"Around and Around" - The Rolling Stones
A wonderfully joyful performance. Keith Richards looks like he couldn't possibly be having a better time.
- Once again the ideological dogma that dominates the Republican Party these days is on full display in the ridiculous contretemps over President Obama's "you didn't build that" remarks. It is evidently un-American to acknowledge that business success depends in large parts on government inputs from roads, bridges, canals to law enforcement to courts and patent protections, etc. I particularly enjoyed Romney invoking Henry Ford and Steve Jobs as people who really built their businesses without government aid. One would be hard pressed I suspect to come up with two worse examples -- talk about businesses built largely upon governmental infrastructure -- no highways or "information superhighway" and Ford and Apple aren't really worth a whole lot.
- In case you were wondering about the degree to which fear of "the other" is the central operative tenet of the Republican Party, take a look at this, and this, and, of course, this. Haters gonna hate.
- And this was the funniest story of the day.
All I can say is that if Romney really continues to insist on not releasing his tax returns in the wake of these overwhelming calls to do so, then he really must have something to hide. Irresponsible to speculate . . .?
Join the fray.
Whatever Romney's hiding, he's willing to take a lot of heat in order to do so. So it's gotta be pretty damaging.
Of course, the way things are going, the damage may just get lost in the confusion. The Obama campaign is bringing the roof down on Romney's head right now. I expect to see them go after his management of the 2002 Winter Olympics next - it's about the last thing Romney has left to run on, so might as well point out his use of a big pile of Federal tax money to further enrich well-off, well-connected Utahns in the name of patriotism, matriotism, and who knows what else.
Posted by: low-tech cyclist | July 18, 2012 at 12:37 PM
The Stones covering Chuck Berry. Quantum!
Posted by: scott | July 18, 2012 at 03:02 PM
And what a good cover it is.
Posted by: Sir Charles | July 18, 2012 at 03:28 PM
love connie schultz.
Posted by: kathy a. | July 18, 2012 at 03:38 PM
Hey y'all, I have a former student moving to Baltimore. He's sort of a 20 something hipster. What's the good neighborhood(s) in Baltimore for him to rent an apartment ?
Posted by: Joe S | July 18, 2012 at 06:24 PM
Fells Point or Federal Hill if he or she can swing it.
Posted by: Sir Charles | July 18, 2012 at 06:37 PM
A Brennan Center report on the burdens of Voter ID requirements is out. Shameful indictment it is. Reading this material brings back the memory of watching the Bush administration in the aftermath of Katrina. Same message. Some people count more than others.
In Washington and Oregon we are required to vote by mail, rather than in person. No photo obviously. There is a program planned to be underway soon that will allow people to register to vote on Facebook. But in Alabama, Granny has to have a photo ID. How can this be allowed to occur? Voting Rights Act was enacted in 1965. How does it not preclude these moves? The Act called for pre-clearance before a number of states could make any changes to voting requirements. Where did that go?
We should be gathering on the Mall en masse afaic.
Posted by: nancy | July 18, 2012 at 06:51 PM
Some people count more than others.
Yes, and they vote Republican.
Posted by: oddjob | July 18, 2012 at 07:59 PM
Voting Rights Act was enacted in 1965. How does it not preclude these moves?
I believe the Dept. of Justice is already challenging the Texas voter ID law & the Atty. General has likened it to a poll tax.
Unfortunately that act only applies to former Dixie states. It won't do a lick of good in Pennsylvania. :(
Posted by: oddjob | July 18, 2012 at 08:01 PM
Ugh. You're right oddob. Nor Wisconsin and Indiana. And of course, our favorite, Florida.
What is the matter with Florida, home to retirees (lots of Bubbies), snowbirds, beachlovers and bikini thong-wearers? Tan-land. Key West. Hemingway appreciation. Everglades. Pastel-colored Miami Vice vistas. Turistas. Federal disaster relief post-hurricane season. Mobile home dwellers assisted, as I understand it. State should be solid blue.
Don't get it. Did Walt Disneyland infect the place?
Or does Boca Raton and Donald Trump, Mar-a-Lago, simply squat too overly large in Tallahassee? Which makes no sense. Stand your ground indeed.
btw. I looked just like one of the little blonde screamers in the audience, above, (embarrassing) only it was at the Beatles concert at Cincinnati Gardens. No wonder we smoked pot in later years before concerts so as to calm our hormonal nuttinesses down. Ah youth. Yea, Yea, yea, yea.
Posted by: nancy | July 18, 2012 at 09:37 PM
Speaking of concert-wild. Here's where my favorite young person is tonight. LCD Soundsystem's farewell on film, in theaters tonight.
