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June 13, 2012 03:13 PM UTC

Wednesday Open Thread

  • 43 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“I am patient with stupidity, but not with those who are proud of it.”

–Edith Sitwell

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43 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread”

  1. Yes, in just one month (May 12th to June 12th) and thru the massive loss in WIsconsin that exposed the successful Scott Walker government reforms, Obama’s approval index has risen to -12.

    A president’s Job Approval rating is one of the best indicators for assessing his chances of reelection. Typically, the president’s Job Approval rating on Election Day will be close to the share of the vote he receives. Currently, 48% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president’s job performance.В Fifty-two percent (52%)В at least somewhat disapprove (see trends).

    Most voters continue to favor repeal of the president’s health care law.

    Investor confidence fell to a three-month low on Sunday.

    A plurality favors a 10% pay cut for all state employees.

    Source: http://www.rassmessenreports.com

    Should the GOP base be concerned, absolutely. How does Obama do it, how does his polling counter every national trend?

    As I’ve said you leftist liberals have little to worry about. 1st Obama will have a billion $ war chest thru his Super PACs, union bosses will get out the vote, and even though nearly every Obama policy has been shown to have failed the media and Hollywood love this guy.

    1. What planet are you living on, thinking that those nasty unions are going to out-fund the Billionaire’s Club?

      All information to date, not to even talk about the obvious fallacy of your belief, indicates that unions and those few rich Dems are in decidedly second place.

      Walker’s worn out kneepads did him well, the Koch brothers and others outspending his opponent by at least 9:1.  And that’s in a heavy union state.

      OK, back to your 52″ brain mushing propaganda machine………

        1. another Dem state senate recall victory gave the senate majority to Dems. So let’s not go overboard on what Walker’s victory means. Besides the money, a very considerable portion of Wisconsinites simply don’t believe in recall as a way to address anything short of criminal activity.  The recall supporters didn’t do the best job of framing the recall in terms other than wanting a redo because of Walker’s policies.  Voters have, by electing a Dem majority state senate as a collective result of all the recalls, prevented the possibility of Walker getting more of the same draconian legislation passed. Obama still polls ahead in Wisconsin.  Not exactly a strong pro-Walker or pro-rightie wingnut message.

          1. for anything but misconduct.  WI polls shows only 25 percent in favor of recall for any reason.  In contrast, when Ohio voted on its anti-union laws in a referendum, they were repealed 61 percent!  Given the distaste for recalls and the obscene spending by Walker, he survived by a modest margin.

               

        2. Now we could chatter all day about WI and you can only favorably compare and contrast the below performance with …. well no ones ever failed this badly except Mao, Hilter, Pol Pot, and Stalin. Now I’m not taking these warriors against humanity for their total record, just their early days.

          You need to remeber, according to our out of touch leader Obama, the private sector is doing fine.

          *The share of Americans who’ve been out of work a long time – now at 42% of the unemployed – is the highest since the Great Depression (source: Labor Department).

          *The proportion of the civilian working-age population actually working, at 58%, is the smallest since the Carter era (Labor Department).

          *Growth in nonfarm payroll jobs since the recovery began in June 2009 is the slowest of any comparable recovery since World War II (Hoover Institution).

          *The rate of new business startups – the engine of job growth – has plunged to an all-time low of 7.87% of all businesses (Census Bureau).

          *3 in 10 young adults can’t find jobs and live with their parents, highest since the 1950s (Pew Research).

          *54% of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 are jobless or underemployed, the highest share in decades (Northeastern University).

          *Black teen unemployment, now at 37%, is near Depression-era highs (Labor Department).

          * Almost 1 in 6 Americans are now poor – the highest ratio in 30 years – and the total number of poor, at 49.1 million, is the largest on record (Census).

          *The share of Hispanics in poverty has topped that of blacks for the first time, 28.2% to 25.4% (Census).



          *The number of Americans on food stamps – 45 million recipients, or 1 in 7 residents – also is the highest on record (Congressional Budget Office).

          * Total government dependency – defined as the share of Americans receiving one or more federal benefit payments – is now at 47%, highest ever (Hoover).

