’s top leader: GOP letter points to US ‘disintegration’

    TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader said Thursday that a letter from Republican lawmakers warning that any nuclear deal could be scrapped by the next U.S. president is a sign of “disintegration” in Washington.

    Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the letter a sign of “the collapse of political ethics and the U.S. system’s internal disintegration,” according to the official IRNA news agency. It was the first reaction to the letter by Khamenei, who has the final say over all major policies.

    Khamenei said states typically remain loyal to their commitments even if governments change, ” but American senators officially announced the commitment will be null and void after this government leaves office. Isn’t this the ultimate degree of the collapse of political ethics and the U.S. system’s internal disintegration?”

    Khamenei said that whenever the talks approach a deadline, “the tone of the other party, particularly the Americans, becomes harsher, harder and more violent. This is part of their tricks and deceits.”

    However, he said, “Iranian officials know what they are doing.”

    what we should be doing is arresting and prosecuting Tom Cotton, Cory Gardner and the other 45 traitors… the world is watching.

    http://news.yahoo.com/irans-top-leader-gop-letter-points-us-disintegration-102812084.html

    1. A few weeks ago I heard David Axlerod allude to Charlie Rose that it was Sheldon Adelson behind the Boehner(over 100K from Aipac) invite for the Bibie speech to the House. A few ®Senators didn’t “cotton” to the idea of the letter. I think that it wasn’t well thought out by the Arkansas jr Senator, and piler ons, more a giddy thank you note for the attention focused upon stalemated forever bush league tea partiers and their recent crush upon a funding possibility(over 400K to Senate leader). Now that they have mounted the tiger, I submit it will be with great difficulty experienced, in getting off.

      1. All of it, the Bibi speech, the letter, and who knows what more, was most likely an organized effort on the right to ruin this Iran nuke agreement and further prevent Obama from achieving anything of substance during his presidency. (ref. N. Korea nukes and Clinton).

        And, of course, by R’s constantly denigrating (there’s a word with some history) and denying Obama and Holder policies and the true function of the Justice Dept., people like our pal Cory, Adelson, et al. can do this stuff without any worries of being held responsible for their traitorous actions.

      2. That all sounds about right. Republican legislators who think for themselves are as scarce as hens’ teeth. The same can be said for many Democrats, but it is Republicans who own the “I’ll say anything if you’ll make me rich” brand. They have it down to an art form. It is a new evangelical revival, much like the one that made Jimmy Bakker, Jerry Falwell, and Oral Roberts, et al, so bloody rich…except its political. Bilking uneducated citizens by dishonestly playing their emotions is despicable, but it is the tried and true MO for snake oil salesmen, fundamentalist preachers, and 21st century Republican legislators…nationwide.

        If you want to get a glimpse of the America Cory Gardner and Tom Cotton have in mind for us, simply tune in John Hagee on your teevee!

        1. Here’s a very logical, and devastating critique from a Navy Admiral (also a Dem) of Sen. Pat Toomey, a rookie senator like our own Cory Gardner:

          “[F]or Sen. Toomey (and Cory Gardner.-me) to sign a letter to a foreign leader urging that leader to ignore the institution of the American Presidency is inexcusable, embarrassing, and shows a lack of experience and understanding about America’s standing in the world, led first and foremost by the U.S. President.”

          And:

          “That Sen. Corker, the Republican Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, did not sign the letter underscores the recklessness of Sen. Toomey’s political actions – that he would tell a leader who wishes us ill to ignore our President’s endeavor.

          Signing the letter only serves to disrupt a possible effort to bring about a peaceful resolution to the nuclear weapons issue with Iran. And if the nuclear talks fail, Toomey offers no other option except to go directly to war. Then, once again, we will have a representative who will have pushed our nation into war and– with no skin of his own in the game– will once again walk away from the men and women he sent into battle by voting against 12 Department of Veterans Affairs’ appropriations bills after his vote for the war in Iraq.”

          Bennet should get some of this and dish it, too.

      5. There was a young lady from Niger 

        who rode on the back of a tiger

        they returned from the ride with the lady inside 

        and a smile on the face of the tiger. 

        Sorry, DaninDen, I couldn’t help myself.

  2. Thanks, Hick! The visionary schemes of policymakers and developers made manifest: Denver ranks number seven in the nation in terms of the rate of gentrification, according to this report:

    Dramatic changes are playing out across parts of urban America, making many neighborhoods hardly recognizable from a relatively short time ago. A new class of more affluent residents is moving into once underinvested and predominately-poor communities. Development has followed, typically accompanied by sharp increases in housing prices that can displace a neighborhood’s longtime residents. It’s a scenario known as gentrification, and one that presents a growing dilemma for policymakers.

            1. Geez, now I’m going to come off as a glass-half-full kind of guy: I don’t think there is anything we can do about it.

              Anybody else have any suggestions?

              1. I’ll go a step further and say that there’s more right than wrong with gentrification. 

                Yes, you lose diversity in a neighborhood and that’s bad. But, gentrification stops the downward slide that so many urban areas experienced when the boomers moved to the burbs. You get new investment that spurs economic development and creates jobs. And when the hipsters start having kids, schools will improve (because when they complain, they’re not as easily ignored). 

