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July 24, 2017 06:23 AM UTC

Monday Open Thread

  • 62 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds.”

–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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62 thoughts on “Monday Open Thread”

    1. Words matter, at least to some of us, still . . . 

      . . . s/b "Jared speaks spins — again" . . . 

      closed doors, not under oath — let me repeat that — not under oath, because . . .

      . . . he requested it. WTFF??!!?? . . . 

      https://newrepublic.com/minutes/143999/jared-kushner-like-everyone-know-doe-eyed-innocent

      http://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/22/opinion/sunday/jared-kushner-the-prince-of-having-it-both-ways.html

       

      http://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/22/opinion/sunday/jared-kushner-ivanka-russia-investigation.html

      1. To Frank, Dio, and Davie. Okay, you guys win. We took out a digital to the NYT this weekend. All of these links I can't see were driving me nuts. Anyway, it'll be interesting to watch the good old-fashioned newspaper war being waged by them against WaPo. Long live print journalism.

        1. Yay cook! I, too, have taken out digital subs to WaPo and 2 other papers recently. We have to support real journalism in the face of continued attacks by Trump and his allies.

          On the "Words matter " issue:

          Check out Ron Perlman's insanely hilarious impression of Trump's word salads on the Joy Reid show yesterday. You might have to go to 3:22 in the video below to see it. WARNING: Do not hold hot liquid in your mouth while watching it.

           

    1. Another worthy FDR quote I heard yesterday: "A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough." My nomination for a future quote of the day.

  3. Canaries at the White House have been rushed to Walter Reed hospital for treatment of severe Trumpstink exposure.  A Category 4 Trumpstink, accompanied by widespread firings of staff members, is predicted.  Shillstink by Carnholio is likely as he has a new set of lies.

    Stay upwind my friends.   And thank the Lord for Angela Merkel, the leader of the Free world.

  4. The US Senate will be voting on something health related on Tuesday – they just don't quite know what.

    “It appears we’ll have a vote on Tuesday but we don’t know whether we’ll be voting on the House bill, the first version of the Senate bill, the second version of the Senate bill,” Republican Senator Susan Collins told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

    Makes about as much sense as a speech by TwoScoops.

    1. They may vote on just a repeal, and no replacement of the ACA.  This vote is also known as, "Wealthcare" because the most important feature of ACA repeal is the elimination of the Obamacare taxes paid only by the wealthy.  Stay focused, friends.

  6. I could feel sorry for Republican leaders if it wasn't obvious that they were all in denial. They saw Trump shit on Christie, on Rubio, on Flynn, on Comey, on Ryan, on Flynn, on Spicer, on McConnell, on Mueller – all men he had nothing but the highest praise for at one time.

    It should be very clear that DJT demands total loyalty from subordinates, but reserves his own right to be callously disloyal when politically expedient. It remains to be seen whether he will throw his own family members  under the bus to save his own skin.

     

    1. It's not these "Republican leaders" I'm puzzled by. They want so badly to be in favor with The Yam that they turn a blind eye to his treatment of others. I'm baffled by the ones who have stuck with him after he kicked dirt on them, like Ryan and McConnell.

      1. Or poor John McCain who was trashed for "getting caught" by the dude who was disabled by the bone spur – although in which foot he cannot recall.

        At this point in his life, McCain can revert back to being the semi-independent he once was and do what is right instead of following McConnell's orders.

  7. "A Better Deal: Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Wages.” That's the new Democratic message and slogan, after 6 months of focus groups and soul searching.

    Colorado Dem party chair Morgan Carroll met with Morgan County Dems on a "listening tour", which was supposed to percolate up to state and national levels on which issues were important to us.

    While I personally got a lot out of this meeting's discussions,  I am just not feeling this national Dem slogan. Maybe just "A better deal".

    But I would have wanted to see something about justice, equity, returning to American ideals and upholding the Constitution.

    Something incorporating the 3 million popular win vote, daily protests, revival of national resistance, the women’s march, popular unrest, the media fighting back, everybody resisting and marching and writing letters at feverish intensity.

    This is just…meh.

    1. MJ: you asked me last week if I had heard of the new conservative conservation group, Western Way. They had a program on Saturday afternoon at the Western Conservative Summit, so I coughed up the cash for a one day ticket to the Summit. Talked to a couple young people at their booth in the exhibit area who seemed sincere in having solid conservation views. Turns out the public face, for now, since he's not mentioned on the web site, is former state senator Greg Brophy.