          *The share of Americans paying no income tax, at 49.5%, is the highest ever (Heritage Foundation, IRS).

          *The national homeownership rate, now at 65.4%, is the lowest in 15 years (Census).

          *The 30-point gap between black and white Americans who own their own homes is the widest in two decades and one of the widest on record (Census).

          *Federal spending, now at 23.4% of GDP, is the highest since WWII (CBO).

          *Excluding defense and interest payments, spending is the highest in American history, at 17.6% of the economy (First Trust Economics).

          *The federal debt, at 69% of GDP, is the highest since just after WWII (CBO).

          * The U.S. budget deficit, now at 9.5% of the economy, is the highest since WWII (CBO).

          * U.S. Treasury debt has been downgraded for the first time in history, meaning the U.S. government no longer ranks among risk-free borrowers (S&P).

          Professionally researched facts: http://news.investors.com/arti…

    2. Intensity of support or opposition can have an impact on campaigns. Currently, 26% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove, giving him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -15 (see trends).

      http://www.rasmussenreports.co…

      Is it the messenger or the message?

      Why is Obama finding it so difficult to run on the issues?

      Why aren’t the massively successful Democratic stimulus, bailouts, proposed higher taxes, and other social programs, translating in key swing states?

      Why won’t Obama Chicago HQ team “Booker” Clinton and other (white) Democratic leaders that told Obama publicly he was damaging America?

      Why won’t Clinton refute the that he told top Republicans that they have 6 months (now 5) to save the nation from a 2nd Obama term?

      Why aren’t more Democratic leaders …. Governors and Congressmen …. endorsing Obama for a second term?

  2. There’s only two days left to take advantage of getting some free time on the Denver bike sharing program.

    ….snip….

    A typical 24-hour membership is $8 in Denver and $5 in Boulder and it allows riders to take unlimited trips of 30 minutes or less at no charge. After 30 minutes, standard usage fees apply.

    The bikes can be rented from, and returned to, automated kiosks in Denver. Denver Bike Sharing offers residents and visitors an alternative form of public transportation, which is environmentally friendly.

    Read more: Denver bike sharing program free today, next Wednesday – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/brea…

    Read The Denver Post’s Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/term…

    Yes Denver Bike Sharing offers residents and visitors an alternative … but you’ll need a credit card and that effectivly means a photo ID too.

    Are tens of thousands of homeless, blacks and mexicans thus “redlined” from this federal stimulus adventure? You bet they are.

    This racist and economicly devisive program is causing massive economic damage on purportedly excluded economic and racial classes. How else should we expect former “city campers” to transit from their new homesteads in 6th Ave Estates, Cherry Hills Village, or nearby Aurora City parks to their Denver hotspots?

    1. Sorry to bring you down from your post-WoW Energy drink high, but the Denver Bike Sharing is a 501c3 nonprofit.

      see?


      Denver Bike Sharing is a Colorado charitable, non-profit corporation that owns and operates Denver B-cycle to promote health, quality of life and preservation of the environment in Denver. Denver Bike Sharing is a 501(c)3.

      http://www.denverbikesharing.org/

      And sorry to cut off your BIG GOVT jerkoff session in Mom’s basement, but no stimulus money went to this:

      Are tax dollars going to the program?

      No. Denver Bike Sharing receives its funds through grants, sponsorships, memberships, and transaction fees.

      http://www.denverbikesharing.o…

      Why do you hate non-profits that have a working relationship with the corporate world?

      More importantly, why do you continue to post your unique brand of dumbassery so early in the morning?  

      1. The fact is its easier to vote in Denver then participate in this program.

        Aren’t you concerned that Colorados excluded economic and racial classes can’t participate in this program?

        Tens of thousands of black, homeless, mexicans are blocked from participating in Denver’s bike share program.

        Why are the ACLU, Media Matters, AARP, and CREW standing on the sidelines?

        1. Which one is it? $250K or $450K? Are you and Dan Maes still not sure if it’s secret Illumnati/Rothschild/UN Conspiracy funds to take over Denver?