Dance the night away. :)
Posted by: nancy | July 19, 2012 at 12:08 AM
Actually Florida is subject to the Voting Rights Act.
Posted by: oddjob | July 19, 2012 at 09:12 AM
South of Orlando isn't like the northern part of the state. The northern part is still Dixie. The northern panhandle along the Gulf of Mexico is sometimes nicknamed "the redneck Riviera".
Posted by: oddjob | July 19, 2012 at 09:14 AM
Women have taken some heavy hits this week and here it is, only Thursday morning! But, let’s hear a cheer for Mary C. Curtis, who points out http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/are-bachmann-and-sununu-attacks-part-of-a-new-mccarthyism/2012/07/19/gJQAVULZvW_blog.html?hpid=z4”>the obvious to those sucked in by right-wing xenophobes and gynophobes, and another http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/opinion/a-ruling-protecting-womens-health.html?ref=opinion”>for the NYT for making sure folks outside the affected states know wingers are attempting to make an end-run around the ACA to limit a woman’s ability to determine if and when she gets pregnant. In spite of the fact that women hold a majority position in the workplace, the consumer-spending arena and the lines at the voting booth, http://eclectablog.com/2012/07/michigan-rep-barb-byrum-banned-from-speaking-on-house-floor-again.html”>women’s opinions don’t amount to much to the GOP. To prove it, even when the issues at hand directly affect them, women elected to office are often http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/house-panel-approves-ban-on-dc-abortions-after-20-weeks/2012/07/18/gJQA9vuWuW_story.html”>left out of the loop. And, don’t tell me it’s because Eleanor Holmes Norton is a non-voting member. That’s a smoke screen. Like Fauntroy before her, she was sent to Congress to participate in exactly this portion of the legislative process. Excluding her from participation was not only a slap in the face to women and women of color, but also to everyone who lives, works and votes in DC. If you work in DC but vote elsewhere, remember this story on November 6.
Posted by: Paula B | July 19, 2012 at 11:00 AM
nancy, Florida was a typically Republican state and became more of a swing state due to Puerto Rican and Haitian immigrants (as well as traditionally Democratic voters in the South of the State). There are lots of wealthy retirees (who tend to vote Republican). The Northern third of the State is White Southern evangelical. The Whites in Northern Florida vote like Alabamans. There is a big Cuban population which trends Republican. The Democratic enclaves are in the South and now in Central Florida- which has a huge Haitian and Puerto Rican population. In short, it's a state like Ohio- with a lot of solid Republican and Democratic constituencies.
Posted by: Joe S | July 19, 2012 at 11:59 AM
The pre-clearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act only apply to certain states with a history of excluding blacks from the franchise.
But the ban on poll taxes is in the Constitution - it's the 24th Amendment. If the AG can make the case that Pennsylvania's voter ID laws are the equivalent of a poll tax, then he can and should take Pennsylvania to court.
Posted by: low-tech cyclist | July 19, 2012 at 12:01 PM
In short, it's a state like Ohio- with a lot of solid Republican and Democratic constituencies.
Joe S, I'd have thought that the number of wealthy Jewish retirees who vote regularly might have balanced out the Cuban Republicans. Also, in watching the GOP treatment of Hispanics, there must be some buyer's remorse in south Florida, no?
Paula, your links look like they should work, but something is amiss. We need a help desk.
ltc, I've been known to grumble that having to pay for postage to mail my ballot is a poll tax. When reading what's in store for Voter ID states, it's difficult to imagine how anyone thought these stunts would go unchallenged in the court of public opinion, where these measures fly in the face of decency and fairness. Of course these requirements equate to a poll tax.
Posted by: nancy | July 19, 2012 at 01:41 PM
On another note, via Benen, apparently Romney has no discernable policy on Afghanistan, despite our having been fighting a war there for coming up on 11 years now.
He's been running for President for more than half the time we've been in Afghanistan. But apparently he hasn't thought about it enough to have come up with an approach to our Longest War Ever.
Really, someone like this should have been laughed out of the primaries. But the state of the GOP being what it is, he was the least ridiculous joke in the field.
Posted by: low-tech cyclist | July 19, 2012 at 02:27 PM
“We’ve given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life,” she said.
Ann Romney. Quote of the day.
Posted by: nancy | July 19, 2012 at 02:35 PM
jeepers. no plan for war. his people are saying "get folks back to work," but no real plan there. no plan for health care.
somebody who has never had to worry about money because he is rolling in it is not really somebody who understands the lives of the rest of us. or as ann puts it, "you people."
the hiding of the finances is starting to look really freakish.
Posted by: kathy a. | July 19, 2012 at 03:05 PM
re: "You people."