      Brophy is a "mixed bag" on my issues. He supports outdoor recreation and is a big booster of wind energy, which I recall from his time at the Capitol. That makes sense since it is renewable energy and puts money into hands of ag interests at a time when commodity prices are low. He doesn't like the Endangered Species Act.

      I tried to get a word with Brophy after the program, but the Evil Queen was monopolizing his time ("Evil Queen" = state senator Jennifer Fielder from Montana, who now heads the radical, anti-public lands group, the American Lands Council). Visit their slick web site sometime; makes state takeover of our public lands look like a great thing. Anyway, I plan to sign up for e-news on Western Way's web site this week to continue to track them.

      1. Best of luck with that, CHB. Brophy, by the way is Ken Buck's chief of staff. Buck is definitely not an advocate for public use of public lands, except to keep areas open for hunting and fishing use. Brophy is an outdoor enthusiast and avid bicyclist, so it makes sense he'd be their spokesman, although I don't think that face of his can sell anything.

        Buck's voting record on environmentalism (Close the EPA) and renewable energy (bring back coal!) are not promising. Westernpriorities.org says that Buck, Gardner and Lamborn voted to rescind Planning 2.0, which will put us back to 1980s antiquated rules.

        What is your take on this?

         

        1. Like I said, MJ, Brophy is a mixed bag. The fact that he listens to Jennifer Fielder is not a positive in my eyes. Are you referring to BLM Planning 2.0? I thought that was a good idea because it made things more open for public participation and it was supported by some Colorado BOCCs, including conservative Park County. I'll offer that Buck probably has not heard anything different from his positions. Buck needs to hear more from Plains conservatives about the value of wind turbines and wind power. As an aside, I get all my electricity through Xcel's Windsource program.

          I do like the basic premise of Western Way in that it's time for conservatives to take ownership of some of these conservation issues, especially climate. If not, the GOP runs the risk of losing most millenials over conservation issues.

          1. Our little friend does have some opinions on climate change. Unless someone can prove me wrong he fought against not only Amendment 37, the 2004 ballot initiative, but was probably a 'no' vote on every piece of renewable legislation during the Ritter years with the possible exception of the Clean Air / Clean Jobs legislation that was promoted by Penry. 

            You'll remember his infamous tweet about the SB-252 measure (renewable standards for Tri-State) where he claimed (falsely) the bill would cost the Wray School District $30,000.  Perhaps he's forgotten the part where the WSD owns their own power source and through an innovative contract with the City of Wray have a natural hedge against any cost increases?!?  #RepublicanMath

            1. When he was a state senator he didn't even bother to show up for the 2010 Cedar Point wind farm groundbreaking, the largest capital project in Lincoln County since the building of the railroad. In spite of his newfound public support for clean energy (he'd use the "he's for it', he just doesn't want the government picking winners and losers" party line) Colorado has developed an economic ecosystem that rivals most states.  The irony is that despite overwhelming opposition from Republicans on clean energy, they are often the constituency that benefits most. 

              Cedar Point is a perfect example of how important public policy can be in creating these rural opportunities:  The counties levy significant tax revenue and a handful of local, permanent jobs, workers at the Vestas facilities on the Front Range from Windsor to Pueblo have great jobs, Xcel consumers are getting some of the most competitively-priced electrons in the west and our air quality improves.  All of this economic activity is trapped in our state economy.  

              This is, in fact, one of the greatest transfers of wealth in Colorado from urban to rural areas: urban demand for clean energy being delivered from rural economies.  The quicker the likes of our watermelon farmer understand we aren't an independent cog in our state economy, but interdependent, the quicker we can find more paths to rural prosperity.   

              The good news is that in spite of his past record on clean energy legislation the grown-ups won the day and we Coloradans have some great achievements to tout – and more to come.

              Colorado clean energy: 4 reasons the future is bright despite Trump

              The Trump administration has repeatedly sought to stall the clean energy economy and stack the deck in favor of dirty fossil fuels. Yet the future of clean energy in Colorado nonetheless remains bright.

              On July 11, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed an executive order committing the state to meeting or exceeding the greenhouse gas reduction targets set in the Paris climate agreement — an agreement President Donald Trump rejected. 

              Colorado has long been a national leader in developing clean, renewable energy. In 2016, it was the seventh largest wind producing state and the eleventh largest solar producing state. Over 25% of the electricity generated by Colorado’s largest electric utility, Xcel Energy, last year came from renewable energy resources.  In addition, renewables’ share of the generation mix will increase to 30 percent by 2020 under the state’s Renewable Energy Standard.

          2. Buck hears from me all the time on health care and immigration; less on public lands because I feel I'm not as informed. What do you think people should be asking him (and Greg Brophy as Buck's C of S) to do?