          Or is this one of the magic numbers your just performed a ballistic rectal extrapolation to post just to make you look less like a simpering idiot?

          Got a link? Post it. All I can see so far is the same bullshit posts you’ve been recycling for the last few weeks. Or are you too busy in WoW with your Epic Troll character searching for treasure?

          1. I guess it was $1.1millionin blowout government funding … Worse I guess this program diverted money from taxpayers and more teachers, nurses, fireman and construction workers.

            Source is your links piss boy.

            DBS was awarded a total of $1.1 million in capital funding through two grants: Transportation, Community, and System Preservation Program (TCSP) awarded by the Federal Highway Administration, and Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery (FASTER) awarded by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

            1. We both agree on that the bike share program should be FREE.  And since it costs money to run the program, we’ll need to raise taxes to fund it. I’m glad we finally see eye-to-eye on something.

            2. It demonstrates how clearly your brain works. Or not.

              In any event, you just proved you didn’t know WHAT THE FUCK YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT when you posted the made-up numbers the first time.

              I knew how much DBS got – you just proved AGAIN that you know jack shit.  

    2. What do credit cards have to do with photo IDs? I have several of the one, but not the other. Care to guess which is which?

      Anyway, there are more and more basically free services that act as pre-paid debit cards. Anyone with a social security number can obtain one and they are easy to load and manage. No bank account, or ID needed.

      Isn’t this rant woefully late in any event?

  3. WHY SMART PEOPLE ARE STUPID

    When people face an uncertain situation, they don’t carefully evaluate the information or look up relevant statistics. Instead, their decisions depend on a long list of mental shortcuts, which often lead them to make foolish decisions. These shortcuts aren’t a faster way of doing the math; they’re a way of skipping the math altogether.

    Inside Apple by Adam Lashinsky

    “High-performance teams should be at each other’s throats” is how one person with relationships with multiple Apple executives summarized the culture. “You don’t get to the right trade-off without each person advocating aggressively for his position.” Arguments at Apple are personal and confrontational. This began at the top, and it is part of the company’s culture.

    1. Pink Slips

      The school district in Reading, Pa. – the nation’s poorest city – laid off 110 teachers last week, along with hundreds of other employees. As elementary students watched in shock, many of their favorite teachers were pulled out of an assembly one by one and given the bad news by district officials, The Reading Eagle reported.

      The layoffs will mean larger classes and an end to public prekindergarten in the city. Many special-education students will lose their mentors. A city where only 8 percent of the residents have a bachelor’s degree (compared with the national average of 28 percent) will fall further behind, largely because Pennsylvania’s Republican governor, Tom Corbett, chose not to find state money to replace $900 million in federal aid that ran out after the stimulus expired. Instead, he further drained his public coffers by cutting business taxes by $250 million this year.

      http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06…

      Whatdaya wanna bet that that smaller cadre of quality educators remaining in Reading will now begin show the kind of standardized testing classroom improvement that a Republican Governor (and his ilk) demand?

      And, even better, those job creators got more tax breaks.  I guess it’s all good news this week if you happen to own a McDonalds franchise in Reading, PA?

      . . . fuksakes!

    1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/…

      But some Democratic veterans are wondering whether the reelection campaign, run by the same tight-knit group that led it four years ago, is equipped for what lies ahead.

      “The bad thing is, there is no new thinking in that circle,” said one longtime operative in Democratic presidential campaigns who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid.

      Eight other prominent Democratic strategists interviewed shared that view, describing Obama’s team as resistant to advice and assistance from those who are not part of its core. All of them spoke on the condition of anonymity as well.

          1. if that wasn’t a completely phony straw man argument choice.  I can’t remember seeing the whole don’t worry be happy thing you and dwyer constantly refer to appearing in left leaning posts at this site at all, much less from Gray.  A myriad of in betweens? Yes. But you two choose to ignore them in favor of telling us how naive and ignorant we are. we are.