Just as I suspected all along, Ann Romney must be Leona Helmsley's cousin. For those who don't remember the Queen of Mean, she is recalled most often for once saying, "Taxes? We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes..."
Sorry about the links. It's too hot and late in the day for me to call them all up, but they pertain to an opinion piece in the Wash Post about John McCain (!) standing up for Clinton's aide and how other Reps bailed on the issue, today's NYT editorial on a Nebraska ruling which allows a contested part of the ACA to stand, a blog piece on Michigan State Legislator asking for an apology for being silenced during a session last month when she uttered an unspeakable word about lady parts and a Wash Post local story on proposed abortion legislation for DC, about which Eleanor Holmes Norton was prevented from testifying.
Posted by: Paula B | July 19, 2012 at 03:23 PM
My heart stopped!
I just saw a headline saying "Willard Arrested for Lewd Conduct," but then saw the story was about actor Fred Willard, not our Willard. !&@#!
Posted by: Paula B | July 19, 2012 at 03:56 PM
Just tweeted by Marco Rubio. I don't think this is a hoax:
Listening to @barackobama wage #classwarfare in #Jacksonville #Florida. Parts of it sound like speech by left-wing 3rd world leader.#sayfie
Incroyable! And he's on the short list for VP?
Posted by: Paula B | July 19, 2012 at 04:13 PM
Prup, how's that video cord? You were having problems.
You've been uncharacteristically quiet. Hope all's well.
Posted by: nancy | July 19, 2012 at 08:38 PM
"You people" are words that just never really work, do they?
Posted by: Sir Charles | July 19, 2012 at 11:33 PM
Sir C, what flavor cake do we get to eat? Guessing Ann has vanilla in mind. Do we get frosting? Or Cool Whip?
Posted by: nancy | July 20, 2012 at 01:24 AM
Jsst ran across this quote from Robespierre:
No man can climb out beyond the limitations of his own character.
Seems appropriate at the moment.
And, nancy, I'd like butter cream icing. See if Ann knows how to make that.
Posted by: Paula B | July 20, 2012 at 10:03 AM
I am guessing that with Anne and Mitt it would be angel food with Cool Whip and frozen strawberries.
Posted by: Sir charles | July 20, 2012 at 11:30 AM
I've always been curious about the taste of Cool Whip but never tried it. Now that I live in Yurp, I don't even know whether I get ready access to it.
Posted by: Mandos | July 20, 2012 at 12:40 PM
It's blandly, mildly to moderately sweet and lacks the creamy mouth feel of actual whipped cream.
Posted by: oddjob | July 20, 2012 at 12:56 PM
Speaking of Ann Romney, apparently we're not supposed to make fun of her predilection for spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on dressage horses, because training them is "part of her therapy for multiple sclerosis."
She'll never live like common people, she'll never deal with M.S. the way common people who have it do.
Posted by: low-tech cyclist | July 20, 2012 at 02:28 PM
She just laughed and said "oh you're so funny."
A really killer version -- better than Pulp's original I think.
Posted by: Sir charles | July 20, 2012 at 02:48 PM
William Shatner is one of those really great people who doesn't take himself too seriously.
Posted by: Joe S | July 20, 2012 at 03:33 PM
MIT doctoral student Matt Beane says the next generation of outsourcing may be robots controlled by distant lower-wage workers, a kind of technology known as telepresence.
...
The same outsourcing logic applies to many high-wage jobs that rely on physical presence and motor skills, including the work done by cardiologists and machinists.
Outsourcing 2.0 (high skill, high expertise jobs no longer exempt).
Posted by: oddjob | July 20, 2012 at 03:58 PM
Aurora gunman graduated from UC Riverside with top honors and a degree in neuroscience.
He's also booby-trapped his apartment with incindiary devices. The police have evacuated residents from five buildings as a precaution while they investigate the apartment.
Posted by: oddjob | July 20, 2012 at 04:03 PM
Ed Rendell wants politicians to stand up to the NRA and re-instate the assault weapons ban.
I live pretty square in the middle of "Obama wants to take your guns" territory, but one has to believe at some point we'd all come to the agreement that we and our children ought to be able to go to the movies, campus, food court, etc. in safety. This is insanity.
NRA has blood on its hands. Again. As of an hour ago, they were not responding to press looking for statement.
Posted by: nancy | July 20, 2012 at 05:20 PM
i am so done with guns' rights.
Posted by: kathy a. | July 20, 2012 at 05:48 PM
Cool whip has the creamy mouth feel without the oily, thick coating that milk fat does - and instead if you have too much leave a raw, burned feeling.
LCD S was one of the dependible bands, but I dunno if it was a fav. I'll have to catch that movie.
Posted by: Crissa | July 20, 2012 at 11:38 PM