            1. I'd like to see Buck supportive of protecting wildlife habitat. This is a means to its own end, but telling him that hunters can't hunt and anglers can't fish unless their quarry has suitable, and clean, habitat to live in. For public lands, in addition to the Pawnee and Comanche National Grasslands, the 4th District includes forest service land in western Douglas County. He should know that there is heavy recreational use in that area and that responsible recreation is key to enjoyment by all. He also has the Spanish Peaks Wilderness in the district and while difficult to tell from the maps, possibly other USFS land around the old Cuchara Ski Area. Most of the Culebra Range; south of US 160 & North La Veta Pass; is privately owned. Buck should be an advocate for wilderness protection and good management of existing areas, especially an area like Spanish Peaks with its unique geology.

              Is Brophy based in Colorado, or in D.C.? 

              1. He's back in CO. His COS gig didn't go so well…

                “I will still be involved in politics; trying to save the nation from the people with horrible ideas,” wrote Brophy in an email that cited Hunter S. Thompson’s own disdain for DC. “I’ll just be doing it from Colorado.”

                Asked what’s next, Brophy was coy. 

                “I’m not going to say, but it will be in Colorado,” he said, adding — with a laugh — that the did not plan to join the crowded Republican field now competing for a chance to run against U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. 

                During his time with Buck, Brophy commuted back-and-forth between DC and Colorado, racking more than 200,000 frequent flyer miles, he said.

                  1. Thanks to you both for more information. Brophy did say on Saturday that he liked the idea of urban consumers supporting rural Colorado through purchase of electricity generated by wind.

    2. mamajama55 –

      One response to the new slogan that caught my attention:  "do they have to pay a royalty to Papa John's?"

      Another observation – the slogan says nothing about health care; defense spending; foreign relations; climate change; First Amendment rights; Voting rights; Police and Prison abuses; toxic partisanship; political contributions; penalizing monopolies; net neutrality; …..  While one slogan cannot talk about everything, overlooking issues that galvanized Resistance, triggered 9 Million comments, stymied Republican plans on health care, and led to what is being called "a Constitutional Crisis" just doesn't seem like good marketing to me.

      2. Right….although the policy proposals look ok to me, per Schumer's Op Ed in the NYT. The policies they're starting with are  limiting drug company price gouging for prescription drugs, ending corporate mergers that hurt consumers, and retraining workers for the new economy. Sounds good, right?

        The DNC might have to forego some of those juicy corporate donations  if they get serious about limiting corporate mergers in cable and drug company profiteering.

        They should really go back to the Obama-era rules. Thousands of Bernie voters might actually believe that establishment dems are sincere if they did that.

        Meanwhile, although the slogan still underwhelms me, the policy proposals are a good place to start.

    3. "Good jobs with higher wages and better healthcare," maybe.

      Although we know what actually resonates with the policy wonks who really comprise Trump voters: "Lock him up!"

    4. I agree with you about the slogan….it is sort of wet and limp.

      The only group they are really talking to are Trump voters. Jobs are crucial, no doubt, but fer crying in the mornin', it is bigger than that. This is about the health and safety of the whole fucking world….

      Full disclosure…I just retired….mostly.

  8. Maybe the DNC can get Pappa John and Payton Manning to be the pitch men. I understand your disappointment that this slogan is the best they could do. The slogan is so transparent that voters know there are no ideas behind it. The ideas you wish would be communicated by the party are far too extreme and incoherent to win an election. Only a few people want to live their lives angry, upset and loud, they all seem to reside here at ColoradoPols.

    2. The projection in your last sentence is ripe indeed, pfruit . . . 

      . . . Perhaps you’re not getting all the fiber you require? Please, feel free to eat yourself.

  9. Tater

    I suspect the silent majority of Democrats are fed up with militant extremists who have taken over the voice of the Democratic Party. It's not going to get any better for them with the loudest of the fringe in leadership and propped up by the KOOK media. Long live Bernie and Liz.

    The Republicans are not much better off. Not men or women of great character.

    1. There you go again, Prune (to quote Ronald Reagan). Militant extremists in the Dem party get cited, while you continue to pass over the alt right kooks of the Republican party. Let's help you out yet again: Oathkeepers, KKK, American and United Patriots (2 groups), the Bundy clan, Outlaw Militia, Sons of Liberty groups…… Heck, even the John Birch Society is back as they had a big booth at the Western Conservative Summit. And then there is the religious right, and all its groups that want to see the Bible replace the US Constitution so we can get quicker to theocracy and then the rapture.