            To be fair, dwyer is here admitting the possibility that something good could come of a re-examination by the campaign staff on the off chance they take the opportunity. That’s like popping a cork and breaking into a happy dance for dwyer. But Gray is perfectly accurate in noting that dwyer is generally allergic to acknowledging anything positive and generally goes straight for the gloomiest, doomiest possible (even if highly unlikely) interpretation of any event or development that comes along.

                1. Gray’s response to anything negative said by dwyer generally seems to be that he’s just being negative. Never a comment that he might be raising a valid concern. I take that as Gray saying the issues raised are nothing to worry about.

                  1. just as I have previously commented in agreement with you David. I am not going to constantly repeat those agreements each time I post in response. Now, David, please start researching candidates who will be on your November ballot so you can use Ralphie’s contribution and get your ballot in

      1. IN fact, the better question at this stage is whether listening to the activists will help or not.

        We know what the activists think about that.  They always arrive at the same conclusion – they are right, everyone else is wrong.

      1. TPM

        But some Democrats also treated Dimon if not quite like royalty then perhaps as a trusted confidant.

        Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) asked Dimon to sound off on the country’s budget woes. “I think you’re well aware of my concern about the fiscal condition of this country,” Bennet said. “I wonder if you could take the last couple minutes of this time to talk about how you see our relative position with Europe and other places, the political risk of our not accomplishing what we need to do in the fiscal side, and the upside if we could actually come together in a comprehensive way to address the long-term fiscal condition of the United States.”

        1.   agrees that Bennet comments actually helped deflate republican demagoguery on the issue:

          JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon has been a scourge of the Obama administration in recent months, but when he appeared on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Republicans found the head of the country’s largest bank to be alarmingly off-message.

          Dimon had little interest in joining Republicans in complaining that President Obama’s regulations destroyed capitalism as they knew it. In fact, he even had some kind words for the Dodd-Frank financial reforms. And the banker’s most passionate plea to the lawmakers was one that Republicans most emphatically don’t want to hear: Enact the Simpson-Bowles debt proposal, a package of spending cuts and – gulp – increased tax revenue that was largely scuttled by House Republicans.

          “If we had done something remotely like Simpson-Bowles,” Dimon said in response to Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., at the end of the hearing, “you would have increased confidence in America. You would have shown a real fix of the long-term fiscal problem. I think you would have had … a more effective tax system that is conducive to economic growth.”

          In fact, he said, not enacting such a plan “helped cause a downturn last year.”

  6. So, Doug Lamborn had a chance to address a room full of small business owners today.  I happened to be there.  His main points:

    1. Be very afraid.  I’m fighting to stop the U.S. from becoming the next Greece.

    2. U.S. business owners are more pessimistic than ever before… and that spells doom, too.

    3. Something long and complicated about pipelines and oil shale.  (He spent most of his time talking about this.  I have no idea why it showed up in a speech to small business owners.)

    4. Something about deficits being horrible, and also we should cut taxes more than ever before.

    5. The ritual booing of ObamaCare.

    6. We need to gut social security and medicare.

    1. having tried to talk with Lamebrain before, that it would be extremely tough to sit there without cutting your own throat and listen to such BS. I think even those who want policies such as he advocates are sitting there thinking, “He’s a whore, but he is my whore”

    2. having tried to talk with Lamebrain before, that it would be extremely tough to sit there without cutting your own throat and listen to such BS. I think even those who want policies such as he advocates are sitting there thinking, “He’s a whore, but he is my whore”

  8. Can We Reverse The Stanford Prison Experiment?

    Their approach was to try to catch youth doing the right things and give them a Positive Ticket. The ticket granted the recipient free entry to the movies or to a local youth center. They gave out an average of 40,000 tickets per year. That is three times the number of negative tickets over the same period. As it turns out, and unbeknownst to Clapham, that ratio (2.9 positive affects to 1 negative affect, to be precise) is called the Losada Line. It is the minimum ratio of positive to negatives that has to exist for a team to flourish. On higher-performing teams (and marriages for that matter) the ratio jumps to 5:1. But does it hold true in policing?

    According to Clapham, youth recidivism was reduced from 60% to 8%. Overall crime was reduced by 40%. Youth crime was cut in half. And it cost one-tenth of the traditional judicial system.

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