  3. One question that keeps coming up is what exactly is it that the Republicans, and especially the C-PAC crowd, think we should be doing to deal with Iran? Considering the profound ignorance that gets applauded in those circles, one shudders to imagine.

    No matter how many times various officials attempt to explain to Sen. Marco Rubio, for instance, that Iran, even though they don’t like us, does not object to our bombing and otherwise aiding in the fight against ISIS because Iran is also an enemy of ISIS, actively engaged in Iraq and elsewhere in the fight against them, he just can’t get that through his head.  He keeps repeating that we are less aggressive in our pursuit of ISIS because we don’t want to upset Iran (huh?) and rightie commentators like Sean Hannity nod in sage agreement. It’s quite the stunning display of abject ignorance but a huge segment of the right thinks it makes perfect sense. And they want to take the WH back and be in charge of foreign policy!?!

    http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/rubios-confusion-about-isis-and-iran-continues/

    http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/kerry-teaches-rubio-the-basics-about-the-middle-east

  4. Grandma has a problem

    Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley says if he were president, it would be important as commander in chief to have his secretary of state use the official server for business.

    “Well sure, it would be important to me,” he said Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” when asked about Hillary Clinton’s email practices at the State Department. But he said getting the economy working would be more important.

    Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/martin-omalley-email-server-hillary-clinton-116012.html#ixzz3UBwJHXzb

    2. You do realize that demographically speaking, your party runs best with those over 65 and worst with those under 30. While you may enjoy referring to Hillary as Grandma (and she actually is a grandmother) as a snarky putdown, your party’s over 65 base may not see it the same way.

      You people were less offensive and probably got further referring to her as Lady MacBeth than as Granny.

  5. Guess we now know the Borg will be referring to HRC as “grandma” to point out that she’s an older woman with a grandchild as opposed to all the male pols with grandchildren, pols they never refer to as “grandpa'” because, in their minds, old white guys are the norm.

    Funny but I’m no HRC fan and have no trouble finding plenty of things to criticize without going for stereotype based put downs. I’m also quite able to criticize Obama without reference to any racial stereotype or theorizing about his religion or national origins.  Guess righties are just too ignorant and intellectually lazy to do anything but forward cartoons and resort to slurs based on gender and racial bigotry.

  7. In response to gertie and ajb:

    Gentrification hacks I’d like to see:

    *A minimum level of affordable housing, including subsidized housing.

    *Incentives for realtors and developers to build/ keep affordable housing units.

    *Community policing programs which bring together all stakeholders in the neighborhood – elders, working families, hipsters and yuppies, police, youth, community organizations.  You can’t just throw money at the problem, though, which is what the Weed and Seed grants of a few years back did – that’s a recipe for corruption. Everything I learned about corruption and rigging elections, I first learned through the Weed and Seed program.

    *Minimum levels of conservation, energy efficient buiding, and renovation of old, inefficient spaces to keep the historical value and charm while not being wasteful. Now, in the old Highland neighborhood, we have 100 year old houses scraped off to make space for $250K ugly-ass condos. 

    And actually, ajb, gentrification kills schools, slowly or quickly, but it kills schools. Because the young poor families are priced out of the market quickly – and  young hipsters moving in, if they even have kids, their kids are too young for school. If they are older, the last thing they will do is send them to the crappy neighborhood school. If you don’t believe me, try going to a Manual High School Thunderbolts game, or a Baker Junior High parent teacher night. How about a West High School living Christmas tree festival?

    North High School is still surviving, after converting to a magnet school. There are a few other schools that have managed to shift with the tides, and survived, or even thrived, with the neighborhood changes. But these are the exceptions, and not the rule. 

  9. This is just hard to believe….

    Lindsey Graham: As president I would deploy the military against Congress

    Republican senator and presidential maybe-hopeful Lindsey Graham stopped by the “politics and pies” forum in Concord, New Hampshire, today, where he announced that if he is elected president in 2016, his first act will be to deploy the military in Washington to force Congress to reverse cuts to the defense and intelligence budgets.

    Yes, you heard that right. Here are Graham’s exact words:

    And here’s the first thing I would do if I were president of the United States. I wouldn’t let Congress leave town until we fix this. I would literally use the military to keep them in if I had to. We’re not leaving town until we restore these defense cuts. We are not leaving town until we restore the intel cuts.Graham would use the military to force members of Congress to not just vote on the bill — but to pass it. Graham didn’t say “until I get an up-or-down vote on restoring defense cuts.” He said “until we restore these defense cuts.”

    In other words, Graham is proposing that his first act as president would be to use the military to force the legislative branch to pass his agenda.

    http://www.vox.com/2015/3/11/8193751/lindsey-graham-military-coup

      1. Oh my stars and garters!  Did little ol’ me say “literally?”  Well, of course, I didn’t mean it literally, that would be silly.  My, it’s so powerfully, powerfully hot in here; does anyone have any sweet tea?

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