      Those are the groups that like to live life angry. 

    3. Not men or women of great character. 

      And, so…you are a man of great character so that you are imbued with a prerogative to judge the character of others…nice.

      You think there is a "silent majority" of Democrats who would agree with you about stuff, if they would just speak up?

       Name and address of your dispensary, please…

      1. Duke old buddie old pal,

        The reason your party needs a new slogan is that many Democrats don't believe the the Socialist/Communist crap you and your other KOOK friends stand for. That's why Donald Trump is President and Hillary Clinton is wandering in the woods looking for the North Star. 

        Why don't you and MJ come up with a great slogan and start using it here on the Pols. Maybe it will take off and Dem leadership will adopt it. 

        1. Your party/President is great on 3 word slogans that go nowhere.

          Build the Wall! Not happening.

          Lock Her Up! Not happening.

          Drain the Swamp! Trump's cabinet is filled with more Goldman Sachs and other Wall St profiteers than any in history. Most of them also owe millions to Russia.

          Make America Great Again! We looked at those 3 metrics: terrorist attacks, economy, and campaign promises kept. Terrorist attacks have increased if you count domestic citizen terrorists. Jobs are OK, but Trump is still cruising on the good work done by Obama. Campaign promises: He's reneged on or ignored  most of them. In addition, the world holds America in contempt now more than at any time since GW Bush was President.

          What's the good of a great slogan if it just makes you look like a lying sack of shit?

          1. You forgot "Fuck 'em all" . . . 

            . . . which is currently seeing widest use in the never-ending wealthcare/tax-refunds-for-us-and-our-billionaire-buddies three-card monte swindle, . . . 

            . . . but could probably also be enscribed as the motto on the TwoScoops (stolen) family crest, . . .

            . . . or carved in 20-foot high letters below the bust into the soon-to-be-proposed Mount Trumpmore (Putinmore) National Monument!

          2. MJ,

            What is your slogan for the Democratic Party? I know you will come up with a good one. 

            "We Care More Than You"

            "Democrats..Disposing of Your Income in a Responsible Manner"

            "Democrats…Doing Less with More"

            "Whatever it is that Bernie said"

            "Democrats..Standing Behind Freedom and Liberty… Way Behind"

            "Make Bitterness Sustainable"

            "Democrats…Taking the dom out of Freedom"

            "Economic Slavery is Underrated"

            "Law and Order that Depends on Our Orders"

  10. It's amazing what you can imagine in your mind during an early morning bowel movement.  He refers to Fox Fake News as if it's a real, live broadcast.  Oh, wait… 

  12. Alva – is there a three-link limit on posts?  The above post started out with five but wouldn't let me post (it didn't call it spam, the post just disappeared twice).  I stripped them all out, reposted (which worked) and then added the links back in through the Edit button.  Now that I've added three the system is telling me I'm 'spam' when I attempt the fourth.  

        1. I get that "prove you're not a robot / you don't have permission to post" thing all the time. It seems pretty random- sometimes I'll have 10 links in a post and it won't fritz out – sometimes 1 or 2 will trigger it.

          It’s frustrating, for sure. 🙁

          For a while, stuff about Russia seemed to bring the screen of doom on. Then it was changing the size on a graphic, or posting a gif.  So I don't know. I've just developed a habit of copying the contents of any post I care about.

          The diary-making menu is much easier to use now, though.

          1. I often get the 'prove you're not a robot' when I'm posting from my iPhone; this is the first time in ages that I've had problems with a post containing more than a couple of links.  I'm going to go back to copy/paste before I post! 

    1. Maybe, M.J., but a lot of businesses are being pushed out by greedy landlords seeking higher rents. I was just reading a notice on my neighborhood website that a business that has been in the neighborhood for 40 years (Famous Pizza at Bayaud/ S. Broadway for those of you who actually live near me) is losing their lease. We get a half-dozen solicitations a week from vulture real estate agents wanting to buy our house. They don't want the house we've put our sweat and cash into for 20 years. They want our double lot to erect a popsicle stick and glue apartment building on.

      1. The Somalis had paid their rents on time. Another business, white-owned pawn shop, had had numerous criminal and gang-related complaints, but kept their lease. The owner had made anti-Somali remarks. I think it's a good discrimination case.

        1. I just read this story in the Post.You're right, this one is not about higher rent. This is pure, ugly, naked racism. This landlord is going to lose his shirt and I don't cry for him. I hope the plaintiffs get enough money out of this to reopen their restaurant. Maybe they'll even get enough to buy the strip and evict the criminals running the hock shop.

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